How heavy is too heavy?...towing a trailer

[nxski]

Well, I just went through a bit of an ordeal pulling my trailer. I'm bad at estimating the weight of soil and a guy on one of my construction sites said "I take soil with me all the time, as long as you don't take more than this [drew a line in a pile of soil] you will be under 2000lbs" 2000lbs is the limit to what my trailers axel can handle on top of the weight of the trailer. As it happened, I took the soil to the dump and it weighed out at over 4100lbs. This put the total weight I was towing with an L300 at around 5400lbs. On top of that, the E&H hitch is only rated for 4000lbs. Needless to say, it was a nerve racking trip and starting on a hill created a lot of vibration and was very slow. That being said, the Delica took it all in stride and I made it from Langley to Ladner in part thanks to the trailer brakes which were absolutely necessary.

I'm thankful to have made it safely, would not recommend it, but if you're thinking of towing a lot of weight with your L300 I can say that as long as you keep the weight within the ratings of your hitch and your axel you should be fine. My pyro was extremely useful and luckily was reading no higher than 1100 degrees at any point during the trip (I couldn't go faster than 80kph on the freeway though).

[thedjjack]

if you have manual hubs on there and a big hill to climb

You can use low range to pull steep grades or backup etc....

Just remember you need to fully stop to shift out of low range so not an option to get going for high speeds..

I use low range open hubs all the time...

[nxski]

I have auto hubs but had it in 'L' and that was good enough for getting going, once I got above about 20kph or was cruising rather than accelerating the vibrations stopped.

[mararmeisto]

"How heavy is too heavy?" - I would never tow more than 9.36 tonnes. It's just simply too much.

Okay, I jest. But seriously, this has been talked about on this forum for at least 6 years now, and the consensus has been that unless you live on the Prairies, anything more than about a tonne is just too much for these little vans.

Good to read you got home safely.

NOTE: the dirt dug out of the hole for a building weighs more than the building itself. Dirt is deceptively heavy.

[glenn]

I once put two yards of topsoil in my utility trailer, behind my L300(about 3 tonnes) and would never do it again. I didn't have trailer brakes like you do, which was my main source of butt clenching. But, although the van could handle the weight, the poor little 85 hp engine sure struggled. I also worried about the transmission and everything else down the line. Now, I would never go more than 1 yard (about 1.5 tonnes)

I think the pyro might be giving you a false sense of security. I have to echo mararmeisto - you should be glad you got home safely. If you plan to do this with any regularity, you need a different vehicle. I can't believe that you thought it was a good idea to take all that weight on the freeway at 80km/hr. Yikes!

Ok, end of lecture, I suspect you learned a lesson and will just do two trips next time.

[nxski]

I wasn't being paid to do two trips but would refuse the job in the future. I made a good profit on the ordeal but it wouldn't pay for repairs to the axel or hitch or covered my life had something gone awry. 80kph on the freeway was actually the safest I felt all trip and if it started to get squirrelly I just tapped the trailer brakes.

[rezdiver]

I hate to be that guy.... but I would just delete this thread because this is how it sounds:

to be advertising my company at the sametime posting that I towed an overloaded trailer feeling unsafe and putting others on the road at possible risk, but I did it because I wasnt being paid to do two trips and I made a good profit from it.

[nxski]

I admit it was a mistake, I don't feel it was unsafe for anyone but myself, I was compensated well for very hard work and my company can take a small hit in order to inform other Delica owners of what not to do. Maybe this could even be considered commendable for posting this despite the fact that it may reflect poorly on myself or my company!? (that may be a stretch though). What I can say with certainty is that it will never happen again!

[rezdiver]

fair enough.
the reason I said "putting others at risk" is that you loaded the trailer at 2000lb over the axle limit, no telling what kind of hazard can become of a trailer that blows a bearing or hub or its suspension, when "Neil and Bob" and their 2 adopted kids are driving beside you going to the kids xmas concert as it happens.

[nxski]

Also fair enough, luckily I was doing no more than 30kph at any point other than the freeway where no one was around. That's why I said I don't feel I put anyone wt risk even though I had the potential to. Like I said before, it's the last time I trust an "expert" who says I'm loaded under the limit.

[thedjjack]

I have seen it twice on the highway vehicle pulling trailer and then seconds later trailer pulling vehicle....

neither case did it end well....trailers do not pull vehicles well....Both times it was dry pavement and a very quick sway....

Also keep a good eye on what ever the trailer hitch is attached to on the Delica being a unibody there is not much to attach to back there...I would do it as part of the pre-trip when you attach the trailer (look for metal fatigue and gaps between hitch and frame).