Toyota 200 Suspension

[Bill and Wendy]

Early this year we bought a new 200 GX Landcruiser - the no frills, barn door model. On our first trip we towed an Aussie Swag camper and found that the rear end of the Cruiser was decidedly low. Early next year we take delivery of a 20' Kedron ATV and expect that the rear end will be even lower. We do not wish to fit a lift kit - just do what is needed to get a level ride. All sorts of salesmen have given us all sorts of advice. What we seek is advice from someone who has been down this path with this sort of vehicle.

[richard sheppard]

Early this year we bought a new 200 GX Landcruiser - the no frills, barn door model. On our first trip we towed an Aussie Swag camper and found that the rear end of the Cruiser was decidedly low. Early next year we take delivery of a 20' Kedron ATV and expect that the rear end will be even lower. We do not wish to fit a lift kit - just do what is needed to get a level ride. All sorts of salesmen have given us all sorts of advice. What we seek is advice from someone who has been down this path with this sort of vehicle.

[richard sheppard]

Hi Bill we have just purchased a 79 series v8 ute and I tow a 21 foot topender just finished doing the Savannha way and the gibb river road in September we fitted polly air bags to the back. Had no problems with the back sagging just pump them up to around 40psi when the van is on the back and drop them back to around 10 psi when not towing.Richard.

[Jacky Jacky]

Bit of a discussion in this previous post :-

/>http://www.kedronownersgroup.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1231

[Bill and Wendy]

Hi Bill we have just purchased a 79 series v8 ute and I tow a 21 foot topender just finished doing the Savannha way and the gibb river road in September we fitted polly air bags to the back. Had no problems with the back sagging just pump them up to around 40psi when the van is on the back and drop them back to around 10 psi when not towing.Richard.

Thanks for that,Richard.

My own thought was to fit air bags to the back and am glad to hear that it worked for you. I've also read some other things about GVM and the like, so I have a bit of homework to do

Cheers

[Bill and Wendy]

Bit of a discussion in this previous post :-

/>http://www.kedronownersgroup.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=1231

Thanks Jacky Jacky.

I've had a look - there's quite a lot of reading and info to digest.

Cheers,

Bill

[Neville and Kay]

Thanks Jacky Jacky.

I've had a look - there's quite a lot of reading and info to digest.

Cheers,

Bill

Hi Bill,I am not sure but give Phil & Len at creative conversions a ring I think they do a suspension upgrade & they are just around the corner from the Kedron factory. They are extremely helpfull & after sale service is great. Neville

[TonyH]

Firestone air bags are what I have fitted to my tow vehicles, (have done so for many years).

I have found them to be the 'bees knees' in keeping the vehicle level with the van on the back. The most important thing when using these airbags is to inflate them to there maximum pressure (30psi/220kpa) BEFORE you put the van on the tow vehicle, put the van on...... then drop the pressure till you get the correct required ride height. When you reach your destination or finish your trip simply drop the pressure down to about 5psi/35kpa & your limo ride is not compromised.

I have purchased my airbags from 'the states' from this crowd Michigan Truck Springs www.truckspring.com I have only just in the last week or so received a new set for my 'new' 200 which I will take delivery of at the end of next February.

Ordering from the easy to use website is very simple & delivery to my home usually takes less than a week (thanks to US Mail & Australia Post).

The airbag kits are easy to fit yourself if you are mechanically capable with basic workshop equipment...... but if you are not so inclined you mechainic should be able to fit the in about an hour at the approriate labour cost.

The part number you need for Firestone airbags to suit a 200 series with std suspension is 4164 suggest you go to the Michigan Truck Springs site & put Firestone 4164 in the search box & go from there ..... so easy & soooooo much cheaper than buying the SAME prouduct here.

Hope this helps

Just another thought go to www.lcool.org on the 200 site & do a search on firestone airbags HEAPS of info there, also suggested mounting points for the valves! Cheers

[Bill and Wendy]

Hi Bill,I am not sure but give Phil & Len at creative conversions a ring I think they do a suspension upgrade & they are just around the corner from the Kedron factory. They are extremely helpfull & after sale service is great. Neville

Thanks Neville, It's worth a call to them to have a chat.

[Bill and Wendy]

Firestone air bags are what I have fitted to my tow vehicles, (have done so for many years).

I have found them to be the 'bees knees' in keeping the vehicle level with the van on the back. The most important thing when using these airbags is to inflate them to there maximum pressure (30psi/220kpa) BEFORE you put the van on the tow vehicle, put the van on...... then drop the pressure till you get the correct required ride height. When you reach your destination or finish your trip simply drop the pressure down to about 5psi/35kpa & your limo ride is not compromised.

I have purchased my airbags from 'the states' from this crowd Michigan Truck Springs www.truckspring.com I have only just in the last week or so received a new set for my 'new' 200 which I will take delivery of at the end of next February.

Ordering from the easy to use website is very simple & delivery to my home usually takes less than a week (thanks to US Mail & Australia Post).

The airbag kits are easy to fit yourself if you are mechanically capable with basic workshop equipment...... but if you are not so inclined you mechainic should be able to fit the in about an hour at the approriate labour cost.

The part number you need for Firestone airbags to suit a 200 series with std suspension is 4164 suggest you go to the Michigan Truck Springs site & put Firestone 4164 in the search box & go from there ..... so easy & soooooo much cheaper than buying the SAME prouduct here.

Hope this helps

Thanks Tony,

I have spoken to someone while travelling. He had an older L/C and said that Firestone make good bags and the air-line fittings are superior to some others. I hadn't thought of sourcing bits from USA but have been through the process with items for our hobbies.

Cheers,

Bill

[RussnSue]

Perhaps you could figure out a way of fitting Land Rover Discovery 3 or 4 airbags to it. We found out, after four years of towing, that our ball-weight was 650Kg and those airbags are still going strong!

Note: Tongue was firmly planted in cheek as I was typing this....so, please, no vitriolic replies. It was just a bit of "Ford Vs Holden" style fun.

Cheers

Russ.

[Mayzee]

Hi Bill & Wendy

We have a 200 series towing a 21 Ft ATV2. Our vehicle has the KDS suspension which no doubt helps a bit but with 340kg on the tow ball we have spent 3 years travelling this great country including the GRR last year with no problems...just a slight nose down on the van. We have recently had Poly air bags fitted and now even with only 10lbs pressure in them the van is slightly nose up. No need to have anything more done to the suspension. When we bought the van in 2009 we had a 100 series GXL that was really soft in the back end. We had stronger springs and shocks fitted and also air bags. The end result was unstable steering with the vehicle jumping sideways when taking off from traffic lights, particularly when heading up hill. Before everyone asks....yes we have a Hayman Reese WDH and we tried various angles and tensions. Anyway what I am suggesting is take it one step at a time...fit air bags and see how you go before other upgrades.

[Mrs Lynn Astill]

Hi Bill and Wendy.

I was told by a Hayman Reece Agency recently to run my airbags as low as possible when towing as they fight against the WDH. We have the Lovell's suspension upgrade.

Regards

Chris

[Alan and Jayne]

G'day

Does anyone have experience towing a heavy Kedron with a 200 Series & just the GVM upgrade?

I'm hearing that if you get just the springs done, the 200 becomes unstable, like what John has reported on his 100.

If we just get airbag suspenion this doesn't help our carrying capacity. It's hard to reconcile that a 200 series only has an available payload of 630kg.

Cheers

Alan

[Bill and Wendy]

Perhaps you could figure out a way of fitting Land Rover Discovery 3 or 4 airbags to it. We found out, after four years of towing, that our ball-weight was 650Kg and those airbags are still going strong!

Note: Tongue was firmly planted in cheek as I was typing this....so, please, no vitriolic replies. It was just a bit of "Ford Vs Holden" style fun.

Cheers

Russ.

We came from a Disco 3 to the L/C 200. The Disco was a lovely car to drive and towed our camper-trailer beautifully. That's all that I want to say about it. To say more would undoubtedly open a big can of worms. :-)

[Bill and Wendy]

Hi Bill & Wendy

We have a 200 series towing a 21 Ft ATV2. Our vehicle has the KDS suspension which no doubt helps a bit but with 340kg on the tow ball we have spent 3 years travelling this great country including the GRR last year with no problems...just a slight nose down on the van. We have recently had Poly air bags fitted and now even with only 10lbs pressure in them the van is slightly nose up. No need to have anything more done to the suspension. When we bought the van in 2009 we had a 100 series GXL that was really soft in the back end. We had stronger springs and shocks fitted and also air bags. The end result was unstable steering with the vehicle jumping sideways when taking off from traffic lights, particularly when heading up hill. Before everyone asks....yes we have a Hayman Reese WDH and we tried various angles and tensions. Anyway what I am suggesting is take it one step at a time...fit air bags and see how you go before other upgrades.

Our 200 GX does not have KDSS as an option- or so I have been told. I am certainly inclined to go the air bags paths as a first step and see what happens.

Cheers.

[kakadu]

Thanks to Tony H

Ordered a set of air bags for my chev from Michigan Truck Springs on Thursday 4th April and they were on my doorstep the following Monday and

at $630 including shipping were cheaper than anywhere else I could find.

Cheers Tony Kelly

[Geoff and Pam Ward]

G'day

Does anyone have experience towing a heavy Kedron with a 200 Series & just the GVM upgrade?

I'm hearing that if you get just the springs done, the 200 becomes unstable, like what John has reported on his 100.

If we just get airbag suspenion this doesn't help our carrying capacity. It's hard to reconcile that a 200 series only has an available payload of 630kg.

Cheers

Alan

Hi Alan, It's a bit old now, but I was wondering what you ended up doing. I got an ARB GVM upgrade by 280 kg. Best thing I ever did. Very stable towing. I've also got rear airbags which I inflate to about 30psi for towing.

Kind regards

Geoff

[Alan and Jayne]

Hi Alan, It's a bit old now, but I was wondering what you ended up doing. I got an ARB GVM upgrade by 280 kg. Best thing I ever did. Very stable towing. I've also got rear airbags which I inflate to about 30psi for towing.

Kind regards

Geoff

G'day Geoff

We ended up fitting Air Bag Man HP airbags to the rear. Pump them to 35-40 psi. This definitely stopped the front to rear rocking we had, which was enough to make you seasick! I stopped looking at a GVM upgrade as all of the ones I looked at didn't increase the CVM (Combined vehicle Mass) which is still limited to 6850kg with or without a GVM. Is there was a way to increase the CVM I would definitely be in!

The towing with the airbags is just great. Fixed all these issues, but we're still struggling with the 6850 CVM.

cheers

Alan

[Geoff and Pam Ward]

G'day Geoff

We ended up fitting Air Bag Man HP airbags to the rear. Pump them to 35-40 psi. This definitely stopped the front to rear rocking we had, which was enough to make you seasick! I stopped looking at a GVM upgrade as all of the ones I looked at didn't increase the CVM (Combined vehicle Mass) which is still limited to 6850kg with or without a GVM. Is there was a way to increase the CVM I would definitely be in!

The towing with the airbags is just great. Fixed all these issues, but we're still struggling with the 6850 CVM.

cheers

Alan

[Geoff and Pam Ward]

Hi Alan

I think that the GCM issue has been settled for the LC 200 - Toyota does not specify a GCM figure for that vehicle. I think it's also a pity that someone can't challenge the authorities on their GCM nonsense. What can it be afterall than the sum of the legal GVM of each vehicle. If the manufacturer were to specify a GCM for a re-rated tow vehicle, I bet it would just be to sum of the two.

Regards

Geoff

[John and Tina]

Hi Bill

I took delivery of our Kedron ATV in September and had air bags fitted from ARB prior to receiving the van. We had considerable sag with our previous caravan which was 800 Klg lighter than the Kedron.

Being a person that believed air bags were a waste of money, I was pleasantly surprised to see the difference they have made at keeping the back end of our 100 series Landcruiser level. We run our air bags between 20 to 30 psi when towing and around 8 psi when not towing.

Everyone of course has differing opinions however if and when we change our 100 series the first thing I will do to my new vehicle is install air bags.

Kind Regards

John

[Geoff and Pam Ward]

Alan

Just a further follow up on this, Lovells Suspension have obtained approval to do a GCM upgrade combined with a towing upgrade to 4 tonne.   I'm not sure what the GCM goes up to but it's bound to be over 7 tonne.  The only problem is, Lovells' want $7,000+ for the upgrade which only involves a change of springs, shocks and towing hitch.  This upgrade is available whether or not the LC200 is new and is apparently based on the back of the fact that, in the US, the same vehicle has a towing capacity of 4 tonne.  It was apparently Toyota Australia's decision to down-rate it to 3.5 tonne.  So I will expect to see an upgrade by Toyota sooner or later to keep ahead of its competition.