Towing with HZJ105r

Hi Peter,
have recently sold my HZJ105R with after market turbo, HD coils, foam cell shocks and airbags. Mainly used for offroad and outback touring towing a camper trailer of approx 1.5Tonne. It coped with the trailer ok but not sure how it will go with 3.5 t on the back plus all the gear inside.
On trips of approx 10,000km, partly dirt and partly bitumen, I averaged 18.5 l/100km. Around town with no trailer about 15-16l/100km. Heavy going in sand, low range etc. sometimes 25-27l/100km.
I purchased a Lexus LX470 as a replacement and recently completed 9,000km towing the camper trailer.(about 75% bitumen and 25%dirt) The average fuel consumption for the trip was 22l/100km.
Trust this info helps.

Hi Peter, can't help much with the mod's required.
However, this thought crossed my mind.
Will you have a petrol tanker on standby every, say 100km.
Just joking of cause but I do imagine you will be chewing the fuel pulling that rig.
Good luck and Cheers

Peter .

First thoughts after reading your blog Was your HZJ105r will be painfully slow , you wont get out of 4th , 5th gear will not take the weight and on any decent climb Second gear will be you best friend .

Good luck lol

Cheers

Peter - be sensible - instead of getting this new block of flats - get a new wife.

Your going to need a bigger radiator straight up.
Turboed and towing a massive weight.
i would also budget in the near future for a h150 gearbox, as they are built alot stronger.

Ideally youd put in a factory turbo diesel 1hdt , 1hdft or the pick of them all 1HDFTE if budgets allowed.

Look at trying to do a brake upgrade by running bigger calipers.
If your towing full time doing the big lap it would be a very prudent investment.

But the serious question that must be asked is whats in the kitty budger to do any mods

how much can you spare to get the tow vehicle up to scratch
pulling that weight.

Id be inclined to sell it and get the td 100series straight up.
Youll get all your outlay back very quickly.
With the motor , it will handle towing this weight for years without any stress or overheating.
You will actually able to do the legal speed limit, be better on fuel.
And you wont need a 15km runnup to overtake another vehicle.

A nicer interior.
More comfortable

You would never regret it

Strewth Pate, that's a monster of a van. What's the towball weight of the juggernaut?

I have a 105 turbo intercooled auto GXL modified as required and I would not contemplate towing a 31ft brick. The 1HZ were not made for it. Will be painfully slow and EGTs up the hills will go through the roof, if you pull at any reasonable speed.
I don’t know what the GCM is for a 105 Series, but am thinking you will be close to exceeding it with 3.2 to 3.5 T on the back.

Waste of time trying to make the HZJ105r into a vehicle capable of towing a 31 foot monstrosity. Tell your wife that a 25 foot 2 .5 tonne van is the maximum the vehicle will tow (close to the truth anyway). Her ego has to take a hit and get a van a bit more realistic. Otherwise tell her you can get the 31 foot tri-axle but you,ll also need a Dodge Ram at $150,000 to pull it. I had a 1hz with after market turbo, bigger radiator, strengthed gear box and all the rest of the goodies to make it a good tow vehicle. It was but only up to 2.5 tonne. After that it was too slow, too thirsty and too bloody big!. Good luck....but please get a medium sized rig for a more relaxing trip/adventure.

Peter, you need a truck to tow a 31 foot van. As an earthmoving contractor in a previous life, who has spent half his life in vans, and owned multiple 'vans up to 40 feet long, you are looking at a 'van that is virtually a mobile house.

These big rigs are essentially designed for minimal movement and a lot of "on-site living" operations' for extended periods. We operated in big vans as a family, with sometimes up to 6 people in a van.

Some of the 'vans I owned even had a separate tri axle chassis that was withdrawn from under the 'van after it was lifted, and the 'van was then lowered onto pads for long-term positioning.
Those 'vans were often only moved every few months, sometimes they stayed in position for years.

Caravans over 30 feet are not a good regular towing proposition, they are costly to tow and move regularly, they are awkward to park, they incur dislike by caravan park owners, who will often set you up in a location well away from the main caravan area, and they're neatly referred to in the old Yank saying, "give me 40 acres, and I'll turn this rig around!"

I'd suggest you guide the wife towards the features in a smaller van, and open her eyes to the fact that she doesn't need a van the size of a house - caravan living is all about compactness - and she doesn't have as much area to keep clean!

Cheers, Ron.

Put very simply, the gearbox is not up to the job and never tow in 5th with it. It will give up. It is a well documented weakness. You need the H151 box as fitted to the utes and troopies.