MySwag.org The Off-road Camper Trailer Forum
General => General Discussion => Topic started by: firefox on January 10, 2015, 04:23:08 PM
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Hi Everyone,
Soooooo "maybe just maybe" i will be switching to a LC200 in the coming weeks! Yes our piece of crap LR is broken again and its the 18th time in 18 months! (Good suggestion to anyone if you have one sell it! if you're thinking about buying don't think about it!)
Anyhow...
I have a couple of questions. (for those avid toyota guys...)
Firstly Tyres!
ARB are suggesting i put Cooper ST-Maxx tyres on (fitted on the standard 18" rims) is anyone running these? what are they like?
I've been using Cooper Zeon LTZ's and been pretty happy with them.
It's a VX we are looking at..
We're doing the GVM upgrade, and additional spring/suspension upgrade.
Does anyone have the Toyota Bullbar (steel). ARB have big problems currently getting their bullbars, and the toyota looks pretty good, and keeping with the theme of staying with "genuine" products i might use a toyota one instead of ARB??
Will be doing basic underbody protection, dual battery, snorkel and roof rack and rear cargo.
Trying to see if i can fit the larger tyre on the spare underneath as really don't have a need for a rear tailgate.
Anything i am missing as a "critical"..?
JD
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Hi FF
There is a cooper ST max that's well suited to the Cruza 18" rim buts it's close to $550! I went d697 and am very happy but they are wearing pretty quickly. Next time I am looking a the nitto grapplers that look like the st max. Hearing good things, will probably ditch the 18"s for 17"s too.
The OEM bar had issues early on cracking chassis and they amended them, but there was talk that they were told by arb engineers the bar was wrongly designed? Maybe also look at the TJM steel bar?
With the snorkel you can get a factory fitted one for about the same dosh. You just have to live or lose the shoebox top. They do sit higher than safaris.
Good luck, great rig. Sorry to here of your grief with the RR.
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Have you thought about changing to 17" rims? Cheaper and more readily available than 18" rubber away from a major city/town and perhaps the rubber might match your trailer size too?
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Yeah looking at 17" as an option as well. Problem is getting dealer to swap them.
We're looking at lots at the moment, to see if this will all work.
And yes i am crossing over sometime.. (for those asking :)..)
I'd prefer the 17 as well, my bigger concern is fuel usage on the car (as i don't want to be doing 25l/100 when towing)
Currently i sit around the 19 (should be more like 17)..
Aparently Toyota do not provide the snorkel anymore for the vehicle as an accessory.
Was looking into the TPMS system as well maybe, but would love one that is bluetooth and ipad compat..
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Gday firefox with your gvm upgrade are you going arb or a different brand. With the arb one it only goes to 3550kg I think unless it's changed I've looked at others that go to 3800kg may be worth looking into.
Dicko
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Yeah i am currently looking at the ARB one (not the lovells)..
I've spoken with the insurance company and being very careful about weights etc (as my van is big!)..
No matter what i can't change the GCM and towing capacity, so i think 3580 is enough with 3500 behind.. (total 7100 GCM)
According to the Suncorp Customer Officer (insurance we have) they stated that if we went lovells (i.e 3800 then the overall GCM they have listed for the vehicle 7100 means if we had 3800 in the car, the towing is reduced to 3300. (can't exceed overall)
I've been working with the ARB/toyota guys to work out the best suspension setup with air bags in rear etc..
It's the only reason why i haven't seriously made the switch sooner, is that i was very happy with the air suspension on the RRS. But unfortunately for multiple reasons most know about, that can is going somewhere (either heaven or a grave!)
Spoke to Toyota insurance today and they have the same GCM rule above..
The overall GCM rule is a little weird as aparently they don't publish an overall GCM?? But at least i know thats what i would have on our paperwork and rego papers etc.. (and the insurance guys are happy with it..)
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GVM and GCM rules are over my head, but for the other things....BFG A/T 285/70/17 are still a tyre not to be sneezed at !!
I have a OL bull bar and can't work out why you would want to spend an extra $1000 for another brand ??
I have an Airtec snorkel, but that's a personal choice between that and a Safari ??
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33" tyre will fit in the spare no probs. 17" is definately a better option, the bigger sidewall is a big plus and you will have more luck finding a 17" tyre in a remote spot then you would an 18". The ST Maxx are a good tyre but there have been a few sidewall issues that have surfaced. It's a bit of luck of the draw as with everything. Personally Id go the 285/70R17 (33") KM2 which work great and im sure there are differing opinions but that's what I would go with. If Toyota don't come to the party with a downsize (which would be pretty piss poor) try and speak to an independent tyre shop locally and work out a changeover while they are new :cheers:
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FF the dealers will not change the rims, especially so with the 200 as the tyre placard is unique per model ie the VX does not list the 17" option !! If this doesn't concern you, buy 17" AM rims and tyres and flog the 18"s to those of us who want second spares, most pay more than the AM 17"s.
Check out the grapplers had a couple of mates run them, look the goods.
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Yeah looking at 17" as an option as well. Problem is getting dealer to swap them.
We're looking at lots at the moment, to see if this will all work.
And yes i am crossing over sometime.. (for those asking :)..)
I'd prefer the 17 as well, my bigger concern is fuel usage on the car (as i don't want to be doing 25l/100 when towing)
Currently i sit around the 19 (should be more like 17)..
Aparently Toyota do not provide the snorkel anymore for the vehicle as an accessory.
Was looking into the TPMS system as well maybe, but would love one that is bluetooth and ipad compat..
G'day Firefox. I get 14s around town on BFG AT 285/70/17s carrying 3t. KM2s in the same size get good reviews too. If Toyota won't play ball you could run slicks on 18s and muddies on 17s.
Cheers,
Rohan.
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As we are travelling all the time, I can't run two sets. So gotta find an option that suits us all the time. I also don't want to blow out fuel consumption to crazy.
I'm still trying to decide if a winch is needed. I've had one on the front for 18 months and not needed it once, and done nearly most things we want to do.
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An A/T tyre is definately what you need then, ....swap the new H/T ones when they are brand new for a good changeover price !
A winch is also an option, not a necessity ..
With the slightly bigger tyres, the fuel consumption must go up....but only by a very small margin....maybe 1 l/hk ??
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Look at General Grabber tyres they seem fairly good from what I have seen but cannot say I recommend them as haven't used them myself, otherwise Yokohama AT's are good tried a 100 series shod in them and liked the handling
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we are looking at the 200 also, but a GXL with KDSS
got quoted $1405 for an extra factory 17" alloy (ROH RTX are about $300 each). I'm trying to see if I can get the GXL with the GX 17x8 steel wheels as these are about $260 each.
A winch is insurance, I had one on the 100 series before the GU, used it once and it probably saved us a few hours.
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G,day Firefox,
you won't be disappointed with the 200, mine is 4 years old and very happy with it and the Toyota service experience - coming from a previous Nissan owner
I have the GX which comes standard with 17", I run the Mickey Thompson ATZ 4rib which have been replaced with the P3 and have not had any issues with them, a mate of mine had a Coopers sidewall blow out on the way into El Questro last year and was lucky he didn't hit a tree on the corner, Tyrepower Derby gave him a Pro Rata Warranty on his tyre but it did make us more cautious between El Questro to Derby via Mitchell Falls etc.
I have the ARB Bullbar and have had no issues with that either but a friend of mine has had several issues with the ARB Hilux bar.
I have a winch but never used it for my own extraction so went with the more cost effective Magnum instead.
Very happy with the OME suspension, have had it in the last 5 4x4, never an issue and would buy them again
The GX came with a Snorkel albeit with an ugly head, the Safari looks the goods though
cheers
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FF. From reports on lcool any changes to tyre sizes plays on the fuel consumption reasonably hard. I think it is also that it screws with the thing droping into 6th. If that's the case look at the D697 bridgestones on the 18"s they stay the same diametre. I think I paid $250 a tyre to trade up from new
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Hiya,
I have the LC200 Altitude on 18" rims. I looked at swapping to 17" but the changeover was prohibitive. In all reality if you blow a tyre in remote you will be waiting for delivery of a replacement for 17 just as long as an 18.
Anyway, I upgraded to 3800 GVM with Dobinson springs and Bilstein shocks plus polyairs.
I run Cooper ST Maxx at 275/70/18 and have been very happy with them. Last January we did 6,000km towing including lots of 4wding and beach driving and averaged 20l/100km or thereabouts. Our KK fully loaded with tinny, outboard, folding trailer and water etc is close to 2000kg so we have a heavy rig. Economy around town at home is about 14l/100km and I have roof racks plus drawers and fridge in the back full time.
I'm hoping that by the time I changeover the tyres, there will be more to choose from for the increasingly common 18" rim. I have the tyres rotated and balanced every 10K km as per manufacturer instructions and warranty requirements, which hubby thinks is a waste of time and money coz if you add that up over 80,000km it probably covers the cost of a tyre or two.
I changed the tyres the day after I bought the car and traded the Dunflops it came with. Got about $250 per tyre from memory.
I also have the Opposite Lock premium loop colour coded bullbar as I'm not a fan of our local ARB store and in fact I like the loop bar better (and my car doesn't look like every other 200 on the road). Check them out, I reckon they look the goods. Opp Lock also do a post bar similar to ARB.
I also have a 9500lb VRS winch which we have used several times to get ourselves out of trouble. If you're serious about getting off the track, then put a winch on.
More info on my rig here: http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=32574.0 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=32574.0)
(http://teamstozz.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/img_2912.jpg)
Hope this helps.
:angel:
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FF the dealers will not change the rims, especially so with the 200 as the tyre placard is unique per model ie the VX does not list the 17" option !! If this doesn't concern you, buy 17" AM rims and tyres and flog the 18"s to those of us who want second spares, most pay more than the AM 17"s.
Check out the grapplers had a couple of mates run them, look the goods.
Dealer swapped my 2013 Altitude 18" rims for GXL 17" at no charge. I then swapped the stock tyres for BFG AT 285/70/17 for $1600. I bought a GX steel spare as a 6th wheel for $140 from the spares counter a few months later. Same offset as the alloy.
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Dealer swapped my 2013 Altitude 18" rims for GXL 17" at no charge. I then swapped the stock tyres for BFG AT 285/70/17 for $1600. I bought a GX steel spare as a 6th wheel for $140 from the spares counter a few months later. Same offset as the alloy.
Lucky I have heard. Of a few knocking the changeover back. You rea with the steelies it's different nuts too? It good for a second spare though.
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Hiya,
I also have the Opposite Lock premium loop colour coded bullbar as I'm not a fan of our local ARB store and in fact I like the loop bar better (and my car doesn't look like every other 200 on the road). Check them out, I reckon they look the goods. Opp Lock also do a post bar similar to ARB.
More info on my rig here: http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=32574.0 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=32574.0)
(http://teamstozz.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/img_2912.jpg)
Hope this helps.
:angel:
I too have the OL bar....liked Stozz's so went with it....quality seems just as good as ARB, appears to be strongly built underneath where it counts ?
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I went for the ARB Sahara bar and Cooper ST Maxx 285/70/17's. Quite happy with the tyres so far.
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I too have the OL bar....liked Stozz's so went with it....quality seems just as good as ARB, appears to be strongly built underneath where it counts ?
:cup:
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As we are travelling all the time, I can't run two sets. So gotta find an option that suits us all the time. I also don't want to blow out fuel consumption to crazy.
I'm still trying to decide if a winch is needed. I've had one on the front for 18 months and not needed it once, and done nearly most things we want to do.
Safe yourself the weight and get a manual winch, esp if you don't frequently need one...
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Re the tyres - I have been running General Grabbers AT (as distinct from the AT2) for the last 30k (albeit on a Disco 3) and am very happy with them. Covered a variety of grounds - highway, dirt roads, tracks, beach...
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As we are travelling all the time, I can't run two sets. So gotta find an option that suits us all the time. I also don't want to blow out fuel consumption to crazy.
I'm still trying to decide if a winch is needed. I've had one on the front for 18 months and not needed it once, and done nearly most things we want to do.
Hi Justin,
The time you don't have is the time you will need it.
Hutchie
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yeah i know hence why i am in two minds about it..
Maybe the options is the lite weight one...
Still trying to work out if this is really an option, as i still have to deal with the "lemon" range rover.. Would be nice if people actually did the legal and right thing, but i've got to work out how to deal with "new" car whilst still having the existing busted one..
Ahh food for thought, but all the feedbacks been awesome as i can work my way around it all.
JD
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Here you go Firefox,
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=41213.0;topicseen (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=41213.0;topicseen)
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Made the change to the 200 6 months ago and it is a great touring vehicle. Had the suspension upgrade by ARB and it works a treat although my ball weight is pretty low with the Omeo.
I have had coopers before but at the time of delivery there were none around for a changeover so went the KM2's and they have proven to be a great tyre with a bit of road noise but not that noticeable.
I also would fit the winch back in for that one of moment and mine has been used a couple of times for others, not myself yet. Check out the link below for the build up thread
GG
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FF
As much as I love my 76 series, I too am looking at an upgrade whilst my 76 still has low kms. (29000). However the new 200 it will be my retirement vehicle.
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FF
As much as I love my 76 series, I too am looking at an upgrade whilst my 76 still has low kms. (29000). However the new 200 it will be my retirement vehicle.
:o :-X
Swannie
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As we are travelling all the time, I can't run two sets. So gotta find an option that suits us all the time. I also don't want to blow out fuel consumption to crazy.
I'm still trying to decide if a winch is needed. I've had one on the front for 18 months and not needed it once, and done nearly most things we want to do.
I would imagine the 18" rims would sell for quite a bit on eBay or gumtree and you could buy aftermarket 17s with the money?
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FF
As much as I love my 76 series, I too am looking at an upgrade whilst my 76 still has low kms. (29000). However the new 200 it will be my retirement vehicle.
All I can suggest is this
Do not test drive one unless you are 110% commited to a new vehicle. After the test drive you will be signing the papers >:D
GG
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I'd love to pull the trigger. My problem is what to with the lemon Range Rover. We can't take two cars so I need to work out how to deal with that problem. Only wish lra would actually do the right or even legal thing.
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I'd love to pull the trigger. My problem is what to with the lemon Range Rover.
carsales.com.au :D
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What's LR's comment re this being a lemon?
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He he.
What's lra say, well they don't. They won't even follow court procedures. It's disgusting. For such a large company with an expensive brand is terrible. However they have burnt a lot of people lately. I'm giving them another little period to actually at least follow court rules. Otherwise I'm taking our story and documents and evidence public.
None of you will want to read it, especially those that own land rovers. There are some serious scary stories about invalid parts, etc. we've recorded the entire thing and we've been able to get internal workshop notes that normally the public doesn't see or get. There's huge difference between what's written on a customer doc and what's on the technical report.
Anyhow I am sure will keep everyone up to date. Gotta make some decisions and solve problems.
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He he.
What's lra say, well they don't. They won't even follow court procedures. It's disgusting. For such a large company with an expensive brand is terrible. However they have burnt a lot of people lately. I'm giving them another little period to actually at least follow court rules. Otherwise I'm taking our story and documents and evidence public.
None of you will want to read it, especially those that own land rovers. There are some serious scary stories about invalid parts, etc. we've recorded the entire thing and we've been able to get internal workshop notes that normally the public doesn't see or get. There's huge difference between what's written on a customer doc and what's on the technical report.
Anyhow I am sure will keep everyone up to date. Gotta make some decisions and solve problems.
DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup: :cup:
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All this thread shows is that the consumer is getting ripped off by the car manufacturers. It's pretty sad when you can't buy a supposedly "proper" 4WD without having to spend $$$$$$ to meet expectations. What a joke.
As to Firefoxes problems with the RRS & I've heard them 1st hand, I can understand his angst but, a lemon is a lemon! I know several people with the same vehicle who have had no problems & also know several people with different makes who have had problems, including dealing with the manufacturer, so advising people not to buy a certain make is, to me, being a bit precious.
Steve
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I've had 4 land rovers. The current one is a lemon. I used to love them.
My bone to pick is with the way they have treated us. That's the problem.
It's also the reason why although I have had 18 breakdowns in 18 months and not had the vehicle for over 40 weeks in that period, it has not been made public.
I'd prefer to be the nice guy and simple. But there are limits unfortunately.
I'm still trying to work through the best way through problems, hence why I am looking at all the options. It's also why I have not posted anything bad or the story which I could it's written and done, and ready to go out. But have to deal with it the mature way.
Oh and fair trading marked the car as a lemon in May this year so really can't sell it. I do have morals.
I agree that all manufacturers have problems and then some are brilliant. A lemon is a unique vehicle not an entire brand. However the way that the brand acts is different to whether a vehicle is a lemon. My problem has been the way we have been treated, and then the constant failures.
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All I can suggest is this
Do not test drive one unless you are 110% commited to a new vehicle. After the test drive you will be signing the papers >:D
GG
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I rang Benalla Toyota where I bought the 76 and the saleman Damien still works there. He was really good to deal with so what now? ???
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I've had 4 land rovers. The current one is a lemon. I used to love them.
My bone to pick is with the way they have treated us. That's the problem.
It's also the reason why although I have had 18 breakdowns in 18 months and not had the vehicle for over 40 weeks in that period, it has not been made public.
I'd prefer to be the nice guy and simple. But there are limits unfortunately.
I'm still trying to work through the best way through problems, hence why I am looking at all the options. It's also why I have not posted anything bad or the story which I could it's written and done, and ready to go out. But have to deal with it the mature way.
Oh and fair trading marked the car as a lemon in May this year so really can't sell it. I do have morals.
I agree that all manufacturers have problems and then some are brilliant. A lemon is a unique vehicle not an entire brand. However the way that the brand acts is different to whether a vehicle is a lemon. My problem has been the way we have been treated, and then the constant failures.
http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/feedback.aspx (http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/feedback.aspx)
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All I can suggest is this
Do not test drive one unless you are 110% commited to a new vehicle. After the test drive you will be signing the papers >:D
GG
[/quo
I rang Benalla Toyota where I bought the 76 and the saleman Damien still works there. He was really good to deal with so what now? ???
Take the plunge, its worth it >:D >:D >:D :cheers: :angel:
GG
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I've driven the gxl, vx, Sahara all one afternoon. I have to admit they are really nice.
We've actually got a crystal pearl vx on hold. But I have to sort out the other problems, as we can't travel with 2 vehicles.
In saying that the RRS has been busted now for nearly 2 weeks and told today probably another 2 weeks. So we're looking at all the sensible options etc.
It's been good as I've been trying to look at what I need and getting advice on what works and the best way to look at the LC200.
Tyres and towing have been a big concern but I think I've worked through it..
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Make sure you get the OEM Tow kit thrown in as you can't just piggyback onto the existing wiring
cheers
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I've driven the gxl, vx, Sahara all one afternoon. I have to admit they are really nice.
We've actually got a crystal pearl vx on hold.
We got a new crystal pearl VX in September after having had Pathfinders for the previous 14 years. What else can I say about the VX but WOW!!! Also had the standard tyres traded in before we picked it up & got ST Maxx 275/70/18's - my 1st set of Coopers ever & been quite happy with them although time will tell (just watch your speedo reading with this size as it will be reading a bit lower than actual speed). Also since picking it up, have had ARB Bullbar, Safari Snorkel, & ARB Lift kit with Polyairs put in
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Hi peter,
Your setup is nearly identical to what I am looking at. You seem pretty happy.
Can I ask have you weighed it? What fuel mileage do you get.
Cheers
Justin
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Hi peter,
Your setup is nearly identical to what I am looking at. You seem pretty happy.
Can I ask have you weighed it? What fuel mileage do you get.
Cheers
Justin
Hi Justin,
No, haven't weighed it. As for fuel consumption, a lot better than my 4.0L V6 petrol Pathy was lol. According to the trip computer, about 16l/100kms around the city ( but that is only running kids up to local school each day) & slightly less on the open road when towing a 1.7t camper trailer. Not sure how accurate the trip computer is seeing I seem to have about 40 litres left in the tank each time I've filled up. Also, keep in mind that I have gone from 285/60/18 tyres which were 800mm dia to 275/70/18's which are 847 dia.
BTW, only downside so far is that with bigger tyres, ARB lift, & Rola sports racks, now have to watch what car parks we go into as car is now about 2050 high (I figure that it is going to save me money as the wife can't go shopping as much now as can't get into some of the car parks ;D )
Other little I've had done so far - tinted front windows, Towbar with on road hitch (I've found off road hitch sits too high), & also got the rubber boot mat which I've found very good (don't have drawers in it). Also swapped over the useless ARB indicater/parking lights for the LED ones
Hope that helps.
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This was the VX with a snorkel and Lovells as well. If your leaving the rear seats in I would guess add 40-60kg for both.
Weighed the cruiser this morning. Full tanks, bullbar, winch, no rear seats, ply base and fridge slide. 3,000 kgs
http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=29524.50 (http://www.myswag.org/index.php?topic=29524.50)
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Hi Guys,
thanks for the feedback, its actually good to understand what other weights etc are coming in at..
I've been reading alot on LCOOL and just in general researching so when/if i pull the trigger and move forward i know what i need to get done quickly.
Cheers
JD