As caravans and fifth wheelers on Australian roads get bigger, better … and heavier … many grey nomads are thinking long and hard about their tow vehicle decisions.
For some, the solution has been to look at some of the monster pickups more commonly seen on the highways and byways of the US of A. And that means we’ll be seeing a lot more right-hand-drive converted Chevrolet, GMC, Ford, Toyota and Ram pickups in our caravans parks and camping grounds.
The Toowoomba Chronicle reports that, in recent months, Ram Trucks – distributed by American Special Vehicles – has arrived on these shores. The ‘big-towing brutes’ come with full volume import approval, meaning they are fully compliant with Australian Design Rules after their right-hand-drive conversion.
The sales manager of Harrison F-Trucks Maroochydore showroom, Stewart Angove, said people looking for heavy-duty pickups were often looking for super-sized towing capacity.
“Caravans, boats, horse floats and car trailers are getting heavier, and the maximum towing weight for a car you can buy in Australia is 3.5-tonnes,” he told the Toowoomba Chronicle. “We have inquiries from people with the likes of a Ford Ranger or Toyota LandCruiser who know they are towing over the vehicle limit illegally, and can’t afford to have an accident.”
Mr Angove said the Ford F-350 model was his most popular – even though drivers need a light truck licence to drive one – as many people need its huge load lugging capacity. An F-350 single rear-wheel crew-cab SWB pickup has a 1.7-tonne payload and 6.2-tonne towing capacity for example.
Daniel Hunt, general manager at Cricks Nambour where Ram Trucks are sold, told the Chronicle his customer base included plenty of grey nomads. “Many put their current 4WD vehicles under a lot of strain when towing, sometimes illegally, and people often can’t buy the vans they want because their vehicle’s towing capacity isn’t enough,” he said. “A Ram takes away any guesses. You’ve never driven anything so comfortable and you could probably tow your house across the street if you had to.”
Performax International says that while the imported and converted American pickups comes at a premium price (many are around the $150,000 mark), they are comparable with some large SUVs from mainstream manufacturers, while luxury and standard equipment was on a similar level and the towing capacity far better.
Not so much as a vehicle – but how about they go for an articulated licence , as these things are a semi trailer NOT A 5TH WHEELER as such – and should require you to pass an articulated vehicle licence
JUST WONDERING HOW MANY WOULD PASS ???
Yes we have a Dodge Ram 3500, we tow a 30ft 5th wheeler which we imported direct from USA. We see so many people towing & the majority would be over weight and illegal…..
Remember if the insurance company can get out of paying they will if something goes wrong & the 1st thing they will check is your wieghts.
Just about every caravan in excess of 20′ would be right near the limit of ATM. Sales of the Ford, Ranger, BT 50, etc are being a bit naughty selling these as being able to tow 3500kg. Put anything at all in the tug, spare fuel, chainsaw, tables, chairs, even a passenger and the tow rating goes down. I tow with a 2004 Ford F250 7.3 Litre Turbo Diesel and the fuel consumption is a lot better than a 4.2 litre Nissan Patrol and it does the job easier.
Problem is that it doesn’t change much when I am not towing. If you want to play, you have to pay.
We tow a 21ft heavy duty off road caravan with a 2500 HD Turbo Ram. Fabulous vehicle, fuel consumption is superb. We were lucky and purchased before the dollar dropped in value. Our Ram has maintained its value.