The Toyota Landcruiser Owners Club

[barmy76]

I am sure this has been asked before but I havent found the info I need so I am asking again.

I have just bought a 3 horse trailer that weighs 1.2T and I own a colorado with a towing limit of 2.8T
My horses weigh 1.3T in total so trailer and horses total 2.5T in weight.

My friend just told me that I have to include the weight of the people and equipment in the car as well, something to do with kerb weight???

Can anyone confirm whether I am legal with the info I have provided and if not explain why.

Thanks in advance from a now very confused horsey mum.

[Google]

[modvrs]

Your trailer weight comes within the 2.8 tonne limit so no problem there.

You then have to consider the all-up weight of the Land Cruiser itself; according to the owner's manual you must not exceed the gross vehicle mass of 2680 Kg (5-door) or 2510 Kg (3-door) by more than 100 Kg. The car weighs 1890 Kg empty so you can load roughly 700 Kg of passengers, luggage and add towing hitch/drawbar weight to that without problems.

Maximum drawbar weight is listed at 130 Kg and is the amount of weight the trailer puts on your tow hitch, it's important to get this right and probably worth buying a scale from a caravan shop to check it.

Reducing the trailer weight from the maximum doesn't allow you to add any more weight to the towing vehicle, it has its own limits.

Hope this makes some sense!
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1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.4VX

[barmy76]

Thanks for that reply, I dont understand the drawbar bit. is that the weight exerted on the tow ball by the trailer?

[modvrs]

Yes, the weight put on the towball by the trailer. It counts towards the max weight of the towcar.

To much weight will put strain on the car and give it a nose-up attitude and light steering. Too little can lead to the trailer "snaking", which is really scary.
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1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.4VX

[barmy76]

Ok so how do I measure it, I assume it will need to be done with the horses on board so we can see what is the best configuration of horses.

[modvrs]

You can buy a purpose made tool from caravan shops like this:

http://www.towsure.com/kampa-noseweight-indicator-gauge

or improvise with a piece of wood and bathroom scales; I wouldn't recommend this if you have expensive scales with a glass platform though.

You probably don't have much option to transfer the weight around with a horsebox, so will need to rely on the manufacturer having got it right. If it is very light at the front you may be able to add ballast forward of the axle.
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1997 Toyota Land Cruiser Colorado 3.4VX