Capacities, GVM’s, Insurance Companies and Flippant Dealers.

Buyer beware! Nobody wants to know you when it goes wrong. Believe me, I’m speaking from experience. If anyone has read my blog, they would have known I’ve been looking forward to using my new Triton and camper set up to its full capacity for a while now. So, in February I went to Fraser Island for a week. It was the week after the cyclone washed away all the beaches up and down Queensland’s coast. Well the camper was excellent. I wound the legs down and drove out from underneath it, levelled it up and set up the tent and annex. Everything worked great. It was comfortable and well ventilated. We had quite a few showers and the Kings RTT was dry as a bone. The annex was another story though. None of the seams were taped sealed and I suspect the zippers leaked a little as well. Just a couple of puddles on the floor but it didn’t really affect me. Some sealer spray next time should deal with it. Anyway, Back to the title.

To start from the ending, I bent my chassis. Not a heap, but noticeable. I had a full load, standard suspension, and airbags. So, the first mistake. Expecting to carry a full (legal) load over rough terrain on standard suspension. What was I thinking? It would seem that even though the specifications indicate a maximum capacity, the suspension is set for comfort and not meant to carry a full load. Without airbags, the Triton drags its arse seriously. And now that I’ve mentioned it, the second mistake. Airbags. The more you dig, the more bad stories you hear about airbags. Everyone I’ve talked to about the issue has blamed the airbags. The dealer blames the airbags. It would seem that they’re not an “Approved accessory” for the Triton and as they caused the bend, NO WARRANTY FOR YOU!

Youi insurance. Apparently, I fitted a “non-approved accessory”. NO INSURANCE FOR YOU! Even the repairer I’ll probably get to straighten it, blamed the airbags. He even showed me a Landcruiser in his shop with a bent chassis he says was caused by airbags. Airbag man sent all the documents explaining why it’s not the fault of the airbags. To bad. We don’t care. Take it away. Now the airbags were fitted at the local dealer before I purchased the Triton and Youi were told about them, and they were covered, although they don’t have the capacity to list them individually. They come under “Other Accessories”. So. Here I am, stuck with a 1 year old, bent Triton.

Lessons? Well…..

1. If your accessory isn’t a genuine factory accessory, it’s not an “Approved Accessory”. It makes no difference if it’s fitted at the dealer. If the dealer blames the cause of the fault on the accessory. NO WARRANTY FOR YOU!

These days we are encouraged to fit all our favourite accessories at point of purchase. Smile and nod. “Yes sir we can fit that for you”. “Great idea sir”. Which leads me to the second lesson learned.

2. The dealer cares and has your best interests at heart. Not once was I told this. It is in the warranty document, but that wasn’t even mentioned apart for, “Yes 3 years full warranty sir”. I also purchased the camping canopy through the dealer. “Yes sir, the airbags would be a great addition”. After the fact I was told that I should have fitted a suspension upgrade. Too late now though. Although this would still be a “non-approved accessory”.

During discussions with the dealer principal, he mentioned that a guy had just ticked off $31000 worth of accessories to be fitted to his new 4x4. I said “So he’ll be overweight when he loads up his shopping”. He laughed. He had no answer. Which leads me to my next lesson.

3. The capacity specification and Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM).

The new Triton specs have the curb weight at 1956kg and the GVM at 2900kg. This leaves the total load capacity at 944kg. Now the accessory manufacturers don’t like to let us know how much their accessories weigh, but after some trolling, I found some estimates and some facts.

Car 1956

Accessories Weight KG

B/bar 80

S/rail & steps 80

Tow/bar 35

Rear bar 50

Winch 30

Canopy 60

Drawers (pr) 80

2nd Battery 20

U/body plates 35

Fridge 24

Total 494kg

So if you ticked all the boxes, your curb weight is now 2450kg. This is before you even get it the car yourself. So average out a family of 4 at 250kg, you now have 200kg of capacity left. Add tow ball weight of a camper trailer. 150kg? You now have 50kg to cover all your food, drinks, clothes and other camping accessories/toys you might want to pack in the back. Highly likely you’ll be overloaded. NO WARRANTY OR INSURANCE FOR YOU! My dealer did not warn me of this. Although I have heard of other dealers that do. But basically, its buyer beware. This is a dual cab ute. I just read a article on the Landcruiser 76 wagon. It’s capacity is 785kg. So again, tick all the boxes and you run out of capacity 159kg earlier. Probably a great excuse to leave the Missus and Kids at home. 😉