RV FEATURE
WILD ABOUT WILDTRAK?
Let's look at a final example. The Ford Ranger
Wildtrak is one of the most popular dual cab utes
on the market for towing. Its kerb mass is 2246kg
and the GVM is 3200kg, giving it a massive cargo
capacity of 954kg. Put 350kg on the towball and
we have 604kg remaining.
This sounds extremely impressive and way ahead
of the Land Cruiser and Patrol. Now, before you
rush out and buy one, the Ranger has a GCM of
just 6000kg.
“UNLESS YOU DITCH SOME
WEIGHT, YOU'LL NEED TO TAKE
DRASTIC MEASURES.”
Have you considered how the transfer
of weight onto your tow vehicle affects
its cargo-carrying capacity?
A caravan with 350kg on the towball will likely
weigh around 3500kg. So take away the trailer
weight and the kerb mass of the Ranger from the
GCM and you're left with just 254kg of useable
cargo capacity. Add the towbar assembly and
your down to around 234kg.
In other words, that high GVM is pretty much
meaningless when it comes to towing heavy loads.
It’s an issue that affects most of the popular dual
cab utes on the market.
THE FIX
Obviously, not everyone is towing such heavy
loads but many are. The vast majority of these
people would probably be blissfully unaware that
they are illegal, unsafe and potentially voiding
their new-car warranty.
Unless you ditch some of the weight you're
towing or carrying, you'll need to take some fairly
drastic measures to fix the problem. In the case
of the Land Cruiser, you can purchase a GVM
upgrade which, depending on which kit you buy,
will increase the GVM by 450kg to 3800kg.
One of the safety checks run by Everything
Caravan and Camping and the Victorian
Caravan Industry Association.
The beauty of the Cruiser is that its GCM is
calculated by adding the GVM to the maximum
towing capacity. However, like with all vehicles,
if you load it to its maximum GVM and attached
a trailer, you will immediately exceed the GVM by
the weight of the towball download.
gorv.com.au
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