Tow vehicle

G'day Guys, I towed my BT18 with my 96 Defender with 90kw and 270Nm of torque which is not too far away from your vehicle's power specs. To be brutally honest it will not do the job very well at all. On some of the hills in the 100kph zone near the Ettomogah Pub (sp) and at Forest Glen near BTi I was down to 70 kph in third gear and had two feet on the go pedal. After two short weekend trips I resolved to not tow like that again with the BT. The BT sat for quite some months until effie arrived. I laboured long and hard between the Cruiser and the F250 with both being great in their particular area of where they shine. Your BT will weigh somewhere around 3300kg in running trim and that is a big ask of a naturally aspirated engine with those meagre power figures by today's standard. Maybe try to hook up some decent towed weight and give it a trial run ? As far as the inverter is concerned if you fit one you have to realise its limitation with regards battery capacity and the ability to replace the current used. An 1800W inverter will consume 200 amp while running at max. That will take a 3 battery bank to only 33% capacity (very low voltage output at this stage) in one hour. They have to be used sensibly with regard to the power they consume. To defrost something or boil a cup of water in the microwave ....or boil the kettle in 2-3 mins ..or run a hairdryer for 10 mins ..fine ! But try to cook a chook in the microwave for 45 mins and you will drain batteries very quickly. Fit one ...but then you have it but realise its limitations. It certainly is not like the 240v outlet at home ...being unlimited in supply !! With regard to the settee style ...I liked the cafe seating (we have "L" shape) and thought this was the ducks guts ...especially sitting 6 at one recently for a meal (two small seats in the BT hallway). But .... as it was pointed out to me by a very astute lady who has ordered her BT you cant stretch out along a seat and watch TV or read a book. You could lie on the bed to do this but we've found ourselves stretching out on the long side of the "L" shape with our legs and leaning back against the seat back. Very comfortable for a drink and a read at the same time ! Personal choice I suppose .... Others with cafe style would be better to answer about the long term pros and cons ? Regards Anthony Explore this Great Land ...Do it Easy ...Tow a Bushtracker

Hi Richard and Nina, Just my 2c worth about the cafe style dinette. The reason we chose it for our van (due for pickup on September 2nd) is that we figure most of the time there will only be the 2 of us and we didn't want to build our van with "maybe we will have visitors" and if there are visitors we can fit indoors with a squeeze or buffet style or out in the annexe. We also love playing board and card games and to sit at an L-shape, like we have on our table here in London because one side is against the wall, is quite uncomfortable. I would imagine it could also a little easier to get in and out of a cafe style dinette and I think it would take up less room in the van (but not sure on that one). Anyway, those are our thoughts on it. The Babe 9 sleeps to go

G,day, I tow our 18ft BT with a 93 troopy, big difference is that mine has 160kw,373nm petrol motor. The vehicle tows well stabilty wise, so i'd say yours would too, BUT- I would definately not like to go much heavier with my current vehicle's powerplant. I'm sure it would be possible to tow your new van with your current vehicle-as long as you weren't in a hurry and don't mind having large numbers of other vehicles following you.(Can get uncomfortable and dangerous with some of the suicidal overtaking manouvers many drivers like to make) A turbo would be huge improvement with dozens of companys able to do this for you. My preferance would be for a 6.5chev diesel (turbo or non) conversion. Huge torque at low revs, reasonable power and hugely improved fuel economy. Sounds like an ad? Well i'm investigating this option for my own vehicle and have come up with very few negatives. May or may not suit you but definately worth considering. Hope this is some help. One other thing. Are you aware that your vehicle has 2500kg towing and 120kg ball weight capacity, much lower than wieght than 20ft BT. I have this problem myself but am in the process of rectifying this, either with toyotas help or not. BT has given me names of engineers that will upgrade to 3500kg. Shouldn't be to hard as EXACT same vehicle afew years newer has 3500kg tow and 350kg ball capacity. If you've made any enquiries into this topic I'd like to hear of any solutions you may have come up with. Seems stupid to have to go to engineer when toyota could rectify with stroke of a pen as other manufacturers have. Regards Matt

Hi Richard and Nina,

We chose the cafe style seating because the table
with the other option was too small. I like to use my computer and do
paper work and it's good to spread out and leave plenty of room for Jan. We
can still sit with a cushion at our backs and watch TV. As for reading,we
like to do our reading in bed. So everybody is different and you have
to think about how you are going to use your interior layout.
Regarding the inverter, you have to decide what you want to use it
for. We have a small, portable inexpensive 150 W pure sine wave
inverter which operates our TV and computer; charges CDMA and
satellite phones, and video camera. I had a couple of 12 volt outlets
installed in convenient locations and just plug it in. If you must go bush
and still want microwaves, hairdryers and so on, then get a big inverter
installed but you run the risk of drawing your batteries down and shortening
their life.

hope this helps,
John

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To: Bushtracker Owners
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Sent: Tuesday, July 20, 2004 2:30
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Subject: Tow vehicle





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From: RichardandNina


<LABEL id=HbSession
SessionId="601287011"></LABEL>
We are expecting delivery of our 20' BT in November and are
a little concerned at the towing ability of our 75 Series 1992
diesel Troopie.
As it has travelled 150,000km we propose having the
injectors and general fuel system serviced. The vehicle is
in excellent condition and standard in every regard apart from
some minor suspension modifications. It is not fitted with
a turbo.
Has anyone experience of this type of vehicle's towing
capabilities?
We are also wondering if an inverter is desirable and what
others think of cafe style
seating.
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