Feedback ONLY from those who upgraded the GVM on LC200

G'day Mark C9,

I'm on my second LC200 with an ARB upgrade, GVM upgraded to 3845kg and giving a lift of about 40mm. I have a heavy set of drawers plus contents permanently in the vehicle and sometimes tow an off-road camper with a towball load of between 250 and 300kg (depending on the state of the onboard water tanks). However I only have a second battery and an alloy bar plus driving lights up front. I have removed the third row seats.
I am very happy with the set up. It is not harsh when unladen around town but copes well with the camper on the back, including on tracks such as Cape York and the Gunbarrel.

Cheers, Mark

Latest news re NSW GVM upgrades:

GVM Upgrades

Hi Mark,

ARB/OME 3,845 kg upgrade on an MY17 GX. I have draws permanently in the back carrying tools etc all the time, so pretty heavy. Also 270 Ltrs Diesel on board with long range fuel tank. 130 amp AGM battery also in the back so pretty heavy on the rear end. Steel bull bar with 12,000 lbs winch & synthetic rope on the front. Tow a 2.5 T full off road van with ball weight around 350 kgs. The ride when not towing is good, due to the weight permanently in the back. When towing, the rear end drops about 30 mms so not too bad. The rear shocks are adjustable, so I could stiffen them up to limit the rear end “droop”, but decided against it to maintain a more smoother ride. Have not had any issues with this set up. I am considering installing air bag lifters in the rear but have not yet convinced myself they are necessary. I had air bags on my last Landcruiser, a 76 Series GXL.

Macca.

Had a 2012 VDJ200 for 7 years.
When it was new I upgraded with stronger suspension (same as I've done on every other 4wd I've ever owned) and it handled fine and carried extra weight perfectly.
Then 3 years later I bought a caravan and the 240kgs of ball weight put me well over GVM.
So I got a Lovells GVM upgrade that cost just over $4000 all up. I now have springs that do exactly the same as my previous suspension but I now have a $4000 piece of paper to say I am now legal. (Lovells were very good by the way and their suspension was fine).

I just think the system is a bit ridiculous - particularly the way we have different rules for each state and you're allowed to carry an extra 500kgs with nothing more than a change of springs and shocks.

I gave up on our 200 series and replaced it with a Ram. A piece of paper will not fix a vehicle that is not up to the job.

Mark,

Go HERE for everything Landcruiser related.

Regards

You Said you are very close to max GVM. You also said most Landcruisers seem to be overloaded,
Therefore I think it was a valid reply to suggest you look at a different vehicle, one that was more suited to the task.

Mark C9,

It would appear from your abrupt replies that you have not had much experience with general forums. No matter what you ask, you will get answers that are on the peripheral of the subject matter. You asked about GVM upgrades, pretty much all of the responses had something to do with GVM’s. Most of the responses were in fact about people’s experience with LC200’s and upgrades, including those related to other vehicles, as those people advised that in their experience, a GVM upgrade to an LC200 was not worth it, so they chose another vehicle. When you ask for people’s advice or experience, if you don’t like the answer, it is not their fault. Berating them for their response is not going to get you very far on any forum. Have you had a chance to look at the LCOOL forum?

Macca.

Hi

I have a 2013 GX 200. Tow a 2.7T off road van and needed to get the weight in the van down so I took a lot of stuff off it and need to carry the van tyre on the GX, by which time it would have been overloaded.

Went for an upgraded suspension with Ultimate Suspension in Minto NSW. They used a Lovells kit which took the GVM to 3800kg. I also got an upgrade on the front brake discs to DVA discs - no point carrying extra weight if you burn out your discs going down the mountain. Total cost with the discs was $5000, including change of registration details and a testing programme out at Eastern Creek racecourse. Seems more expensive than the other offerings but you get what you pay for.

It is my third Ultimate Suspension. I bought my first one in 1984, and another in 2016 for a Prado. The GX upgrade was done late last year. I am very happy with the suspension. It handles much better when unloaded and when towing it is very stable. Is it harsher? Hard to say, maybe a little, not an issue. But the vehicle's handling is top notch now, both with the van on the back, and when not towing. I feel very comfortable going down the highway, and off the highway as well.

Can't speak highly enough of the Ken and his people at Ultimate Suspension. I "ummed and ahhed" for a while, looking at Pedders, ARB, OME, Durashock and all the other usual offerings, however, none of the others that I came across took as much time as Ken to really understand my needs and to make sure that the spring/shock selection was well suited to them.