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200 series landcruiser GVM upgrade


John and Tina

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Attached is a photo of my 200 Series after a 3800 GVM upgrade from Lovells.  I was left with no option but to have the upgrade carried out after a visit to the Weigh Bridge stated the weight of the vehicle at 3220 klg without caravan attached and other items carried in the car. The thought of changing to a GMC of F 250 did cross my mind however this was not practical for my every day use around town because of their bulk size. Had a trial run last weekend with the caravan in tow and handled perfectly not that the 200 series did not cope well before the upgrade. I am now looking forward to our departure in early June for a 3 months break.WP_20160330_17_09_01_Pro.jpg 

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I've done this upgrade as well and it works well.

 

Unfortunately, can't do it on the new upgraded 200 Series and Toyota now have a GCM as well and any increase you make to the GVM comes off the towing capacity. So if you use all of the 3.8 available after the Lovedlls uipgrade, your towing capacity drops to 3.0.

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When something sounds too good to be true there is always another side.  If you need a larger towing capacity vehicle to tow in excess of 3.5 tonne then unfortunately you have only one way to go and that is the American trucks.

 

Cheers

 

Merv

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I heard through the grape vine and just now spoke to them ,that Lovelles now can upgrade your 200 series to, 4000kgs ! Towing capacity !

Wish that would be possible on our 100 series 

John 

 

Edited by John and Jo
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Hi John

 

Sadley the 100 series Landcruiser is not in this equation. Being a 200 series owner, with a Lovell's GVM upgrade, I can hardly wait for the towing capacity to be upgraded.

 

I don't want to tow 4000kg, I just want the buffer zone of 100 or so. I also realise that I'll have to get the Kedron re-plated to 4000kg ATM, and have an annual inspection, but I'm happy to do that.

 

It's that little safety margin I want.

 

Cheers

 

Peter

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Hi Peter

 

Just check with Lovells, there seems to be a question of when increasing your GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) on the tug to 4000kgs  does this in fact then lower your towing capacity?  I have spoken to a couple of guys that I used to work with in Vehicle Safety Testing and they have questioned the validity of whether or not the towing weight is increased with this upgrade. their opinion is the opposite.  Their line of thought is that it actually lowers the towing capacity as mentioned in a previous post.    Food for thought...I would be doing a little more digging in relation to this question.  There is definitely a lot of confusion when it comes to GVM and GCM on the Toyota 200 Series (new).  When you increase your GVM this only applies to the carrying capacity of the vehicle within the vehicle including all accessories, fuel etc and tow ball weight, load capacity not towing capacity.  GCM is the the gross combination mass, the total weight of the vehicle and what is being towed this what has to be increased and to simply increase your GVM does not necessarily mean an increase of your GCM, confused yet...welcome to the club with a lot of others.

 

 

Cheers

 

Merv

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Thanks John

 

That is GCM gross combined mass, combination of vehicle and towed component.  Land Cruiser GVM is standard 3350kgs so it will be interesting to see just what they are claiming to be increasing with the combination of heavier coils/shockers etc.

 

Merv

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My apologies.  Should have read 7300 GCM. Was supposed to be released in Feb/Mar. Is now in final stages of testing. What will be involved or cost is unknown at this stage

Regards

John

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Hi Merv

 

Thank you for your thoughts on this ever evolving subject. This discussion will probably go on until the 200 series is replaced by Toyota.

 

Prior to having the Lovell GVM upgrade to our 2011 Landcruiser, I too did a lot of research. From my

perspective, the Lovell GVM upgrade does not reduce the

towing capacity, it remains at 3500kg. Nowhere in Lovell's paperwork and their Department of Transport approval does it mention decreasing the towing capacity. My 

installation was signed off by a Queensland Transport authorised automotive engineer, who was also approved by Lovell's, and he issued a new plate reflecting the new GVM. When I took the vehicle to Queensland Transport to have to have registration details changed to reflect the increased GVM, I had to have it inspected by their inspection department to validate the installation against the Lovell's paperwork, and to insure the modification plate was installed correctly. In addition, the early 200 series did not have a specific published GCM, only the newer do.  Nowhere on my vehicle, it's paperwork or the registration is a specific GCM stated. 

 

During the Queensland Transport inspection, I asked the Senior Inspector if he could put all this in writing, and he said there was no need, because my vehicle complied with the Law and Regulations. He said that if, in the initial Federal Transport Department approval process, a reduction in towing capacity resulted, the paperwork would reflect this and an information placard would be part of the approved modification process.

 

Lovell's have Federal Transport approval for the GVM upgrade, a process they are seeking for the towing capacity upgrade. In my case, I had the upgrade done after registration, and approved in Queensland. This means, I can drive the vehicle anywhere in Australia, but can only sell it in Queensland. If I were sell it interstate I would have to have the upgrade approved in that state.  I've even had the GVM upgrade and caravan ATM noted on our insurance, no problems

 

However, all this may not be the same for other GVM upgrades, it depends how it was "engineered" and how it was approved. 

 

So, as you can see, it's a complicated process. But from our point of view, we have done everything to comply with the Law and its Regulations.

 

Cheers mate.

 

Peter

 

 

 

 

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I don't think I would like to tow 4T with the cruiser. It is a definite case of tail wagging the dog.They don't pull up 3.5t well let alone 4t and when it comes to long steep inclines, they couldn't put the skin of a rice custard with 4T.......... and yes I have tried them and learnt my lesson.

The only good thing about it is you will get a warm and fuzzy feeling of being legal, but that will be short lived when you go to pull up in a hurry and it doesn't happen. Been there and got the t shirt.

Good luck

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  • 4 years later...

Hi Pete , we have, since this post started purchased a new 200 Sahara and had both GVM and the 4 t tow kit installed by Lovells and couldn’t be happier with the vehicle. Handles very well towing and on its own. No or little body roll is felt .We also have installed torque converter and a chip .

Towing around 3.6 t we are getting around 19 lt per 100 sitting on 100 klm per hour. But around town 15 so not much different. That’s the only downside I recon .

John 

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  • 1 year later...

Hi

It's over 12 months since this thread has been contributed to, my question is.... we have purchased a new GXL 200 series and are keen to understand how the gvm upgrade affects the ride when not towing/loaded up for a trip. 

What are your experiences?

Thanks

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Hi Leeance,  still love our 200 series, and have found that driving around town is great .No body roll and very responsive. Always a pleasure to drive including when towing. We just completed a 8000 km trip up north, dusty roads so she had a birthday done professionally looks like new again . Congratulations and enjoy your new ride .

John 


 

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