Hilux Safety Alert, Prado next ?????

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The prado does not have the same chassis as the FJ, however they do have the same driveline.

If you spend a lot of time under the chassis of a 120, 150 & an FJ, you would be surprised just how similar thay are.

[photoprado Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close photoprado]

Apparently the front axle of the Hilux is rated to 1200 kg and the rear is rated upto 1600 kg. I dont know if the gross is the sum of these or a lessor figure.

This is apparently due to OH&S issues caused by the front axle being overloaded on the Toyota specs which limit the axle load to 1180 kg maximum or 1200kg with the front tyres pumped up a bit.

Mine was 1120Kg front and 1180Kg rear, total 2300Kg for a V6 Grande full tanks, no bullbar, no winch, no second battery and just myself in the car

No doubt, this OH&S ruling could impact the Prado but probably not at HiLux numbers. (but who knows, has anyone got the max loadings for a Prado?) OH&S will be pawing over the specifications from Toyota and comparing them to the measurements from their fleet. From an OH&S point of view, that's a valid strategy. Up to Toyota to specify vehicles to carry out the job within load limits or they will lose the business.

As it is, it sounds like Toyota will have to either up the load ratings or issue a passenger limit for vehicles fitted with their own bullbar. That's a cock-up.

I wonder which Toyota competitor put them up to this?

[Bushbasher Out of control poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Bushbasher]

This all goes back to the Toyota recommendation that only Toyota alloy bars with no winches are fitted. The fleet managers are taking it seriously and are equipping vehilces in line with this policy. Thrifty, Budget, etc that lease the cars to the mining companies obviously don't care too much about the issue as it's only a recommendation and hence no safety notices.

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

If you spend a lot of time under the chassis of a 120, 150 & an FJ, you would be surprised just how similar thay are.

Only the engine, 80% of the driveline, and 75% of the suspension is the same as Prado. The FJ chassis is shorter than the 5 door Prado chassis, but longer than the 3 Door.

[BigDog816 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BigDog816]

This all goes back to the Toyota recommendation that only Toyota alloy bars with no winches are fitted. The fleet managers are taking it seriously and are equipping vehilces in line with this policy. Thrifty, Budget, etc that lease the cars to the mining companies obviously don't care too much about the issue as it's only a recommendation and hence no safety notices.

How can they recommend not to fit a winch but sell a winch mount for it.

Also I believe I've read in someones rig build that they swapped a sovereign bar with winch cradle for a Steel Bar (arb) with winch and there wasn't much of a weight difference.

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Sounds about right, Big Dog. The winch cradle I have in the box now is about 20kg.

Since installing a 2nd hand Sovereign bar and discovering that the chassis pins were not included in the sale, I've been wondering why the after market companies don't utilise the chassis pins as it certainly shifts the load further back into the chassis. My Sovereign bar has a noticeable reduction in the amount it shakes once I put the chassis pins in.

Crooza, the main area of interest in this topic is the front end and I should have clarified in my post above that the chassis across the 120, 150 and FJ at the front end is very similar.

I really don't see why there is a 20kg load limit on the FJ when the 120 and 150 front end all have the same features. Perhaps TMCA don't want to spend big bucks issuing a recall on the 120 and 150.

[discoveraus Member Find all posts View Profile Close discoveraus]

Hello all,

The CFA mechanics ??? have been out and inspected the brigade Hilux, they said that the front end was overloaded and will fit upgraded springs to the front of the vehicle which will overcome the overloading problem caused by the alloy bullbar without a winch.

As a result of this visit and assessment, I assume that the overloading problem is simply weak front springs which may sag excessively if the vehicle is used loaded and offroad as intended . Our Hilux does about 3000 km per year usually with two ocupants but upto five and with the tub loaded up and drives smooth dirt most of the time.

Pity that Toyota dont tell us about these isses before we buy the vehicle but not a serious issue at all in our brigades case..

regards

Ross