Hi all,

Has anybody done any towing with a non-turbo 3L? I'm not so curious about big loads IN the van, as I have loaded the van to the gills in the past. I am particularly interested in hearing about anyone who has travelled with a full van and towed in the range of 3000lbs or so. I have no illusions that this would be ideal or enjoyable, but I'm wondering if it is doable.

Thanks for any input!

PBS

Is it manual or auto?

I have towed some hideous loads with my 2.8 non-turbo 4X4 Hiace and it handled it Ok.

You can only expect 80km/h max on the open road - and the hills are a nightmare - always down to 2nd gear (mine is an auto) but it did it regardless and we got there eventually and the van was not protesting at all.

Thanks 4x4.

It is an auto, 3L, non-turbo, 4wd. The auto was part of my concern. The van is grossly underpowered, and hills are never speedy. I don't want to blow the transmission. I also have no idea what the axles are rated to.

The problem is that apart from the curbweight posted on that russian specs site, I can't find the Gross Vehicle Weight, the towing capacity, or the Gross Combined Weight Rating for these vans anywhere on the internet. If you can fill in any of these details using your NZ perspective, I would be very grateful.

Can you give me an idea of what one of your hideous loads looked like? Weight in van, weight behind van? Were you using a braked trailer?

Thanks for any details you can provide.

PBS

Don't worry about "blowing" the transmission - these Hiace transmissions are virtually bulletproof.

Change the AT fluid on a regular basis and you really can't go wrong.

I have had the back of my van stacked from the floor to the roof with timber - in the region of 2.5 tonne of wood - bear in mind that my van has the high roof (it's a jumbo).

Towing wise - I have had a 20' caravan on the back of it - unbraked - and no issues at all. The caravan was fully loaded with camping gear etc and I would guess the weight to be around the 2 tonne mark.

I also have a double re-inforced towbar assembly. It is double bolted to the rails using M12 bolts and the plates that come off the bar assembly are 10mm parallel welded.

When I had it made, the guy said to me "What the heck are you going to tow with this, the Queen Mary?"

If you have ever had the half-shafts out of the rear axle you will see why Hiaces are so reliable - they are HUGE! They basically use light truck running gear.

The thing to remember (and this applies to any diesel) is not to let the engine labour. If you have your foot hard down and you are barely moving, change down to a lower gear. You are better off to have the engine revving high than to have it struggling. Diesels are designed to be driven hard.

If the van is struggling and you are down to first gear then you are overloaded! It takes a lot to get to this point however.

What you need to avoid is overheating the transmission or the torque converter - so don't keep your foot hard on the gas if you are hardly moving.

Hi, just a quick jump in here, you say you have a tow bar, was it custom made or worked up from a standard? The reason I asked is I ordered a tow bar from my Hiace and the one that came when offered up into place, well, it was not the bar for the van and where bolt holes were supposed to me they were not, and where they were not suppsed to be,,,,, they were. Is it supposed to be standard? I have a diesel Super custom edition lalalalalala 3.0 Auto.
Saloman

Are these Hiaces hard to fit up for a trailer electrically speaking? I know there are tow-bar kits in the UK for about $140, and I can borrow a trailer. So I'd be tempted to go that way just to get some weight off the rear axle when my company is touring and some drag off the roof, unless I'd also get hit with a significant bill for wiring.

Cheers,
-Mark

I'm getting a towbar put on, here in Victoria BC. It's going to be custom fabricated. I have brought it by the shop for a quote, and they have confirmed that it is doable - preliminary quote at $400. Wiring should cost $80 on top of that. I've been told by the shop that it should be good to 3500lbs or so. I'll provide an update once it is actually installed.

The same shop said they had done hitches for delicas too, but they were much more difficult due to the leaf springs running right to the back of the frame, and ran about $700 for fabrication.

PBS

My towbar was custom fabricated.

Here in New Zealand, towing is VERY common. We tow trailers and boats and caravans and all manner of stuff - so a lot of vehicles have towbars.
There are companies that specialise in making towbars for vehicles and once they have a design worked out they can simply replicate it again and again.

I don't think there is such a thing as an OEM or factory towbar for a Hiace.

As for wiring up for lights, it's REALLY easy.

There are 5 essential connections.

1 - Ground - pays to run a ground wire through your trailer plug. Don't rely on the coupling to make the ground connection as invariably it doesn't and you will end up with strange lamp operation at the rear as the lamps try to find a ground through the other lamps! Connect it to a good known ground point on the tow vehicle's chassis.

2 - Left turn signal

3 - Right turn signal

4 - Tail lights

5 - Stop lights


2 - 5 are simply wired in parallel with your existing lights.

not as straight forward as you may think ..I've been trying to get one and so far no one seems to make one specifically for the SCL... though this company seem to be the only ones with any idea http://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/imports.html ... though I had to give them my chassis No for which they couldn't promise a fit but supplied a diagram with size details to enable me to compare it to my van..

Hold the phone!

If these work at 65 quid, we're set!

http://www.discount-towing.co.uk/product/8...Van_2/4WD_90-95

Pard

Update... I spoke to a guy at discount-towing, who couldn't answer any of my questions re: fit, shipping, etc... The guy suggested I write an email w/ questions that he would shop around to the folks that could answer them. I have sent two emails now, with no reply. I'll let ya'll know if I do get a response... but I'm not holding my breath too much longer.

Nevertheless, good sleuthing Pard!

PBS

Well, I got a towbar manufactured. It came in at $450 after tax including the wiring. The work was very well done. 3 bolts into the frame on either side and tucked right up under the bumper. The gas filler tube shield had to be removed, and they made slight modification to my spare tire bracket. They did a really nice job on the wiring, so that the wires tuck into the side compartment when not in use. To any hiace owners on Vancouver Island who are thinking about getting a towbar, I would highly recommend Custom Hitch & RV Service Ltd.

Cheers, PBS

Hi pbs. Some pics and perhaps measurments might be nice here :-) to do a little
research and comparrisons. The one they sold me here in Sweden didn't come within
shouting distance of a fit. I thought if I could get something close my son could go to
work on it with a welder/cutter.