How to: HEAVY TOWING (Hyundai Santa Fe heavy tow test) | Auto Expert John Cadogan

Heavy towing is not something you should undertake (pardon the pun) lightly. Here, we take a Santa Fe Highlander to within 30kg of its maximum tow capacity (and right up to its maximum towball download) and walk you through the process, step by step. It's quite different to taking a light box trailer to the tip...
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[@DashCamOwnersAustralia]

I worked at a trailer /caravan repair centre for many years, You really hit the nail on the head here. So many people without a clue or without a care unfortunately. I remember a gent who bought a 3.5 tonne boat and trailer combo in QLD and towed it down to Sydney with his Q7, the trailer had no working brakes....You'd be surprised how many boat trailers aren't rated for the boats they are carrying as well.

[@andrewray3154]

Just wanted to say, the production quality of this video is frankly outstanding. great work buddy.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks Andrew. I had a crew helping me for that one.

[@abogoni]

I was going to say the same, such good camera work and excellent content as always 😎

[@codyLady62]

@@AutoExpertJC John, l've been looking forward to your take on the Holden shutdown? Regards Rob

[@terryfrank540]

You deserve an Oscar nomination for this report the best one yet!, very informative and easy to understand, cheers

[@bryanjuni706]

ALL of your videos are so well done. The filming is professional with the cut aways and the drone shots etc. Audio always good. Love it

[@jaredebeling1412]

Great video and great footage including Drone footage!! Well done John

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks Jared. I had help. It's so liberating working with a proper crew.

[@Mister6]

I've learned so much from this video. I'm so glad I've never tried towing anything more than a small box trailer full of furniture.

[@MegaSkeet11]

John you have explained it so beautiful, thank you people need to watch this video. Keep up the great work

[@marianman]

Great to see the Old Pacific Highway again, missed it a lot since I moved to QLD about twenty years ago. I used to love that drive.

[@andyireland1968]

Thanks for the video john. I drive artic for a living 46 tonne. Yet not once did I consider scaling down if I needed to tow with my own car. You gave me food for thought if there is ever that sanario.

[@kevinbrennan8794]

Thanks for this video John. Great information and a very good review for those of us who only tow a trailer a few times a year.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Glad you enjoyed it, Kevin.

[@madmick3794]

Great place to show smart towing, the Hornsby - Mooney Mooney Exchange - Brooklyn - Cowan - Berowra - Asquith is an excellent example of all types of towing people might encounter. Great information thrown in for good luck too. Thanks for the great video John, have sent the link to a few that should know this stuff.

[@adrianberg7676]

Good to c that you crossed the chains. Its a good sign that they know what they are doing( when it comes to towing at least)

[@guillaumeromain6694]

I could never complain about the quality of your videos, quite the opposite, but does this impress me! Wonderful delivery as usual. You are a ninja John

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thank you very much, Guillaume - I aspire one day to be a Jedi.

[@mcfarst]

That has to be your best video yet. Well done.

[@7immmmy]

Top job, John. Also its good to see you out of the office and in the wild once in a while

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks Tim.

[@alanwilson4208]

Patiently awaiting the "I Told You So" video about Holden.

[@77gravity]

It's been published.

[@rit81a]

Thanks for this video. I have the same Santa Fe and upgraded the springs and put the tow bar brake combo on it for that one time our Ranger isn’t around and I need to move something. I have lots more confidence in the vehicle now

[@dpsilver1]

I do so enjoy these towing videos that you make

[@johntalbot3784]

Great video John, well explained and easy to follow. Keep up the good work.

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks John

[@peterg1448]

had the joy of being behind a caravan that was driving the 4x4 that was towing it. it spent more time on the wrong side of the center line than in the correct lane

[@mikebennett938]

Finally someone bringing up the cost comparison of using hotels vs expensive caravans! You could take a couple of weeks a year away 5 star for a decade and still have change from buying an expensive caravan.

[@xcitemex6353]

Dont worry about the caravans. What about the $50K Patriot camper where you're sleeping under canvass and no shitter?

[@PG-jg9gx]

Bravo, thanks for putting safety first.

[@tl6680]

Imho this is your best video to date! Purpose of my comment is that I want to thank you. This is a topic that comes with enormous downside for all road users, and hardly any upside.. Issues of compliance and education don't really seem a priority for RMS, and its not a sexy topic for motoring journos. This is a great educational video and I'm sure you'd prefer to be reviewing several cracking good quality new release vehicles - there are some really good simple referrable take-aways for anyone towing heavy. I hope the number of 'views' keep increasing. This upload adds even further to your credibility. cheers

[@prichardgumpo1604]

All the way from South Africa you are appreciated John.

[@brianhoward9217]

Great work as usual John. Professional, clear and easy to understand. Well done and very informative, thank you. How's the noggin? :-)

[@clubgus07]

Love it great production john on this one

[@DarrenCoull]

Nice video John - that trailer looked pretty schmick! I once had to recover a 4x4 vehicle (using 800kg tandem trailer) and quickly appreciated the importance of appropriate tongue weight - 1st trial pull resulted in a VERY alarming sway starting once I got to just approaching 70km/h (not something I EVER want to feel in my gut again!). Thankfully eased off speed slowly, pulled over and adjusted the position of the vehicle on the trailer forwards a couple of feet. No issues at all after that. EBC was amazing (my first experience of such a device) and cruised gently at 80-90km/h all the way from Gundagai to Melbourne. No point in going 110km/h, was going fast enough to not hold people up, and slow enough that trucks could easily pass. I was constantly VERY aware of the mass of everything behind me. No idea how that tool with the boat could be so disconnected from the feel of what they were towing!

[@YZJB]

Great report Cadoges! Impressively polished

[@AutoExpertJC]

Said the bishop to the actress... (I mean: Thank you.)

[@petermapstone9684]

Nice work with the drone shots too!

[@bigtiny1128]

Hey JC I can't wait for you next video on the end of the Holden brand.

[@kelvino2370]

Brilliant again John! Thanks mate

[@roycefaggotter6860]

Excellent advise John.

[@guysoceanharmonics]

Excellent topic, trailer towing should be a mandatory licence additional requirement for those who need to tow, instead of the current system of "lets hope that nothing goes wrong"

[@BenMitro]

I agree but if you trust this to the guv they will make it a revenue raising exercise and the training will be less than basics and an intro to crazy regulations like those that allow towing a 3.5T trailer with a 2.3T vehicle.

[@coolumdave1]

Another great video, I tow with a LC 200 and when I was looking to buy a new van, one of the main factors was the van had to be no more than 2.5 tonne loaded. Easier on the car and easier on me.

[@lunchie80]

Folks towed all around Aus with their 200. Saw plenty of 3.5T utes broken down especially near the tops of large inclines(Vic high country etc). Especially things like Nissan's with the small diesels working really hard.

[@mazdaman1286]

Thank you for explaining so well 👍👍👍👍👍

[@oldretireddude]

Thank you, one of my pet peeves is people who think that gravity can be a tie-down. They have no idea what G-forces or wind loading can do to cargo.

[@AutoExpertJC]

You mean 'inertial loads' - but yeah, totally agreed.

[@Blanchy10]

@@AutoExpertJC I worked with another truckie who used to say "It's too heavy to move" I always replied, "I don't want to be around when it starts moving" He never got it.

[@snells-window]

With every accessory fitted and big vans in tow, I reckon a hell-of-alot of 4WD touring rigs out there must be well over their limits.

[@BenMitro]

Yes, they are and well past the drivers ability limits too.

[@dunxy]

Yup, manufacturers overstating their vehicles tow capability makes it worse! Ford Danger being a great example with something like 3300kg claimed, yeah that's with a stock empty vehicle, 10 litres of fuel and a driver that weighs 50kg and MAYBE it will do it without breaking, i still would not do it though. People have no clue about GCM , GVM and ball weights and how they affect legality of their tow rig. Then again, its no different to all the tossers who have illegal lifts on their 4wd's, try explaining to them they wont have insurance if they have an accident and they simply don't grasp it.

[@stevenhoman2253]

You were well ahead of the curve on Holden's closure today.

[@andrewvassallo3444]

Good work John you explained towing well

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thanks Andrew.

[@wadeperrie]

John great piece and beautifully shot. Nice to confirm that i'm doing it right by the looks with our Forester towing the camper trailer. Although it would have been good if you had mentioned should you use your cruise control when towing, have never been really sure if i should or not? Use it on the flat ground but turn it off going up and down hill, it revs the s**t out of the engine going up hill!! Keep up the good work cheers

[@rohan6507]

Cant wait for the Holden closure vid which is surely coming!

[@alexander70356]

Nice video John. How many of us here watched this video and thought "yeah I'm that fuck wit probably towing more than I really should be, but my car is rated for it so I can do what I want"

[@AutoExpertJC]

I think there's a lot of that 'out there'...

[@lobsterwhisperer7932]

looking forward to your epic video on Holden's extinction.

[@antone.henderson]

Thanks for the enlightenment. Regards Tony

[@victorbitter583]

Hurry up mate. The wait for the Holden death sentence vid is killing me.

[@waynemgtregear7228]

the heavy towing video is spot on i frequently see cars towing box trailers boats caravans or cars loaded on a trailer doing 110kph when they should be doing 80kph max

[@glenhong8028]

This is an informative video for towing in general. Although for the people that are coming here for actual towing for the Santa Fe there is about 2 minutes of driving where it says it handles it well. My takeaway from this though was that the recommendation is to subtract 20% from the towing capacity which leaves about 1600kg for the Santa Fe... :(

[@kevinbarry71]

Great video. Wonderful advice. Something else to consider; the profile of the trailer. Towing a flatbed trailer with a car on it, or a dump trailer, is very different from towing a box trailer or a camping trailer. The higher profile makes them much more susceptible to Crosswinds. In the wrong situation that can induce sway which in the hands of an inexperienced driver can be disastrous. Further, the tongue weight, which you call tow ball download, should not be less than 10% of the weight of the trailer. If it is, once again, you are asking for trailer sway. Trailer sway can very quickly result in a crash. Separately, you should see some of the trailers people tow in the United States. We have much bigger towing vehicles and thus much bigger trailers. And unless it's for commercial purposes, no special license required. Great situation

[@68modelpete10]

The sooner the powers that be make it law that people MUST have a towing license the better. Go to school, do the course, get training, safer for everyone. Can you imagine the uproar if truck drivers were allowed to just tow what they wanted? Well done John. Every one should watch this if they're going towing.

[@AutoExpertJC]

The lack of offical training/licensing requirement is shocking. It would never be acceptable in industry.

[@rodneycox7680]

Great vid. Thankyou.

[@rameshchaudhary8963]

plenty of information, amazing

[@gavinb9627]

I have seen the aftermath of too many of these incidents, one involved some pretty horrific injuries to both occupants. Your test rig John, even after all your due diligence can potentially be tripped up by some nasty uneven road surfaces. It would be good to see some swerve and recover tests, that night scare some people. Once again thanks for the awesome video

[@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen]

I don't understand why there is no mandatory training for people who tow large loads with small vehicles. It is currently possible for someone with no towing experience to hop in a ute with a huge 5th wheeler on the back and head of into the wide blue yonder. I have long thought that if the tail has the ability to wag the dog, training in how not to have that happen should be compulsory. We had it happen after years and years of towing (a big wind gust hit the side of the caravan) and if I wasn't experienced, it could have easily ended very badly indeed. As it was we still blew a tyre on the van, that is how violent the sway was.

[@billharris7235]

"Militate', thanks for the new vocabulary word!

[@AutoExpertJC]

They're all 'vocabulary' words... You're welcome.

[@clasdauskas]

Nice trailer!

[@351tgv]

Cadogan, I am waiting on the edge of my seat for your next video ... come on where is it.

[@robertkerr3312]

I own a 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander and I am very pleased with the vehicle. Your advice formed part of the purchase decision, so thank you for that however, in this video you mentioned the tow options packs and the increase in towball weight etc. My local Hyundai dealer told me the tow pack for my vehicle not only increased the towball weight to 150 Kg as well as the load to 2500 Kg, and although I have no interest in towing that heavy a van I thought it worthwhile to confirm this information with you.

[@waynellewellyn3895]

Caravan tow ball weight is recommended at 9-11% of ATM so 150kg limits you to a 1500kg caravan.

[@graysono]

Some big budget helicopter footage in there JC! I witnesses a fellow in a mid 90's Toyota Landcruiser towing a boat, lose it entirely on a hill start in a 50 kmh area. Was quite the watch as he pulled away but the boat stayed on the intersection point. I phoned it in to 111 and told them bring a crane as it was a big boat, as you can tow a big boat behind an old Landy - yessss!!! I hardly tow but when I do I'm a total girl. Get shit from mates but I've not ever had an incident ever - despite towing gliders, aeroplanes and all sorts of big heavy bits. They though have had many insurance claims!

[@NatureRecycleFlorida]

towing is a skill everyone should know

[@AutoExpertJC]

It amazes me you can go from a Yaris to a Landcruiser with a 3500kg trailer behind, with no additional training or licensing requirements.

[@NatureRecycleFlorida]

@@AutoExpertJC yes you would flip your lid here in the states you can legally tow an 5th wheel rv up to 26,000 lbs with no training or buy a bus rv 40,000 with no training

[@barryeaton8907]

@@AutoExpertJC In UK if you passed your test after 1 January 1997 you have a mam limit of 3500 kilo. You need to take another test to tow anything over that.

[@bigm383]

@@AutoExpertJC Yes, special training / licensing should be mandatory.

[@mcaus2302]

towing is a skill and by the definition "skill" everyone should not be doing heavy towing.

[@MrPhantomPete]

Great and informative vid John. What were the tie down straps rated to out of interest?

[@tano1747]

All great advice John. One thing that might have been worth mentioning would be the need for precision in the positioning of your load car on the car trailer. A few inches too far back would take away your ball load and your stability. Pretty much need a ball load scale to load a car trailer successfully (or i suppose you could use one to calibrate how far your rear end droops at x kg ball load and then use the car as a defacto ball load scale via measuring height accurately.) The Santa fe with 145 kg of ball load and a 2t trailer has only 7.5% on the ball and you don't want much less than that. Really it is a bit dodgy at over 1500kg as the rule of thumb is to aim for 7 to 10% ball load. To go 2000kg with only 150kg your upper limit is 7.5% and since that's also pretty much the lower limit for stability, you essentially have zero tolerance to play with. (And yes, i am a mechanical engineer also. )

[@rowankelly1448]

Was about to suggest the same thing, a mate rolled his trailer (and then his land cruiser) because he loaded a ute onto the trailer backwards giving a fairly neutral trailer balance, which was fine at low speed but out of control as soon it was on the highway.

[@tano1747]

Having owned and towed with the sf i think the limit is ball load, and specifically, the inability to distribute that ball load over all four wheels using load distribution equipment. And that is constrained by the towbar being only bolted on at the back of the "chassis rails" in the monocoque because the spare tyre underneath is completely in the way of a long forward- facing torque reaction arm. I am personally uncomfortable with towing loads up near the vehicle gvm without using load distribution gear to keep the tow vehicle level, keep a healthy % of overall mass on the front tyres and (with the right gear) add damping to the horizontal pendulum, all of which are massively important to high speed stability and collision avoidance. Hyundai won't endorse load distribution bars i assume because the towbar can't distribute the resultant moment into the car structure across a broad enough footprint to avoid damaging the monocoque . I've towed with the sf near the 2t limit, but only a box trailer with 0.5m3 of sand/ gravel, which had easily (shovel) adjustable ball load, and very low polar moment of inertia. And for a short distance at low speeds. But a 2t 22' caravan? Yeah i wouldn't do it without load distribution gear and that rules out the sf. Loved the vehicle apart from that though. As you say, the drivetrain isn't stressed by a 2t trailer. If you could buy a tow bar rated to 200kg ball load and level ride capable, even if it meant to sacrifice the boot space and put the spare inside, i reckon that the sf would be a very capable tug for a 2t load. But a 4t combination with less load on the front tyres than the bare car? Not for this little black duck!

[@AutoExpertJC]

I actually think 5% is OK (all of Europe rolls that way, but of course their drivers are typically better and they typically drive at lower speeds when towing). Trailer was set up with 145kg on the towball (by repositioning the blocks at the end of the ramp) and the trailer never displayed any symptoms of instability across all those fairly demanding conditions (of speed, curvature and gradient).

[@waynellewellyn3895]

AutoExpert TV ...and on very different roads.

[@tano1747]

I think the lower you go on ball load, the more critical it becomes to have a low polar moment of inertia in the trailer (load mostly over the axle not out at the ends). I have to refresh my vibration theory and go do some math though to be more definitive about it.... And of course, if European tow vehicles are driving slower, that may be what allows them to get away with lower ball loads. It is all about critical speed and staying under it. And i guess those euro style hitches with friction pads in the ball socket to damp oscillations may be common in Europe for a good reason (like 5% ball loads being common)???

[@pangit9999]

I'm sure you'll have a video (hopefully up soon) on today's Holden announcement. I know you saw it coming, and look forward to your scathing commentary now that they've finally done it!

[@rayg9069]

Putting aside brand hate for a moment, what this video shows is that vehicles with conservative ratings like the Great Wall Steed are actually honest real world ratings with no compromises needed. Maximum trailer weight 2000kg (as advertised)= 200kg towball weight (as advertised), still allows 800 kg of usable payload and still within the advertised GVM.

[@matthewguy5613]

I am looking at upgrading my santa fe due to the ball weight limit. In this test you have two tonnes with a 150 max ball weight limit. It is a good point to discuss the load stability vs ball weight percentage as a poorly distributed load will also cause you grief.

[@c924127]

Hey John, was that an ante rattle bolt I sore on the hitch? I thought they had to come out when towing? Billy T.

[@stevemunro8559]

Great video

[@AutoExpertJC]

Thank you Steve.

[@b-man2961]

Stand-up comedy at it's best, "Backing one out in an acoustically transparent echo chamber, next to the dinning table, hopefully with the guest present". My wife almost wet her self laughing. Loved it myself, and call her in to hear you tell it. All the more funny given, the Sister-in-Law and Brother-in-Law have not long ago set forth in a motor home. Again love the missive.

[@p38arover22]

Many years ago, as an inexperienced tower, I had a Ford Falcon XC 4WD wagon behind my FJ55 Land Cruiser and had it go into sway mode on the M1 motorway coming down the hill toward the Mooney Mooney Bridge (a very steep hill). The sway was so bad that the trailer hit the rear corner of the Cruiser. I was lucky to not lose the Falcon off the trailer and to not hit cars beside me on the motorway. The reason was that I had incorrectly loaded the Falcon. I couldn't get it nose onto the trailer as it was not driveable so I loaded it rear end first. The towball weight was negative. I had to stand on the trailer nose to couple up. I couldn't change it until I got home (another 100km) - it was a very slow and careful drive for the rest of the journey.

[@JohnWilliamsGTS]

Today I had to think of your saying "whenever your in a dealer and you look at the clock on the wall it's always bullshit o'clock" . Sadly I went in to a dealer to look at a car. Salesperson told me the promotional discount price was $24000. I said other dealers have them listed at $22500 on car sales, so we'll start the negotiation at that price. The salesperson said even at $24000 they are making a loss. I thought to myself it's bullshit o'clock already. Did they think I would feel sorry for them because they are making a loss on every sale and pay a higher amount? I said to the salesperson "if you're making a loss on every sale, then you need lessons in capitalism because you're doing it wrong".

[@jamesplotkin4674]

John, in the past, you've stated that auxiliary (larger capacity) transmission coolers were unnecessary. But I'd suggest when towing such high loads, wouldn't it be prudent to install one to keep the auto trans temp in check?

[@marty3469]

I've been passenger in a car during a 'tank slappa' , the falcon wagon was reversed on due to its height, we was only doing 75kmh when it started swaying. Driver decided to speed through it, I said bad plan and then the trailer was swapping sides while the driver spun the steering lock to lock in milliseconds.. bit scary seeing the trailer in the full view of the left side window, then right side a few times till momentum settled down and we carried on below 60kmh . After all that we drove back to the incident area to check the 80 to 100mtr skids left on the road, was lucky it happened in a 3 lane hwy with little traffic at the time, no injuries or damage except in the driver's shorts lol

[@onetwo3706]

Shania Twain said, "So you can heavy tow, that don'ta impressa me much"

[@AutoExpertJC]

Did she really say that?

[@dragancrnogorac3851]

So you made me watch video, that don't impression me much...but made few minutes of my life better 🤗 Old gold, real diva stuff there, great person and extremely pretty even in their 50+ years

[@onetwo3706]

@@AutoExpertJC Yes unfortunately, I just spoke with her to confirm and she said it was to do with something something "don't have the touch". She didn't elaborate and I didn't push the issue as she was in a bit of a mood. I'm sorry John and to all other heavy towing experts.

[@HughMungoose]

Didn't know she was Italian...

[@onetwo3706]

@@HughMungoose She's Canadian actually however that's her pronunciation when she sings. What do you call that syndrome? Anyway, be sure to check out her hit single, That Don'ta Impressa Me Much, for verification.

[@loufaiella3354]

great information!! A couple of things: I like to lightly grease the ball on the hitch with lubriplate (or whatever is available), and most importantly, has there been any (study) that would recommend a technique for quenching that fatal oscillation of the trailer as shown in your video??

[@lerch122]

well presented

[@michaeldaly6174]

John thanks for the very informative report. I own a Pajero Sport 3100 kg towing, and tow a caravan that has a GVM 2550 kg the towing set up works well, it took a far bit of research to get it right first time. Can you keep this topic active? With more of the heavy towing issues like, mirrors, reversing, fuel consumption, where to stop on the high ways & maintenance

[@AutoExpertJC]

Will do Michael - I already have a bunch of reports on towing.

[@maxwellparkercoaching]

Great work John. Would love to see a 2015 Defender 110 in the mix with its c.6.5T GCM. I just happen to know where you could find one too ;)

[@OilBaron100]

Fantastic video. Could you do a video on today's announcement of GM's Holden closure?

[@dave055]

John, I would suggest that the breakaway be connected to the vehicle not the towbar. In the unlikely event (but not unheard of) the whole towbar separated from the vehicle it will still work.

[@jayjays3592]

That combination looks ideal. The Santa fe looks like it sits nice. I definitely learnt something, and that is crossing the chains. Never knew this. I regularly tow roughly 1600kg racecar and trailer combo behind my BT50

[@bigm383]

The thought of snapping a grogan, pinching one off, laying a brown cable or hanging a Borrey within one meter of the dining table is exactly what puts me off the whole grey nomad thing.

[@bigm383]

@Tone. So many euphemisms, so little time.

[@railtrolley]

Hatching a monster loaf.

[@hcavn]

Can't wait for the video on Holden shutting up shop ;-}

[@baz770]

Wow - today I passed (even have photos as I was a passenger) this exact model Hyundai which had rolled with a caravan heading north on Tonkin HWY Perth (about 10:50 14/2/20). Blocked both lanes on a 37C day but luckily no ambulances to be seen. Needless to say, 20+ minutes of discussion in our car continued about towing and I look at this today - up there in the "suggestions" of KZbin...... eerie.....

[@TC-yx2ss]

Go ogle is listening to your conversations in your car 😒

[@rjl110919581]

thank you detail video as show what check out first. that got Isuzu 300 truck 4x4 crew cab max load 5.5 ton for tour and can heavy towing of 3.5 ton that keep under limit on LC driving licence max 9.5 ton on licence

[@craigstephenmcdonald9915]

Very good

[@dj-two-timing-timmy]

Nice to see you out of your man shed..

[@AutoExpertJC]

I got a visa to go out in public...

[@aslkdfjhg]

Please do a video on roof racks in the future. I work at Bunnings and I regularly see people trying to carry upwards of 5 times the rated 50kg limit on the roof on their little racks, not knowing that they're putting their family, their car and everyone around them at risk.

[@moc61]

Great video and advise John. Just one question though. Why would you advise drivers to stick to the middle lane on a 3 lane highway, rather than the left lane?

[@Hello_EverlyRose]

Great video, this has sold it to me that I should be able to tow my Jayco flamingo outback OK?

[@raymondstone9636]

3.5 tons on the Far South Coast section of the Princes Highway are a PAIN in the proverbial.

[@patrick247two]

Thank you.

[@MrWilliam.Stewart]

Hey John, there's some can't in a grey future classic following far to close behind.

[@stevennixon9033]

Stay in the middle when there is 3 lanes...hmmm. Putting aside the 'keep left when not overtaking' rule, there is some merit in your statement. I travel that road often and chose the leper lane (left) because its generally the lane less traveled by others. Overtaking on the left (or is it undertaking; and therefore makes me an undertaker?) is legal (correct me if I'm mistaken) but can sometimes catch you out if a slow vehicle is present and a quick lane change is required. Good video John and team.

[@dunxy]

You're spot on about the caravan and boaties statement, %100! They simply don't understand the GCM,GVM and ball weights.They also look up the weight of their boats, they don't weigh them! They don't understand that glass boats can vary a lot and they never factor in all the other stuff, you know like stainless steel rod racks, anchor and chain, anchor winch, batteries, fuel (one friend boat has 750litre tank for example, he bought a f350 to tow because it was close to cruiser max weight as only a bare hull,trailer and engines!) and other stuff the manufacturers never account for in their specifications.The Ford DANGER fan bois drive me nuts with their lack of understanding. 70 series make much better tow vehicles than the "toorak taxi" cruisers as well.

[@tallon5457]

John you were right about Holden they're gone down the drain

[@vicadamthwaite7358]

Can't wait for today's vid John. You jusy know what you're going to get blamed for!

[@garrywright6643]

Another top quality video and great advice but I have a question relating to gear selection. In this video you said to always tow in Drive. I have a 200 LC and in the manual for an auto it says in the Trailer towing tips page 207 and I quote " To maintain engine breaking efficiency and charging system performance when using engine breaking, do not put the transmission in D. If in the S mode, the transmission shift range position must be in 4 or lower". Is this an unrelated topic or do Toyota have another take on it. I have a scangauge with the Auto Temp/WaterTemp showing and when I drive in S4 or S5 depending on the hills etc.I can modify my driving to keep the temps down. Please confirm or set me straight.

[@cbsos4u1952]

I have towed for many years, as it appears on the edge of stupidity. Great video! My years have been using decrepid manual gear boxes, now day it's auto, I have bee told to never tow in over drive as it will destroy the it. I can't understand why this would be, like you said the auto would pick the correct time or load to change, am I missing something?

[@billroach2393]

Spot-on video....That's why I chose a 5 tonne Chevy Silverado (with a GCM of 11,100kg) to tow my 3,500kg Bushtracker. There aren't many hotels/motels in the places where we find ourselves most of the time....so there's that! We don't have any friends, so no problem when it comes to backing-one-out in the ensuite down the back of the Taj.....hahaha. On a sour note, however, could I respectfully ask you NOT to look across to the passenger's area at the video camera, whilst you're driving a behemoth down the freeway....NOT SAFE ol' mate!

[@MartintheTinman]

It's a good idea to not have the handle of the jockey wheel hanging down like that too. When you enter or exit a driveway for example when the handle is hanging down and can impact the ground and get bent. I did it once. Learnt my lesson

[@AutoExpertJC]

Excellent tip - thanks

[@keithhomes5701]

I am quietly pushing for a licence endorsement for anyone towing a trailer of reasonable size, such as those requiring a braking system. It is crazy that you need to be trained and have a truck licence to drive a 4.5t GVM rigid truck, but anyone with a car licence who has been driving the Corolla to the shops for the past 20 years can get into a 4wd/caravan articulated combination with a GCM of say 5t and just go for it. Go Australia!

[@roughas100]

It might be a bit picky , but the right side chain crossed to the left on the tow vehicle is longer than the other chain by a fair amount , I've heard to keep them short as possible to prevent the tow hitch or draw bar digging into the road if the trailer hitch comes loose from the tow vehicle. Yep having electric brakes is great , used to find with mechanical overrun brakes the big spring in the tow hitch was too heavy unless the trailer was loaded close to its ATM of 2T , meaning the brakes didnt do much when loaded at say 1.2 T