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Towing with a Landcruiser 200 Series?

Towing with a Landcruiser 200 Series and the weights explained with examples.The 200 Series Landcruiser is a great Tow Vehicle, however the weights are limiting

LANDCRUISER 200 Series Towing Capacity

It often comes up on Facebook Groups about towing with a 200 Series Landcruiser and what is the Towing Capacity. Great car! I have one myself. Unfortunately, the restricted payload lets it down.

Here are some numbers based on the following assumptions:

Vehicle: 2021 Toyota 200 Series Landcruiser (GXL)
Max Towing Capacity: 3500Kg

Caravan: Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM) of 3100Kg

Toyota Landcruiser 200 Series (GXL) fully loaded to Max GVM

NameKgsExplanation
GCM6850Max Combination Weight of Car and Van legally allowed
GVM3350Max Legal Weight of Car fully loaded (Passengers, Accessories, Fuel etc)
Kerb Weight2740Empty Car with a full tank of fuel. No accessories. (As defined by Toyota)
Payload Available610= GVM – Kerb Weight. Payload is the amount of stuff you can load into the car
Add Tow Ball Weight248Assumes 8% of fully loaded Caravan with an ATM of 3100 kg (8%-15% is average)
Payload Remaining362= Payload – Tow Ball Mass. Remaining for Passengers, Accessories or luggage
So now assume you add 4 people and luggage to the car weighing 362kg
Reduced Max Towing Capacity3500When the car is fully loaded to 3350kg (Max GVM), you can still legally tow a 3500Kg Trailer or Caravan. The issue here is the restricted payload remaining of only 362Kg. That’s 3 people and some luggage. If the Cruiser has a Bull Bar or roof racks, this is reduced even further.

So what are the options?

The only real option for the LandCruiser is to add a GVM Upgrade. Although this won’t increase your GCM and therefore reduce your tow capacity (assuming fully loaded to upgraded GVM). The increase in GVM will give you an additional payload for the vehicle. It’s a balancing act.

Be careful though. The payload includes accessories like bull bars, roof racks, spotlights, fridges, dual batteries etc. Adding a bull bar and a second battery can use 100kg to 125kg of your payload.

If you have any questions, please comment below and I will respond as quickly as possible or contact us via our website. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for towing news and updates.

Happy and safe travels!

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