Towing from Adelaide from Cairns

XR6_661 · 23-01-2009, 06:51 PM

Ok, my sister and old boy are looking at towing close to 2T of stuff up with them (including trailer). And are looking to use a VX Commodore Station Wagon, auto.

I doubt the cars ability to do it...Am I right?

Advice guys please!

5L · 23-01-2009, 06:54 PM

with a decent transcooler i see no problem.

sgt_doofey · 23-01-2009, 08:28 PM

What's the braked towing capacity of a VX? It'd be less than two tonnes wouldn't it?

XR Martin · 23-01-2009, 08:35 PM

Tow limit is 2100kg on Commodores, with the relevant towbar.

Swordsman88 · 23-01-2009, 08:39 PM

As noted, you would need a trans cooler and woudl want to take it easy but in theory no probs. To be honest though i don't think cars should tow more than their own weight (1.8 tonnes or so in this case), and the commie in particular with its trailing arm IRS will be on the ground with 2 tonnes behind it.

It is also well known that commodores (not sure if fixed by VX) auto get very hot when towing, worse than BTRs, so as i said, take it easy. I'd be looking at another way to be honest.....

EDIT: just saw its an wagon. Assuming they load that space up too with stuff, then the engine will be struggling badly (v6 only has 302 nm or something)....

sossy · 23-01-2009, 10:41 PM

Been doing a bit of towing with a VX recently, and they do tend to overheat. Also, after towing approx 1200kgs over a few trips , the gearbox and diff have not been the same. A bit disappointing really, especially after having many years towing the same caravan behind magnas with no dramas

Getting an FG in two weeks, so looking forward to that!!

**cs123** · 23-01-2009, 11:51 PM

I take it the trailer has a braking system installed and the drivers are familiar with correct operation.

That would be more important to me then engine/trans

FrogInASock · 24-01-2009, 06:51 PM

Sorry if this is telling you "how to suck eggs"!

1. ENSURE that it's actually LEGAL in all states that they will be driving in to tow that heavy a load. Constable Plod can and will stop them just as quick as a breakdown.

2. Have a transmission cooler fitted. This should be fitted to any car that's towing anything bigger than a 6x4 box trailer, in my opinion. Cheap insurance.

3. Get the car serviced before they go. Not the very week before, about 500+km before. That way anything that will break initially will break before they leave and they can take it back to the mechanic and ask WTF.

4. Ensure that the drivers/trailer loaders know what they are doing. No good putting all the load in the trailer drawbar. It's common sense, but I've seen some pretty scarily loaded trailers/caravans, and I'll bet you have too.

5. Suggest that they drive in 3, not D (lock out 4th gear) for such a heavy load. Less strain on the gearbox. This works for manuals too (some 4WD's have fragile 5th gears and it's strongly recommended not to use 5th when towing *cough, Patrol, cough*).

6. Drive slow. They will use much less fuel at 90km/h than at 100km/h (I "believe" that it's not legal to tow such a heavy load at 110 when the road says this speed, happy to be corrected on this) and for such a long distance, the time lost isn't that much.

mik · 25-01-2009, 12:18 AM

5. Suggest that they drive in 3, not D (lock out 4th gear) for such a heavy load. Less strain on the gearbox. This works for manuals too (some 4WD's have fragile 5th gears and it's strongly recommended not to use 5th when towing *cough, Patrol, cough*).
fully agree on that FrogInASock, i also found the fuel economy better in direct(3rd gear) than over drive , i was told there are less clutches on overdrive gear (auto trans) and therefor better for auto to tow in 3rd.

Unco · 25-01-2009, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FrogInASock

5. Suggest that they drive in 3, not D (lock out 4th gear) for such a heavy load. Less strain on the gearbox. This works for manuals too (some 4WD's have fragile 5th gears and it's strongly recommended not to use 5th when towing *cough, Patrol, cough*).

that's a really good tip there. one of the reasons it is recommended to do this is to stop your auto trans fluid from overheating. when towing such a heavy load the auto fluid can overheat to the point that it will start gushing out the top of the dipstick tube and if your transmission doesn't have one of these, the next easiest point of exit would be your transmission seals.

no point trying to save a couple of bucks on fuel by putting it in D when it can cost you thousands $$$ in transmission repairs.

leave it in 3.

woodsy109 · 25-01-2009, 08:48 AM

I agree on using 3rd for towing. My EL overheated in 4th when towing a large load however I stopped straight away and let it cool down before going on in 3rd. Fuel is a killer though and that sort of distance it would be almost worthwhile getting a removalist to do it. I think I used about 18L/100km while towing in 3rd at 90km/hr.

FrogInASock · 25-01-2009, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by woodsy109

I think I used about 18L/100km while towing in 3rd at 90km/hr.

25l/100km of LPG in a 3.5 litre Pajero towing a 7x4 cage with a large fridge and 3 seat lounge standing up, single seat in the cage, another seat and a front loading washing machine in the Paj, from Wollongong NSW to Adelaide last October. That HURT!

And it didn't matter what bloody gear I used! Next time I'll use a removalist too.

Unco · 26-01-2009, 07:35 PM

30L/100Km on premium towing this from Wondai to Brisbane yesterday...

WizBang · 26-01-2009, 08:02 PM

Ask anyone that tows horse floats and race cars (I do both ) and they will tell you Commodores don't like to tow unlike the Falcons .
We did look at a Commodore ute and found that they can only tow/carry 1700 kgs max .Sure you see people tow more ,but these cars don't last .
I would pay to have most of the stuff transported and only carry what they really need as it will be cheaper in the long run as it might do it ,but how long do they want to keep the car for and the the ride will be heaps nicer too as it is a long trip in it self let alone towing all that weight.

We have found it cheaper to put the race cars on a truck and just tow our gear on long runs as petro as I use 18L/100 kays with the race car or float on the ute over 14.5L/100 kays with a box trailer and 11.7L/100kays with out the trailer and just tows and other stuff in the back .Work that out on a 3,000 kay trip and it only cost $1,200 return to have the race car on the truck .

groops · 26-01-2009, 08:26 PM

According to towing laws of the road -

294–2 NSW rule: towing by vehicles under 4.5 tonnes

(cf RRR, cl 49)

(1) A driver must not drive a motor vehicle (the towing vehicle) that has a motor vehicle, trailer or other vehicle attached to it for the purpose of being towed (the towed vehicle), if the laden weight of the towed vehicle exceeds:
(a) the capacity of the towing attachment fitted to the towing vehicle, or
(b) the maximum laden weight for the towed vehicle.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units.

taken from http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/vi...79+2008+fn+0+N

That to me says that you can have whatever tow bar that the Manufacturer will fit. I know I looked into getting a bigger towbar for my Fairmont, but Ford won't fit anything bigger than a 2.3T and Hayman Rees will not fit any bigger than that either. It's a pain cause I need to tow a 2.8T Generator a few times a year and have to convince my boss to lend me his wife's Prado...I'd rather just be able to tow it then and there....

I can't account for the laws of other states....

Mike

kempster1 · 26-01-2009, 08:32 PM

Pack the trailer up and talk with some trucking companies about the price to back load the trailer up there for you..

Unco · 26-01-2009, 08:37 PM

what's the maximum laden weight of your Fairmont? you can't tow anything heavier than that. that's what the NSW law says. just making sure we're on the right page.

bennyk351 · 27-01-2009, 06:17 PM

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:
Originally Posted by woodsy109
I think I used about 18L/100km while towing in 3rd at 90km/hr.

25l/100km of LPG in a 3.5 litre Pajero towing a 7x4 cage with a large fridge and 3 seat lounge standing up, single seat in the cage, another seat and a front loading washing machine in the Paj, from Wollongong NSW to Adelaide last October. That HURT!

And it didn't matter what bloody gear I used! Next time I'll use a removalist too.
_

Which part hurt more,the price of petrol in the paj, or the fact you were moving to Adelaide,lol

Unco · 28-01-2009, 11:19 AM

from what i heard, some cars tend to use more fuel when running lpg, which would probably explain the difference between yours and woodsy109's fuel consumption figures.

there are a number of variables that need to be considered. do you trust a removalist company to take the same care when loading/transporting/unloading as you would?

obviously time/cost is also going to be an issue and you would need to consider that too... is it worth your while doing it yourself, or would it be easier to spend an extra few bucks and have a dedicated transport company take care of it.

but maybe we've all gotten sidetracked. the question was, can a VX Commo tow a 2T load.

i think the answer is that as long as you're sticking by the laws of each state that will be crossed and that common sense is used when driving while towing such a heavy load, then it should be ok. a transmission cooler would be a major plus and sticking to 3 instead of D would also help.