Patrol Towball weight??

the 350 kg refers to the maximum down force applied by the trailer to the tow ball. Not the towing capacity, which is around the 3.2/3.4 Tonne.

After a certain down force , and this could be the 200kg point, you have to reduce the load in the vehicle.

Someone else with more info will carry this on!

Hi Craig
you will have to check to towbar that's been fitted to your vehicle,It should have a plate stating tow ball weight/towing capacity(not what someone thinks by looking)
It might look the same as the 350/3500 towbar you saw on the 3.0, If your towbar says 200kg down force I'm thinking your towbar is only midrange and you will either have to unload a bit or get a heavier towbar
I don't know now close a look you took of the other bar but the difference may not be apparent until you look at how its mounted onto the vehicle

With a 1,400KG trailer, you wouldn't want more than 200KG as your ball weight anyway. My understanding is that the recommended ball weight is 10% of the weight of the trailer (but not more than the maximum specification of the tow bar and vehicle).

Depending which 'expert source' you go to, this 10% ideal weight can be varied as low as 5% (but not lighter) and as high as 15%, but not heavier. This means your ideal ball weight is 140 KG, but you could operate in the range 70 KG to 210 KG (except that your bar restricts the upper limit to 200KG).

To reduce your ball weight, you need to either take weight off the draw bar, or add weight to the back of the trailer as a counter weight (or both).

Can you hang anything on the back of the trailer? If not, is there space underneath to add another water tank at the rear? Just some ideas.

My CT weight is 1,500 KG and has a ball weight of 225 KG when fully loaded, but this includes 4 fuel gerries, which I don't always fill. If I do fill them, I empty them into the tank at the earliest opportunity to progressively reduce ball weight. I'm about to add a folding boat trailer which will weigh 24KG without wheels. When I carry the trailer, I'll have to leave at least 1 (and a bit) gerries empty. I only offer this info as an example of how I manage ball weight.

You need to check the car's manual for the max designed downforce for the Patrol. This is determined by Nissan not Hayman Reece. On top of this the towbar has a rated down force of its own - in your case it is 200kg.

So lets assume the car rating is 350kg and the towbars is 200kg then you can only go to 200kg.

If the car rating is 200kg but you had a towbar rated at 350kg then you can still only go to 200kg.

Check with the manufacturer and if the car is rated higher than the 200kg of the bar then you might need a bigger bar. But by the sound of things even with your 200kg bar and your trailer fully loaded you are OK anyway.

Garry

Have a look inside your back door - there should be a placard there that says the same - go to your Nissan agent & get a replacement stick on (for 3500 kgs) - should also be able to get one for tow-bar from them (these were uprated a few years ago) ... thats what I did with a GU 4500 petrol auto wagon .

Craig
I had exactly the same problem. Have a 2003 4.2 Patrol with a Kaymar dual rear wheel carrier. The towball weight of my van is 290kgs (3000kg van). The plate on the wheel carrier (which incorporates the towing hitch) showed 3500kg and 200kg ball weight. Got on to Kaymar and they advised me that they plate on the bar is a generic plate for the lowest capacity. Because they don't know what vehice the bar is being fitted to at the time of purchase (ie 3.0 or 4.2), they go for the lowest. They posted me out a new plate for for a 4.2 which is 3500kg and 350kg ball weight. (Had exactly the same problem with my Defender and got on to Hayman Reese and they sent a new plate with upgraded figures. Give the towbar manufactures and ring and you'll probably find they are only too happy to provide a new plate at no charge
Peter