Towing

It can be incredibly difficult to find simple information on what you can tow, and all of the various weight acronyms that go with it. Fortunately for you, we’ve got some very simple guides that make it all crystal clear. 

On top of this, we discuss the different vehicles for towing, what to look for, towing upgrades, towing off road, tow hitch orientations and heaps more. If you are towing anything behind your 4WD the below posts will have you pointed in the right direction in no time.

General towing information

Towing with your 4WD; the ultimate guide

If you are new to towing, this post covers absolutely everything that you need to know, and understand before you hook a trailer up. From towing mirrors, to weight explanations, full or empty water tanks, tow ball mass and heaps more, we break it down into bite size chunks that anyone can understand.

Mitsubishi Pajero Towing review

Towing Guide and Etiquette; 7 ways to do it right

Keen to keep everyone else happy on the road around you? You should be! Here’s 7 ways to ensure that everyone else on the road that you are sharing with remain happy!

Driving to Carawine

What’s the pros and cons of towing?

There are a lot of people in Australia who make the decision to purchase a trailer and tow it behind their 4WD while travelling. Whether its a box trailer, camper trailer, hybrid, caravan or boat, towing something behind your 4WD has a number of benefits.

4WD boat trailer wheels

Is your towing setup level?

One of the easiest ways to get a visual indication of whether someone is towing a trailer with a setup that is good is to look at whether its all level. If the van, or vehicle point down, or up, or together, they have a problem that really should be addressed.

Dmax travel

Towing when its hot

Australia gets really, really hot, and if you are towing something and don’t have the right setup, or the right accessories, or even understanding you can do some pretty serious and expensive damage. Here’s what you need to know.

Dmax and Reconn on the road

Should you cross your trailer chains?

If you want to start a camp fire debate, ask whether you should cross your trailer chains. As it turns out, there are 3 very good reasons for doing so, and you should absolutely cross them. Here’s why.

Crossed chains on a trailer

4WD Ute or Wagon?

Buying a 4WD is a pretty big decision, and once you start looking into it you’ll see its just the beginning of a myriad of choices you’ll need to make.

Petrol vs Diesel? Automatic vs Manual? Ute vs Wagon? New vs old? The list keeps going, and ultimately, you should be looking for a vehicle that is going to suit your requirements as best as possible.

Ute vs Wagon

Is a 4WD really suitable, or do you need a truck?

In my opinion, too many people today are using 4WD’s to do a job they were never really designed to do. When I say 4WD’s, I’m referring to anything from a Suzuki Sierra through to a full size wagon like a Y62 Nissan Patrol or 200 Series Land Cruiser.

Touring Australia with lots of gear

Are you being misled by 4WD Tow ratings?

So, you’ve got a heavy caravan or boat that you want to tow? Don’t be misled by the advertising! Just because your 4WD has a certain ‘towing capacity’ doesn’t mean you can actually tow that under normal conditions.

Do you know what your tow ball weight is?

Towing in 4WD on Bitumen; is it ever OK?

You always get some entertaining answers on social media, and in fact there are occasions where you are perfectly OK (and even recommended) to tow in 4WD on bitumen. Want to know more? Have a read of this.

Pajero on the beach

How to look after your automatic transmission

If you’ve got a vehicle with an automatic transmission in it, you need to be extra careful towing anything that is over a tonne in weight, as they can get hot and do serious damage. Find out what you need to do to ensure a long, good life out of your automatic transmission (and how you can avoid a massive repair bill!).

Dmax automatic transmission

Off Road Towing

Can you tow a trailer on the beach?

Wanting to tow a caravan, boat or camper trailer on the beach but not sure where to start? This covers your options, what you need and what could possibly go wrong!

Towing a trailer on the beach

Towing a trailer off road; the ultimate guide

4WDing is made a lot harder the moment you hook up a trailer, and there’s a new learning curve that takes place to ensure you don’t end up bogged to the axles, or jack knifed in a nasty position. We love to tow our Reconn R2 off the beaten track and in this post we share a heap of information with you about towing a trailer off road.

Camper trailer dragging

How to prevent a smashed rear window when towing on gravel

A huge number of 4WD’s end up with smashed rear windows when towing on gravel, and most have no idea that its possible. Want to know why it happens, and how you can avoid it?

Triton canopy and wellbody

Towing weights

Towing Capacity; a simple guide to keep you legal

Every day there are arguments, questions and lengthy discussions about what is legal when it comes to towing with a 4WD, and every guide I’ve ever read has not made things overly simple or clear. There is a lot more to towing capacity than just the one rating, and lots of people don’t understand this.

Towing with a Pajero

What is tow ball weight, and why does it matter?

Tow ball weight, or Tow Ball Mass (TBM) is a term that’s being thrown around more and more today, and for good reason. Understanding how it works, how to measure it and what is acceptable is critical for safe towing.

Measuring the tow ball weight

Mobile weighing

We recently had our Isuzu Dmax and 2.2 tonne Hybrid Camper trailer weighed by a Mobile weighing service, and we were almost over weight even with a GVM upgrade. If you want to know how, with all the details, this post covers everything.

Dmax rear axle weight

Towing more than 2500kg? Are you overloaded?

If you are towing a trailer that weighs more than 2500kg with a normal, run of the mill 4WD and haven’t had any GVM or GCM upgrades done, there’s a really high possibility that you won’t be legal in one of the many weights that need to be compliant. This post dives into what you need to look for, and how so many people get caught out.

Towing our camper

Can you be under GVM and over axle weights?

If you think your vehicle is perfectly legal just because its under the GVM figure, you might not be. Axle weights are hugely important, and so often overlooked!

Dmax weights

Don’t get caught out with Caravan and Camper Trailer weights

I’m tired of reading over and over again of weight issues that thousands of people are being caught out by. These relate to trailer weights, tow vehicle capacities and weight distribution, and if you don’t take the time to carefully look into it, you’ll be in a world of pain.

Nameplate weights for a camper trailer

Can your ATM be higher than your towing capacity?

Truly understanding the rules and regulations around towing can be quite a challenge, especially when you have weird intricacies like ATM and towing capacity, and how they relate to each other. If you are wondering whether your ATM can exceed the towing capacity, this post is for you.

Caravan towing

Does a GVM upgrade reduce your towing capacity

A GVM upgrade can be a pretty decent option, depending on your circumstances. It does have its limitations and downsides though, and if you want to know whether it affects your towing capacity, check this out.

Dmax GCM

GVM Meaning; weights made simple

The term GVM might not mean much to you, and that’s perfectly fine. In this post, we break it down and explain some of the other figures that you need to consider when buying a 4WD (or even any roadworthy vehicle).

Dmax with a GVM upgrade

How to calculate GCM

GCM is one of the easiest weight categories to exceed when towing something heavy. Just because you have a 3500kg towing capacity does not necessarily mean you are good to tow it!

Gross Combination Mass - GCM

Tow vehicles

What’s the best vehicle for towing?

If you are in the market for a new tow vehicle, and you want to know what the best is, you’ve come to the right place. This post covers everything you need to look for, the different levels of towing and finishes up with explaining how everyone has different requirements, and there’s no singular best towing vehicle.

Caravan at Ningaloo Station

Best towing vehicle for 3500kg

Keen to tow 3500kg, but not sure what vehicle to get? In this post we look at your options, and why so many people get bitten and end up having to go and get something else.

Dodge Ram

Pajero Caravan Towing Review

If you’re keen on knowing how a Mitsubishi Pajero goes towing a 2750kg caravan around Australia, then in this post we cover my folks 3.2L Turbo diesel 4WD that has been used extensively for towing.

Mitsubishi Pajero Towing review

Towing accessories

Towing Mirrors; do you need them?

Working out whether you need towing mirrors is actually really simple, and all you need is a tape measure. There’s some complicated guides online, but this makes it all simple, and cover the brands that you can buy, what’s worth looking at and why you need them.

Pajero on the beach

Upgrades to your 4WD for towing

If you are towing something behind your 4WD, there’s a good chance a couple of accessories or modifications will need to take place. This is especially the case if you are towing something heavy or wide, but here’s a list of things you should consider doing, or getting.

Transmission Cooler Leak

Getting an Electric Brake Controller

If you are towing a trailer that is over 750kg, there’s a good chance you’ll need an electric brake controller. Find out what they are, when and why you need them, and what your options are here.

Dmax tow controller

Redarc Brake Controller Review

There’s plenty of brake controllers on the market today, and yet one particular type dominates the industry by a significant amount. We’ve always run the Redarc Brake Controller, and now its time to do a review.

Dmax tow controller

Tow hitches

Can you flip your tow hitch?

Tow hitch flipped

How many vehicles do you see driving down the road with the trailer pointing towards the road, and the vehicles headlights pointing towards the sky? There’s a distinct lack of understanding when it comes to towing safely, and a portion of this comes from not setting your tow hitch to the correct height.

Tow hitch types; what’s your choices?

50mm tow hitch

Gone are the days where your only tow hitch choice was  50mm tow ball; today you can choose from a huge number of different options, and they all have their own pro’s and con’s. Want to get the best, and most suitable for yourself? You should!

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