Finally poster #26 actually mentions how these crude trucks DRIVE ! I simply cannot understand why there are so many people seemingly happy to drive these crude poor-handling things around everyday. We expect the internet etc to get faster and faster yet our apparently evolving human senses now put up with something that feels like a 1970/80's car at best.
klrider,
May 31, 1:28am
The masses know nothing compared to you, the entire market has been fooled into thinking they are a reliable vehicle, but you know more, thats why Tuarags have the long lasting reliable reputation they have . oh. wait. nope, seems the market thinks they are crap. Hilux however. wellllllllll.
thejazzpianoma,
May 31, 3:14am
LOL. as always the pro Toyota brigade want to distract with mass character assisination rather than discuss value for money, service intervals, reliability etc. Can't be bothered with this any more myself, so it's up to you OP. You either use your brain or you don't. It's pretty clear what is going to happen in here to anyone who dares raise any of the many negative aspects of the Prado.
jmma,
May 31, 3:18am
OP got scared off long ago, never to return (o:
countrypete,
May 31, 4:47am
Pretty sure he landed on his head, Explains a lot.
offrd1,
May 31, 5:36am
i have never owned a Prado never will [ have owned a highly modified VX Cruiser they were great ] they really are a pile of poo what i have seen of them,but this is in hard off roading,if you weren't pulling them out you were fixing them.
mrfxit,
May 31, 7:06am
WELL . as a few of you know, I have owned, personally serviced & driven an 88 Surf for the last 4 years & taken it all over NZ. Towed many heavy loads INSIDE it & on a heavy trailer.
Toyota Surfs & Prado's are more of a "life style truck" choice rather then a fancy 'car' I still find that even after driving a 98 Prado for several days that they are still a "truck" rather then a 'car' but a lot heavier & thirstier then my old Surf. Yes a reasonable amount of extra power but not really justifiable for me even tho mine got used as per expected for it's heritage.
Those people that insist on calling then a "CAR" are the very ppl that tend to get in to trouble with them. A vehicle of that weight & body size with that type of chassis & suspension is NO CAR by any reasonable amount of right thinking
Head cracking, yes, they are less tolerable to abuse of the cooling system then a lot of other brands & models BUT if looked after properly, the rest of the engines & drivetrain will take an amazing amount of hard work. (Note: I said "HARD WORK" . not outright abuse) NO, the newer models are NOT economical to run but hard work often needs more juice to feed the slower moving muscles
Yes they handle better as they get newer but gravity is pretty consistent about height off the ground & total body weight.
I have no idea what the 2000 onwards models are like for economy etc but the injector/engine issues on the D4D's were a factory ballsup thats now all been sorted thanks to changing a 50 cent washer type per injector
mrfxit,
May 31, 7:21am
Jazz, most of the early 4runners & Surfs didn't have anti roll bars fitted but did have a full ladder chassis (as per truck style). It wasn't until the 90's that they went away from separate chassis & leaf springs in the back. (over to coil springs & monocoque chassis. That was when they also started with the bucket shim heads (tin tappet cover) that were the worst for cracking heads due to negligence of the cooling systems.
Towing . In the last 35 years, I have NEVER had any trailer sway EVER that wasn't MY FAULT for the simple fact that I treat the load accordingly with the correct speed for the conditions. In over 40 years on the road with all manners of cars/trailers & some very illegal over weight/ over length & over height loads, (for the trailer concerned at the time) the only sway problems I have ever had were MY OWN STUPIDITY .
(Also noted in that is that I have NEVER had a tyre blowout due to over weight/speed OR busted any part of what ever trailer I have been using)
Something I can't say about a lot of other ppl I know
tim41,
May 31, 5:48pm
quote think Jazz is being a bit hard on them from what ive read on here jazz is a treat wrecking dick
ema1,
May 31, 11:05pm
Euro biased "God Warrior Strikes Again". Strewth imagine a movie with that title. Box Office FLOP no doub't.
mrfxit,
May 31, 11:27pm
I would go, Jazz has a true passion about his favorite vehicles. Just like hardcore Ford verses Holden fanboys.
Which reminds me about the hardcore Holden fanboy that owns a 90's Mazda . . >> but HATES Fords.
ema1,
May 31, 11:47pm
Weird isn't it. Even Fords & Holdens frequently get the "Steaming Pile of Feces." (Quote Jazz.) treatment from the "Bow & Scrape" all knowledgeable one. Bow & Scrape be buggered, his dismissive attitude won't earn friends on here but admittedly there are exceptions? I've worked on all makes for years in the motor trade & owned and still do own vehicle makes from different parts around the globe and frankly the Cyclops mentality doesn't wash with me nor many others it would appear. I do agree with various stuff he talks about in certain cases but the dismissive aspect annoys me completely. I for one don't go on a dismissive crusade on various Euro topics nor would I suggest an Asian option if any poster asks the pros and cons of any Euro make, frankly that's just plain rude and utterly uncalled for.
mrfxit,
Jun 1, 12:49am
Not forgetting that he did own a Korean built Hyundai which he hated but conveniently forgets that his latest 2003 Holden is in fact based on a Korean built Daewoo
mrfxit,
Jun 1, 3:27am
Please refer to my post #34
Been there done that & NO STABILITY controls were ever needed beyond my own ability's. The odd time I screwed up in the early days, it was CLEARLY MY FAULT for various reasons, NEVER ever the vehicles fault. I had simply loaded the trailer wrong or pushed the tow vehicle way beyond it's capability's. FACT
ema1,
Jun 1, 3:44am
Fact . also I did a lot of trailer towing and I mean BIG trailers and considerable loads way back when "Trailer Stability" just wasn't available AT ALL. Using FJ40 Land Cruisers and Land Rovers even a few Cressida's I had over a span of time a couple or more decades ago, along with driving heavy trucks for a living . until recently. It comes down to pure common sense and ability of the driver and also working well within the towing vehicles and towed vehicles ability but more so COMMON SENSE like I said . If anything did happen at all it was my fault and like mrfixit states NEVER the vehicles fault. Generally if a vehicle turns turtle there is a reason and in a large percentage of cases human error or ignorance comes into play, it's a pity folks just can't own up to blame and accept responsibility. Even if a towbar breaks or a failure occurs on say a trailer it's generally due to over loading.or improper use of vehicles. It is often the case traveling too damn fast for the conditions, how many caravans do you see swaying as you follow them? One thing gets me is folks following a swaying caravan or trailer blithely unaware of possible impending disaster, I for sure never follow any vehicle no matter what it is with out having a decent space to be able to avoid or to stop before hitting whats up ahead? Only thing with that is . some lame brain overtakes to fill what is often scant room in front of me. blardy "No tomorrow mentality" that far to many drivers these days tend to have. I'm retired now and don't have to go out every day and face all the brainless idiots any more . all I can say it THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT! Reasons generally for that is improperly or over loaded and the old all to common fault SPEED. ( 90 plus percent of crashes can generally be attributed to human failure of one sort or another . admitting to that fact is also a MAJOR human failing . pity! )
mrfxit,
Jun 1, 4:02am
Speaking of busted towbars, heres a scary event for you.
Between Huntly & Waikokowai, it's very hilly & twisty with both hilly AND twists together more so then not.
Anyways . I was often towing a full 1000 IBC tank on a custom trailer for a combo weight of about 1300kg. Towed behind an old 80's Holden Jackaroo (manual gear box) & clearly not in a hurry to go anywhere fast Did that trip for 3 years about twice a month. One day (as happens) I heard a clunk while starting to tow out to Wakokowai, gave the Jackaroo a twist on the steering wheel to check for anything loose but nothing felt wrong so carried on out. All went well as expected until I got out there & backed in to the unloading spot & jumped out to start unloading the water tank.
Nearly shat my self on the spot because the tow bar had shared off 2 of the only 4 bolts that held it on & was hanging twisted on the remaining 2 bolts. Clearly a combo of old age + a 4x4 towbar not mounted suitably BY the factory, but yea . closest I have ever been to loosing a trailer ever. Would not have been pretty with the weight on a stumpy trailer chassis getting loose on it's own
mrfxit,
Jun 1, 4:06am
Ema1, not uncommon back then for me to have a 6x4 trailer with 1 ton ON the trailer + timber or beams 4 meters over hanging out the back.
Very well tied down with plenty of suitable flags & a road speed that suited the load.
ema1,
Jun 1, 4:11am
Be like being "steam rolled" by a . "pun" TANK? It certainly doesn't present a pretty picture . what could have happened. I'll bet you did some "heavy breathing" mrfxit and let out a heap of oaths there for a bit. right? Bet the tow bar got a radical upgrade after that event?
ema1,
Jun 1, 5:13am
Incorrect loading and driving according to to conditions and limitations. covered by common sense as I stressed before and like with all vehicles needing to be maintained at all times also common sense.
muzz67,
Jun 1, 7:15am
Followed an older courier 4x4 last year,, had a 1 ton Holen ute on the transporter,, probably about as much as the courier would cope with EXCEPT the holden was backed onto the trailer, almost lifting the ute's rear wheels off the ground! " There's an accident waiting to happen" suggested my workmate. Sure enough, on a long downhill it starts getting a bit waggy and before ya know it, its a huge snaky smokescreen, broadside both left and right! Was hilarious to watch! Guy was lucky road was empty,,ute rear end munted, trailer front end munted,holden lucky to be on trailer still!
mrfxit,
Jun 1, 8:10am
Sway can be a combination of & OR any single reason including . >>
Over weight Over length on 1 end Low pressure tyres (too floaty) High pressure tyres (too stiff) Odd tyre pressures (yo-yo side to side or 1 side drag) Over weight on 1 end Driving to fast in relation to THAT load High winds Loose or moving load Weak trailer springs Broken spring or drawbar Loose towbar & no trailer weight Large weights on each end of the trailer deck but minimal in the center.
ANY single or combination can cause swaying to happen
mrfxit,
Aug 17, 1:09am
You can have a pretty nastily configured load on a real shitty trailer with a cruddy towbar & stuffed suspension on the tow vehicle, BUT . if you go too fast for THAT load, it's trouble.
Used a 94 Mitsi v6 Galant to tow a 5x7 heavy trailer with a 8 meter flat deck truck deck on top & the headboard of the truck deck pointing downwards. Pulled that from Otorohanga to Huntly with no problems of any sort. Correctly loaded Well strapped down Correct speed for THAT load.
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