RV MAIL
LETTERS FROM THE ROAD
WHICH VEHICLE?
I enjoy your magazine and very soon will be joining
the grey nomads looking around our wonderful
country. I am starting from scratch and need to
buy both a vehicle and van.
I want a wagon that can go offroad – not mountain
goat country, but I don’t want to have to worry
about ground clearance, etc.
From various articles, the Land Cruiser 200 Series
is the tow vehicle to have but it only has a 610kg
payload, and by the time you deduct the van’s ball
weight, people in the vehicle, and the fuel, there is
little payload left to use. Other vehicles such as the
Touareg (new model in 2019 coming), Jeep Grand
Cherokee and Discovery all have better payload
calculations but don't appear to have the towing
credentials as the Land Cruiser.
(TD6 is 3500kg/350kg) but offer a good payload
and GCM (827kg and 6650kg respectively).
Finally, the VW Touareg 3.0 TDI offers decent
economy and towing performance, but VW will not
fit an electronic brake controller to press vehicles,
so our towing experience is limited to a 1700kg
European van with 110kg towball mass. Also
note this vehicle has a 280kg maximum towball
mass, not 350kg (maximum towing capacity is still
3500kg). It has a 731kg payload and 6390kg GCM.
However, none of the above have Toyota's service
coverage in the country. – Ed
How do these vehicles (diesel) compare?
Warren Marriott Via email
Via email
The Grand Cherokee 3.0 CRD is a very good
heavy-duty tow vehicle. It is very stable, offering
good performance and economy. Note that this
model has had numerous recalls. Yet many, many
caravanners have bought a Grand Cherokee and
have emailed us vouching for its reliability. It has a
668kg payload and a 6090kg GCM.
The LandRover Discovery 3.0 TD6 also offers good
economy, very good performance, stability and
has clever towing aids such as hitch assist. The TD4
and SD4 only have 3000kg/300kg towing capacity
ON THE LEVEL
It is instilled in us nomads that the car and van should
be as level as possible when towing. I noticed in
issue 20, the photo of the Coromal hitched to the
Isuzu MUX looks far from level.
Just an observation. But if I am right, I think that
you guys should be showing the correct setup.
Chris Schoneweiss
Via email
Thanks for your email, Chris. To us, the setup looks
pretty level. We’ve published an image from that
review here – what do other readers think? – Ed
If you have an opinion or thought about the RV lifestyle, or about this digital
magazine, we’d like to hear it! Email your feedback to info@gorv.com.au
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