Hilux Towing capacity

[DazSamFishing]

G'Day all,

I have been stressing about my hilux' towing capacity over the past few weeks... Can anyone provide me with their opinion on the following:

My new boat is still being built and will weigh just under 1.5tonne... which is within the towing capacity of my 4x2 95' hilux tray body (max 1.5tonne). How will the toyota cope towing that sort of weight and what should I expect at the ramp?

Regards,

Daz

[Kendall249]

I was towing my old boat with a 96 holden ute (manual), the old boat was just on 750kg (16ft half cab). #While generally it was fine, I did have a few scary moments on slippery ramps (Rosslyn bay ramp at low tide in particular).

[Mr__Bean]

No towing experience with the hilux but any vehicle towing to its maximum rating will have difficulty pulling up in adverse conditions.

Traction is most likely your biggest issue on the ramp, maybe ballast in the back when towing.

- Darren

[part_time]

Daz,Low tide will be a problem,4x2? You may want to upgrade!
Which boat ramps do you normally use.It will be on the limits loaded with fuel and supplies.

[BenDover]

If you get a tandem trailer with brakes you should be fine. And good tyre selection. i put 1 tone of pebble in my labourers 4x2 hilux ute. dicey as. anything over 80kph it would start to sway you off the road. But because its a 4x2 youll have rear leaf springs and you can get a helper leaf to stiffn your rear end.

[Pitsta]

Hey daz I use to tow my boat ( 1750 ) with my commodore which was rated at ( 2200 ) . Problem was that it would pull it no prob's but at 95 km & over . The boat would steer the car ! Some rather scary moments, I would be thinking about an upgrade . Purely for peace of mind

Mark

[DazSamFishing]

Thanks for the input fellas...

I am quite concerned about travelling at higher speeds...

I will be relying on the car for about 12months... so hopefully it will hold up!

Daz

[SeaHunt]

At one and a half ton I dont think travelling at higher speeds will be an issue.
Unless you are going down a big hill.
I have a 4x4 diesel Hilux and my boat probably only weighs about half yours so there is probably not much of a comparison to be made, but out on the highway it's next to impossible to hold 100 kph on even the slightest uphil gradient. The ramp is fine with mine, but with a 2wd drive ute you might want to check how slippery the ramp is, throw some extra weight in the back and make sure the trailer is set up with a fair amout of downward force on the towball.

[DazSamFishing]

Would extending the draw bar on the trailer be a benefit?

Cheers

Daz

[Dave]

Hi Daz, I tow my 542F Signature (1.5 ton) with my 2.6l Holden Rodeo 4x2 Ute. Tows it no worries at all. So far no dramas at any of the ramps i've been to getting it out of the water.

Dave

[Homer_Jay]

I have towed my 2 tonne boat with my 2004 hilux 2wd a couple of times when needed. Surprisingly it towed it fine (the 2.7 has heaps of power). But on the ramp its a different story. You just cant get traction in those things pulling that sort of weight and if you drop the trailer off the end you will have all sorts of problems. I think you will really need to look at an upgrade pretty quickly. Oh and it wont be too kind on the clutch either!! And if you say your boat weight is about 1.5 tonne then it will end up being more by the time you load it up. It is surprising how much weight you load into these things with fuel and water and all the rest of it.

[The_Walrus]

Get a snatch strap so if the ramp looks too steep or slippery, you ute can stay on the good stuff.

I have to do that occasionally on my local ramp which is quite steep & slippery at low tide and this is with a tinny weighing no more than 400KG!!

Luc