2014 Toyota Prado GXL

[Nathan17]

G’Day,

I thought I’d share my tow vehicle to be (just ordered a Starcraft 17.58-3 OB for delivery February 2018).

I bought my 2014 Toyota Prado GXL stock as a rock a few months back and had a some fun upgrading a few things to make it look/drive a little better.

List of mod’s include:

ARB Summit Bullbar
ARB OME 2” Suspension
Airbag Man rear suspension airbags
17” CSA Raptors alloys wheels
265/70 R17 BFG All Terrians
Rhino Roof Rack Platform
ARW Side Awning
Korr Lighting 22” Dual Row light bar
icom 80 channel UHF
Custom sized Drifta dual drawer system
Safari Snorkel
Road safe Front rated recovery points
Onboard ARB Single Compressor (under bonnet)
Redarc Dual Battery system (BCDC 1225D)
Redarc Tow Pro Elite

Its been a great car so far, both on road and off road. Looking forward to testing it out with the new van soon.

 

[rags]

Hi Nathan, Prado looks great, I have a similar 2015 Prado ( last of 3 ltr) GX but in "universal" white with similar set up.
I would be interested in what measurement from ground to top of rhino rack you have with the 70 series tyres as I'm ready to change tyres and was looking at the BFGs but not sure if I can afford the additional height of the 70 series tyre as I'm only have about 40mm spare in the garage door height.
Also where is the compressor located under bonnet?

Not sure of the weight of your van but our Prado tows the 12ft van easily but it only ways 1500kg!

 

[Nathan17]

Hi Nathan, Prado looks great, I have a similar 2015 Prado ( last of 3 ltr) GX but in "universal" white with similar set up.
I would be interested in what measurement from ground to top of rhino rack you have with the 70 series tyres as I'm ready to change tyres and was looking at the BFGs but not sure if I can afford the additional height of the 70 series tyre as I'm only have about 40mm spare in the garage door height.
Also where is the compressor located under bonnet?

Not sure of the weight of your van but our Prado tows the 12ft van easily but it only ways 1500kg!

Hi rags,

I'll get back to you on the roof rack measurement, the better half has taken the car for a weekend trip.

In terms of the air compressor, I had it installed behind the air filter assembly in the top left corner of the engine bay. It sits nice a and low and very easy to access. I had it installed by a 4WD shop in Perth, so not sure how difficult it was to fit. Again, when I have the car back on Tuesday I'll take a couple of pic's and put them up.

 

[bigcol]

ohhhh nice..........................

hey @The Goodwins another black one like yours mate

 

[Brougham]

Nice. I've got a 2013 Altitude which tows our 17-56.2 OB Expanda no dramas at all.
Averaged 14L/100k last weekend up and down some fairly hilly roads.

 

[Nathan17]

Nice. I've got a 2013 Altitude which tows our 17-56.2 OB Expanda no dramas at all.
Averaged 14L/100k last weekend up and down some fairly hilly roads.

Nice setup. You have to be happy with that fuel average. Is your Prado relatively stock to achieve those figures? What sort of speeds do you sit at on the highway when towing?

 

[Nathan17]

Hi Nathan, Prado looks great, I have a similar 2015 Prado ( last of 3 ltr) GX but in "universal" white with similar set up.
I would be interested in what measurement from ground to top of rhino rack you have with the 70 series tyres as I'm ready to change tyres and was looking at the BFGs but not sure if I can afford the additional height of the 70 series tyre as I'm only have about 40mm spare in the garage door height.
Also where is the compressor located under bonnet?

Not sure of the weight of your van but our Prado tows the 12ft van easily but it only ways 1500kg!

Hi rags,

I have taken that measurement from my roof rack. The rear of the rack (slightly higher) is currently sitting at about 1950mm. This is taken with only an empty 60L Engel in the rear and the airbags were deflated to 5PSI, so should be a reasonably accurate measurement. The tyres sit at about 38 PSI for road use.

Also, I attached a few photo’s of the engine bay. The air compressor in mounted the rear left corner behind the air box. In the rear right hand corner is all the electrical work associated with the dual battery system. The small hole cut in the front plastic piece of the engine bay is a viewing window as the Redarc BCDC charger is mounted in front of the radiator, behind the grill.

Hope this clarifies a few things.

 

[Brougham]

Nice setup. You have to be happy with that fuel average. Is your Prado relatively stock to achieve those figures? What sort of speeds do you sit at on the highway when towing?

At the moment she’s stock engine wise. Got ARB bull bar, ARB suspension & lift, winch, pioneer platform and Cooper AT3’s fitted. Best economy is about 95km I find. 100-105 drops it to about 16-18l/100.

Was just about to put on a Taipan exhaust and get it remapped which takes it to about 600nm of torque. But now contemplating upgrading to a new 2018 Prado as it’s got the 3T towing and my Expanda is on the limit of the current 2.5t.

 

[rags]

Thanks Nathan, that is close to what I'm measuring at now (1940mm ) but I have the rhino feet rather than a backbone mount.
The compressor mount looks good as does the wiring setup. My issue is I have my isolator near the spot of compressor and intention of mounting the 2nd fuel filter kit in the left corner.