16' Series Towing with a land cruiser 200

[tony k]

Afternoon All

can anyone point me in the right direction on this one...
I've searched the net for hours but to no avail
I'm looking to upgrade my Prado to a Cruiser 200 but need to know the recommendations if i need to add a wdh and airbags or just got with airbags to tow our beloved 16ob expands?

many thanks in advance !

 

[WHHEMI]

Whats the ball weight on your van.

 

[bigcol]

I would recommend the Air Bags for sure

however, if you know someone who has a WDH, give it a try as well
a 16' wont be that big and heavy, just the way its loaded


BTW
airbags do NOT replace the need for a WDH - they are primarily used for leveling up the Tug & Van

the WDH will force the weight to the front of the Vehicle - but NOT level it

 

[Vere]

Hi,
I have a 16' Expanda. I tow it with a Jeep Grand and did not need to do anything to rear. I use a WDH as I find that it seems to be a little more stable.
I have a spare HR WDH and I live in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, you are welcome to borrow and give a try with and without.

 

[tony k]

Hi,
I have a 16' Expanda. I tow it with a Jeep Grand and did not need to do anything to rear. I use a WDH as I find that it seems to be a little more stable.
I have a spare HR WDH and I live in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, you are welcome to borrow and give a try with and without.

Hi,
I have a 16' Expanda. I tow it with a Jeep Grand and did not need to do anything to rear. I use a WDH as I find that it seems to be a little more stable.
I have a spare HR WDH and I live in the northern suburbs of Adelaide, you are welcome to borrow and give a try with and without.

Thanks mate - really appreciate the offer but I'm in stinking hot sydney - definitely a day to be up on the coast in the van !

 

[tony k]

I would recommend the Air Bags for sure

however, if you know someone who has a WDH, give it a try as well
a 16' wont be that big and heavy, just the way its loaded


BTW
airbags do NOT replace the need for a WDH - they are primarily used for leveling up the Tug & Van

the WDH will force the weight to the front of the Vehicle - but NOT level it

Txs Col - might go with the bags first then see how the level goes before investing in the wdh

 

[tony k]

Whats the ball weight on your van.

Waiting for the scales to arrive in the next few days... I'll post as soon as I know

 

[crackacoldie]

I use a WDH towing my 16 with my 100 series. If you look at your rear axle as a fulcrum in a seesaw, the van weight will always lift the front of the car, springs and air bags will stiffen the fulcrum but not stop the lift on the front tyres. Considering your front tyres do 70%!of your breaking and 100% of your steering, as much downward pressure as possible increases your safety.

 

[Johnno48]

Much better with WDH

 

[Vere]

Thanks mate - really appreciate the offer but I'm in stinking hot sydney - definitely a day to be up on the coast in the van !

hahaha When I click on Forestville in your location Google maps open and show Forestville in Adelaide about 25 mins from me.

 

[achjimmy]

I only had HD springs on the cruiser when I put the box on the front of the 16' and sent the ball weight through the roof. It definetly needed more. I added airbags but sold the van. This one Max's ball weight about 170 and is good and I only add a touch of air to the airbags. I belive as above WDH would just improve it more. But I will do everything I can to avoid one as I don't want the hassle of hooking and unhooking up. But if you need one you need one , I reckon I would have ended up with one on the 16' had I kept it.

 

[jcexpanda2007]

Hi All, we have towed a 2007 16.49-1 with a WDH for the last 9 years. Mostly using a Prado 3 L diesel but for the last couple of years we used a diesel 200 series cruiser. You definitely see the front of the car raise slightly when you drop the Expanda on the tow ball. If I was moving the van around the house I would not bother with the WDH, but on all long trips I used the WDH for peace of mind.

Upgraded to a bigger van recently and had to upgrade the WDH to match the tow ball load.

Remembering you can't control what everyone on the road does or decides. You can control your setup and how it to will perform when you need it to.

Hope it all goes well and you get out on hols again soon.

Cheers, John.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

I'm towing a 21.64-1 (3.2 tonne with 268kg on the ball) with a 100 series, so rear end very similar to the 200.

I don't have a WDH but do have heavy duty springs and shocks and airbags.

Noting what @bigcol and @crackacoldie have said above, I'd have to differ and state that the air bags do put weight back on the front wheels.

During our trip at Christmas, I popped 1 airbag on the 1st day of a 2 week trip.

After that I noticed the front end significantly lighter and felt terrible over some of the ups and downs on the rural roads.

Having done several thousand k's towing this van and never experiencing this before, I can only conclude that the loss of the bag was the cause.

I have now replaced both bags with new firestone's with the Kevlar sleeves, so the real test will be on the next trip out,, but based on what I have felt it will be back to normal.

 

[NoWorries]

I have a 200 and tow a 18ft van total weight about 2600kg laden with about 230 on the hitch.
So far I have not done anything to the springs or installed bags and I don't use a WDH.
I towed my van to Denmark last year (about a 1000km round trip) and found that the only issue was when I put the brakes on.
The car would dip quite a bit at the rear but it was not a issue with handling.
Last month I towed the van down to Busselton (about a 500km round trip) and there was a lot of crosswinds and they were very strong,
Every now and again the car felt a little twitchy but I'm not sure anything would have help that.

I will probably put airbags in the car to help with the bouncy rear end when braking but I don't think a WDH is necessary unless you pack your van heavy at the rear or front.

 

[tony k]

hahaha When I click on Forestville in your location Google maps open and show Forestville in Adelaide about 25 mins from me.

Ah there's only one Forestville mate - it's gods country.. home of the might forest Killarney football club and the 16 ft ob jayco

 

[tony k]

I'm towing a 21.64-1 (3.2 tonne with 268kg on the ball) with a 100 series, so rear end very similar to the 200.

I don't have a WDH but do have heavy duty springs and shocks and airbags.

Noting what @bigcol and @crackacoldie have said above, I'd have to differ and state that the air bags do put weight back on the front wheels.

During our trip at Christmas, I popped 1 airbag on the 1st day of a 2 week trip.

After that I noticed the front end significantly lighter and felt terrible over some of the ups and downs on the rural roads.

Having done several thousand k's towing this van and never experiencing this before, I can only conclude that the loss of the bag was the cause.

I have now replaced both bags with new firestone's with the Kevlar sleeves, so the real test will be on the next trip out,, but based on what I have felt it will be back to normal.

Thanks mate - now I'm very very confused ... damned if you do lucky if you don't ?

 

[Bellbirdweb]

Thanks mate - now I'm very very confused ... damned if you do lucky if you don't ?

Yeah sorry about that.

All I can do is pass on my experiences. The whole WDH/Suspension discussion occupies significant numbers of posts on here and there is always differing opinions.

Because of this my suggestion would be to try something like the airbags first, and then if it still needs more, go with the WDH.

 

[crackacoldie]

I agree with @Bellbirdweb, except I would try the WDH, which is a cheaper option and transferable to future tow vehicles. Suspension upgrades can then be completed if you feel you need them.

(Edit). And the WDH can be sold if it doesn't work in your circumstances.