16' Series WDH

MarkAW

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Jan 25, 2017
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Hi
So we sold our Pajero with 2 inch lift which sat nicely with our Outback Expanda.

We just updated to a new Prado and the rear drops over 5 cm with the 16.49.4 hooked on. Totally unacceptable.

Without the lift the Prado is a fair bit lower. Can I flip the wdh shank the other way and raise the towball height until we get a lift installed?

Been looking on hayman reese but the wdh doc won't open.

Any experience on this out there?

Cheers
Mark
 

Drover

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Nov 7, 2013
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I have done that with mine over the years, nothing fell off, in fact the one on my Jeep was on the Colorado before that and I have no idea which way it was originally but the WDH bit has been flipped and moved to change height a few times as suspension set ups changed......
 
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KECL

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I also had a Prado with a 16 foot Expanda and mine dropped at the back when hooked up. I spoke to a number of places and people and the advice I ended up with is the Prado is quite soft in the back (for better ride) and I fitted Airbags. This made a big difference - I just added air to them when the van was hocked up and let the pressure down when not required. I aslo did use a WDH, but the Airbags were well worth the $500 fitted cost.
 
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MarkAW

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Yep the Prado is really soft in the rear. I was thinking of getting a gvm upgrade through Lovells but bit apprehensive as the use a rear 250kg rear spring. 80% of the time the car is empty so the constant 250kg spring may be too harsh.

Anyone experienced a constant 250kg spring? And what is the ride like?

I'm thinking a lighter spring with airbags for towing

Cheers
 

Drover

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The best idea is always to replace the OE suspension entirely, you will often find the ride and handling improves greatly without any preconcieved harshness but a firm ride.............. OE suspension in all vehicles is all about the ride when you take it for a test drive, so it feels like its floating, then you load the kids and the gear in and it hits the bump stops, the load carrying capacity is not real, a bit much l;ike tare, thats why originally folk whinged about the rough ride in Utes, so they put in sponge springs and folk bought them, then had to upgrade the springs... So throw the suspension and fit some decent stuff, you will find no need for air bags then........... You will be surprised at how much weight your vehicle has put on since driving out of the dealers.

I am biased though as I'm a firm believer of getting rid of OE suspension first up towing or not along with the tyres both are usually inferior.
 
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MarkAW

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The best idea is always to replace the OE suspension entirely, you will often find the ride and handling improves greatly without any preconcieved harshness but a firm ride.............. OE suspension in all vehicles is all about the ride when you take it for a test drive, so it feels like its floating, then you load the kids and the gear in and it hits the bump stops, the load carrying capacity is not real, a bit much l;ike tare, thats why originally folk whinged about the rough ride in Utes, so they put in sponge springs and folk bought them, then had to upgrade the springs... So throw the suspension and fit some decent stuff, you will find no need for air bags then........... You will be surprised at how much weight your vehicle has put on since driving out of the dealers.

I am biased though as I'm a firm believer of getting rid of OE suspension first up towing or not along with the tyres both are usually inferior.
Hey Drover
First thing I did is replace the tyres to Toyo Open Countrys, Used them for a number of years and never had an issue with all the places we have been.

Definitely going to replace the factory suspension but need to get it right. The Lovells 500kg GVM kit uses pretty cheap shocks and springs, i priced the part numbers up at about $1,400. The constant 250kg load spring used in the kit seems too heavy as I dont have draws etc daily.

Thinking of Dobinsons IMS but would really like another say 200 kgs added to the GVM as we get pretty close when loaded and towing the caravan especially on extended trips

Going to try and find an engineer who can sign off on a GVM increase....if there are any still
 

Drover

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Hey Drover
First thing I did is replace the tyres to Toyo Open Countrys, Used them for a number of years and never had an issue with all the places we have been.

Definitely going to replace the factory suspension but need to get it right. The Lovells 500kg GVM kit uses pretty cheap shocks and springs, i priced the part numbers up at about $1,400. The constant 250kg load spring used in the kit seems too heavy as I dont have draws etc daily.

Thinking of Dobinsons IMS but would really like another say 200 kgs added to the GVM as we get pretty close when loaded and towing the caravan especially on extended trips

Going to try and find an engineer who can sign off on a GVM increase....if there are any still

Thats the way to go, I have always liked the Toyo's, I have found Kings springs with an OME shock to be good, though I do prefer rubber bushes to the Nylon jobs ............... I'm running Ironman gear from FWD1 on the Jeep mainly because of price, spring rate selection and ability to send me the front struts set up.... have used them before and found the springs good..... handling improved a lot.
 

BJM

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Fitted ARB std 2 inch lift to my 2010 Grand Cherokee diesel when near new.Shocks and springs.Hard ride without van on,front springs too hard.plus not enough rebound damping in front struts.ie terrible over corrugations it rebounds with a bang over bumps.Rather had a 2 inch lift same spring rate in front with better shocks.
 

Drover

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Fitted ARB std 2 inch lift to my 2010 Grand Cherokee diesel when near new.Shocks and springs.Hard ride without van on,front springs too hard.plus not enough rebound damping in front struts.ie terrible over corrugations it rebounds with a bang over bumps.Rather had a 2 inch lift same spring rate in front with better shocks.

Thats why I went Ironman set up.... smooth as but better than standard.
 

rags

Well-Known Member
Yep the Prado is really soft in the rear. I was thinking of getting a gvm upgrade through Lovells but bit apprehensive as the use a rear 250kg rear spring. 80% of the time the car is empty so the constant 250kg spring may be too harsh.

Anyone experienced a constant 250kg spring? And what is the ride like?

I'm thinking a lighter spring with airbags for towing

Cheers
I am in my 3rd Prado and towed with each. My current one is a POV pack GX 5 seater and so a bit lighter than the 7 seaters. I fitted an OME 30 mm lift kit with 300 kg rear springs. The ride was no harsher and arguably better and towing our van probably drops around an inch. As I have now got the back decked out I’m thinking of fitting some heavier springs (600kg)that I have in the shed to see how it rides.
 
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MarkAW

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Rags, interesting the 300kg OME rear springs was no harsher then stock.
I asked a question of the lovells kit on pradopoint. One person said, good ride and happy.
The next comment...ripped them out after 12 months and replaced with BP51's.
I emailed about 20 VASS engineers, handful responded politely that lovells and peddders are the only options
Spoke to a suspension joint also. They said they stopped installing lovells gvm because ride was harsh.....
Alot is person preference. I have been happy with OME in our Pajero
 

Drover

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If you want to trawl through the RVD listings for your model you will find who has the GVM upgrades approved as all need approval certificates.
https://myrta.com/rvd/searchRVD.do?submitValue=start it only works during business hours for some reason.

It is a difficult decision when the selection is limited only once have I made a mistake with spring rate and that was when the "expert" advised against my choice of front spring, so I fitted his choice, bluddy harsh ride and being front end a bustard to swap out for the medium rate I wanted.......
 

rags

Well-Known Member
Rags, interesting the 300kg OME rear springs was no harsher then stock.
I asked a question of the lovells kit on pradopoint. One person said, good ride and happy.
The next comment...ripped them out after 12 months and replaced with BP51's.
I emailed about 20 VASS engineers, handful responded politely that lovells and peddders are the only options
Spoke to a suspension joint also. They said they stopped installing lovells gvm because ride was harsh.....
Alot is person preference. I have been happy with OME in our Pajero
I have fitted Old Man Emu (OME) to all 3 Prados I have had, and always been happy. The firmer springs take all the wallowing out of the ride. The first 2 had around 50mm lift but this one I have stuck to 30mm mainly because of height restriction on our garage. It possibly could benefit from some air bags but I tried them on another and they ended up more of a problem because of leakage. The BP 51 would probably be a welcome improvement but the standard OME shocks have served me well.
The current 150 is permanently set up as our tourer with drawers, fridge and shelves from floor to roof and doesn’t get driven as a daily drive so having firmer springs are suitable for me, ( have my Suzuki girl racer car for my daily drive ).
Our van is a 12 ft expanda so weighs around 1700 kg with the ball around 180kg so not overtly heavy and the Prado tows it with ease.
 
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