Is it possible to increase the towing capacity of our 91 GQ patrol (4.2 Diesel ) to be able to tow our new caravan with a tare weight of 2880kg.Our GQ wagon is in showroom condition with 285,000 k on the clock and we are hoping we can improve the capacity so we can keep it.
Check out patrol4x4.com there's a wealth of knowledge there.
A quick search there suggests your brakes will be the biggest hassle and even then you'll only get up to 2500kg.
RT
My GQ TD 42 with Denco turbo has a GCM of 5300 and a GVM of 2800 leaving you with towing capacity of 2500. Thats all there is available so you either need a smaller van or a different tow car.
There are threads on the Nissan Patrol site too as Pixie Au has already mentioned
One such post in the Y60 section states
"According to the w/shop manual 750kg unbraked & 2500kg braked. But December 92 on it says 2800kg braked for the manual & 2500kg braked for all other models & 750kg unbraked. Not sure why dec 92 on can tow 300kg more?
Bigger brakes maybe? "
This wont help you though, sorry as your still too heavy
Cheers
Chimo
What could go wrong.......................
Originally Posted by Chimo
twin piston brakes v single piston I believe
Never knew that, so if one fitted twin piston brakes to the earlier GQs would that gain an extra 300Kgs too? Would they fit?
C
C
What could go wrong.......................
You can get the vehicle engineered and blue plated. One of my old man's mates has a Navara plated for 4T for a big horse float/camper combo 5th wheeler they tow around to competitions.
They had extra bracing added to the rear chassis, airbag suspension, bigger brakes fitted and the trailer brakes are air with failsafe.
Not cheap, but can be done.
Ben.
Can you find out where he got it engineered and mod plated and pm me im interested on doing it to my 80
Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks ben for your post.I would like to find out where the old mans mate had this work done.Was he happy with the result
I'll chase him up. He's working down in Bogan's Gate in western NSW ATM, so he is hard to get a hold of. He will be home for Christmas though, so you may need to wait a couple of weeks for the info.
Ben.
Forgot to add guys, you will not be able to do this (up you vehicle to 4T) on a vehicle with a tow ball. You have to go to a 5th wheel, which means unless you have a ute, you are out of the running.
Give ARB and some other 4WD mod companies a call as they have bolt on kits for vehicles. THey have a 3,800KG GVM upgrade kit for the LC200.
Ben.
OK.
Creative Conversions did the mods and he didn't know the cost off the top of his head, but knew it was over $15K with a crap load of jumping through hoops and paperwork.
Because it is a 5th wheeler, a good chunk of the load is actually carried by the vehicle directly over the rear axle. The vehicle GVM was upped to 4.5T by adding a lazy axle and replacing the original drive axle with a HD one. The chassis was also strengthened, airbags fitted and a CPE (Chartered Professional Engineer) signed of to get the mod plate for the increased GCM and GVM capacities.
He also said he thinks the lazy axle loophole has been closed recently to stop people doing this. You can still up the GVM, but not the GCM. His mate was spewing because the 3L TDV6 came out about 6 months after he had the mods done - he has the 2.5L 4 cylinder TDi. The engine has been blue printed as well to up the torque and horsepower and extra cooling added to the auto gearbox. The GCM take into account the suspension, engine power, brakes, cooling for the engine and gearbox, etc, etc.
Whilst he is happy with the rig he has now, he said if he had his time again (with hindsight being 20/20), he would get something like an F250, Silverado or similar and just be done with it.
Ben.
I have a 4.2 GU patrol wagon that has been blue plated to tow 4100 kg. this was done by a local engineer about 2 yrs ago but I understand this loophole is now closed. The comment about a bigger tow vehicle such as an f250 is spot on though and I have since bought one so at some point the patrol will have to go.
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