Matthew Storrs

Lovely tidy setup- nice one. Those trailers are really good, I got a new one before Christmas last year and I like the larger tyres with good tread, decent payload and plenty of tie down points.

Not sure about the smaller engines expiring- but doubt they have really been around long enough to know long term- it seems like they have really been getting smaller in the last 5 years or so. And off course what they are subjected to. Just normal driving and towing a ton or two every now and again they may go on because no doubt manufacturing design has improved too(? Much like a Volkswagen Golf (for example) may easily go into 200k miles plus. But I'd think if a 4.2 vs 2.2 towing 3.5ton on a regular basis I'd know where my money would be on.

This was definitely NA and certain it was 2.8 too, I remember he said when he got it it was a choice between a used turbocharged one or a brand new NA

Yeah that must of been it, it was 2.8 I think- probably would have gone on forever if it hadn't been overheated, I expect the 4.2 would have a fair bit more poke.

My Dad put a 6 cylinder Nissan engine (new engine but not sure what they were originally designed to go in) into his 110. It was a non turbo and frankly pretty slow going uphill compared to my 300tdi. But way better down low pulling off on a hill etc. Trouble with 300tdi is it really relies on the turbo too much, crap at hill starts with a trailer. Anyway It was all great until it overheated and he couldn't get the parts having to buy a Used donor engine.

'If you want to go into the outback go in a land rover, if you want to come back again go in a land cruiser' or so the saying goes! Their bulletproofness is legendary in countries like South Africa Australia etc Seriously though, I think you have answered your own question, it seems modern pickups generate high horsepower from tiny engines, the land cruiser has a 6cylinder 4.2 chugging away and it's not uncommon apparently for them to achieve half a million miles etc. That aside for me though it is the utilitarian nature of them, somewhat similar to a Landy but without all the niggles landies are famous for. Also one of the few pickups with full time 4wd and solid beam axles. I wouldn't pay 40k for one but I'd happily pay more than a Landy for one too.

Yes, as I thought it, GVW over 3.5t requires o licence and max 7.5t GTW. Does this mean if you had a 3 t towing vehicle you could tow 4.5t trailer assuming you had the electric trailer brakes etc. I think I would still get caught out. I'm a post 97 license but I have E entitlement but think this is still limited to a 3.5t trailer.

Yes sure. An Artic tug is designed to have 50%(of whatever) of its trailer then placed on its own rear wheels in effect placeing the weight on to the tow truck whereas a standard hilux type truck towing 4.5ton still shouldn't have more than 150kg nose weight regardless of braking system (unless it was a fifth wheel setup). A hilux would never tow a dead 4.5t up a steep llane without a serious bit of weight in the pickup, not necessarily through lack of power but lack of traction. My tractor weighs a shade under 4 tons but I have towed 8 tons with it up steep hills purely because probably 3 ton of the trailer is on the tractors rear wheels.

Just been reading on another forum (caravanning) about electric brakes, they mention that in Aus and US they commonly have fifth wheel arrangements for pickups and this has capacity for a lot higher trailer loads, the overrun system we have is rated at 3500kg because there is extra force in the pushing and 'snatching' involved. A fifth wheel is rigid. I must say it sounds like a fantastic setup (electric brakes). Apparently you have dash controls to set how much braking force to be applied etc, and they are relative fail safe in that should the vehicle itself have braking issues the trailer is totally independent. Again overrun brakes really on the vehicle stopping in the first place ( more I think about in surprised they are still allowed up to 3.5t even!) However all this is fine and dandy and not an unrealistic investment cost either. But I seriously doubt any of these small pickups and I think I would include LC in this too, are they really quite up to coping with 4 ton plus as a daily grind- I'm not so sure, yank pickups are a different ball game. I still think a Mog would suit me down to the ground but Jon, your putting me off! Actually, I used to work for a chap who had a 1980s U1000 and in the 5 years I worked with him it only had 1 big time expense recon engine to a tune of 8k. But other than that just welding and general wear and tear!

Interested to hear how he does it, to me it sounds like their could be complications with the system. For example, IW trailers themselves are only played at 3500kg. And with tri axles your payload is reduced, that aside I imagine you would need to upgrade the knott hitch as again that is only 3500kg. Of course there is the license thing too, a tri axle trailer with 3t digger and bits will be all of 4 tons so I doubt the 'E' entitlement on the license will be valid. Defenders are rated to tow 3500kg but I'm sure I read this can increase to 4ton will powered brakes? Even so, I wouldn't want to subject it to 4 ton, and if I did for traction you'd need to have a fair bit of weight in the truck itself. It's obviously a system that works well for your mate though Jon so he must think it is all worth it over running a 7.5tonner beaver tai? I can see the added safety factor of it but ultimately you are increasing the general strain on the towing vehicle with the added weight etc. I wouldn't have thought that if a Hilux is rated at 2250 towing then suddenly with powered brakes it can jump to 4ton, surely there rating has other factors such as chassis strength etc which braking would have no effect on. Like I say I'd be keen to see how he does it legally but to me it seems like a lot of factors and upgrades for possibly little advantage?

Ooo- that's a beaut. Would do me nicely, nimble round the lanes too.

You are spot on, I have been doing it for 3 years now with my defender, full 3.5t on trailer plus 300kg of buckets and attachments in the pickup bed, every journey is done with a grimace and the worst is on the Devon lanes, going up a steep single track lane praying your not going to meet someone and go through the wheel spinning and cloud of black smoke trying to get it going again! Going uphill is worse than downhill I find safety wise because overrun brakes on the trailer don't work when you have to stop going up a hill- you just have a dead 3.5t trying to pull you back down the hill again. 7.5t truck and the like are just non starters for my work, I am nearly always somewhat off road so need the ability to get next to the job site. With the pickup setup you can unload machine on hard standing and you still have the 4x4 ability to get around site.

3.5t towing is pretty much it's main activity so yes definitely essential, it's to tow my 3 tonner around. New isn't essential but my logic was I have an 1998 defender which is currently doing the job but possibly starting to get a bit long in the tooth, resale of defenders is pretty good at the mo so was thinking of using to my advantage and getting something new with warranty etc. However I live in the sticks so even a warranty is still going to be a hassle if the truck is having to go back to dealers on a regular basis. A lot of the threads like Beaus Dmax put me off but sooner or later I am going to have to replace Landy. or just get one of those mini 7t low loaders for putting behind my tractor- tow digger,attachments and materials in one go and stop faffing about unloading digger on the road cos truck can't pull it across a wet field!

would they though? Generally the countries that they are popular in are dry hot countries, what to say it won't rust as quick as a Landy or any other truck- and rust is the killer of vehicle longevity IMO... 30k isn't too bad, I assume that's plus VAT. But my head says 30k buys a lot of unimog too which can do far more that any pickup. I only generally travel 15 miles each way a day max. So speed and comfort isn't ultra important. Just don't want a vehicle that's being beasted to its limits most days.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=toyota+79lc+uk&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=smivn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiZ96mC0MzQAhVfOMAKHbmWC2EQ_AUICSgD&biw=320&bih=460#imgrc=tmXWXbRqyMQdlM%3A Stop looking at them Matt! Honestly though why is this not available to buy over here. Proper work truck.

79LC would absolutely be weapon of choice, but not really mainstream in this country so finding one and then parts would be the issue, and if I did find one I doubt it'd be in my budget as the ones I have seen have been hovering around 40k new.😅 Yeah shame about the Dmax Beau, it had a good size bed and everything and if I thought they'd genuinely stick by their 5 year warranty id propably take a chance but seems not so much? New Hilux is 3500kg, a little more £ than the dmaz (can't make head or tail of Fords website on my iPhone so not sure about Ranger) The last Landies made had 6 speed gear box with 1st being a nice low gear for pulling away, I wondered if it was the same box in the Ranger... coupled with their 3.2 I'd have thought would be just right.... Got to be pickup really as always need to carry digger buckets in the bed to keep trailer weight vaguely legal!

I guess I might be toying with the idea of getting a new pickup, I'm not fussed about features or comfort so much as I only do relatively short journeys. What's best for towing though, Ranger with the 3.2 would seem obvious choice but they don't do the single cab with the 3.2. Iv heard a lot of theses trucks are quite high geared in 1st, I do alot of hill towing so got to be a factor for me

Another thing is that food is cheap now, I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the average family spends 15% of income on food now whereas in the sixties it was nearer 40%. This is a topic that interests me at the mo because having recently had our first child and with my wife also doing a degree we are tending to rely on 1 wage. I can't say it's too bad because we live within our means and arnt fussed about expensive holidays or going out all the time. Everyone seems to have everything now regardless of whether they can afford it and then they go out for meals regularly, several holidays a year and they have to do 'exciting' stuff else what are they going to post on facebook!

Killjoy!

Yes, I can see loading height being an issue if it was just sat on the pick up bed, but I bet it someone thought it was worth it, it could be done. My initial thought was remove rear tub of a hi cap Landy, reposition the fuel tank and sit a timber wolf in between the chassis rails, with the hopper pretty much sitting on the rear crossmember, could have the chipper mounted on a pivot with a ram up the front to tilt the hopper bed towards the floor abut more. Problem with this is you'd have to unhitched the trailer to chip in to it...

Don't think there is any circumstance where you can a Landy on red? But the chipper on the Landy would have its own engine which could run on red as normal...

Well, about 2.5t of chip carrying capacity to start with. Jobs where you can chip on site you'd just need to take the Landy, and off-road jobs would be a lot easier if you don't have to tow a chipper being easier to manoeuvre etc. Landy would have the payload to carry a chipper (mounted to the bed) plus spare payload and space for lockable tool boxes etc. Not ideal for everything for sure, but could be good setup for those based in more rural environments?

Does anyone have a chipper mounted on the Landy and then tow a 3.5t tipping trailer. I know it would be awkward if you do a lot of tight driveway jobs. But Plenty of benefits to this setup too??

I don't really have a solution but in Miltary training often the team takes the blame not the individual, no one likes letting teammates down (and if they do sack em!) so therefore, why not allow a sum each month (from the breakages/replacement budget) Whatever is left over is divided between the team. less breakages, mishaps and losing tools = more bonus spread between the team. There is both the incentive of a bonus and fear of letting teammates down...

I assume then that the starter motor is at the back, pretty much behind the seat? My Takeuchis both had a panel behind the seat that you could remove to access the rear of the engine.....