D40 STX V6 Diesel Towing Upgrades

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AussieKane

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Hi guys,

New to this forum so thought I'd give it a go and see if I can get some good advice from people with experience.

I have a stock standard 2013 D40 STX V6 Auto Diesel Navara with a tub back. It has nearly 50k on the odometer. I just bought a Southern Star semi off road caravan weighing loaded 2500kg. The ball weight is 120kg. I have electric brakes already installed on the tug but that is about it as far as mods go.

I want to change the tub for a full steel canopy with a door on either side and then do slides, shelving and wiring myself. Got a quote from XL bodies for $7500 just for the body!! Thought this was quite extreme.

My wife and I are slowly but surely getting set up to sell the house and get on the road full time at 30 years old! So the van and vehicle will be our permenant residence so we are prepared to spend to get it right.

My question is, what other mods should I be looking at immediately or in the future based on other experience. Looking for advise on prices and brands and others experienses.

Cheers, Kane
 
Well done getting on the road full time at 30, wish I could too. A few considerations given your van weight. You'll need good springs in the back, duel rate or at least constant load to deal with the van. Keep an eye on how the weight of things add up. I've only got an alloy canopy and a fair bit of other gear and my D22 is just shy of 2.9tonne.

With your van weight being more than average fitting a steel canopy will affect your GVM and limit what you can pack, see if you can find out weights before you fit accesories to avoid being overloaded and illegal. A good brake controller will make things easier too.
Cheers
 
Thanks John

Thanks for the advice John.
Any suggestions on the brand of springs? I currently have a red arc brake controller that I used for an older van which seemed to work ok.
I like the idea of an alloy canopy to reduce weight. Do you have any pictures at all?
Does anyone have issues with the standard navara tow ball being to low?

Cheers, Kane
 
With the steel canopy you'd be pushing your GVM. You can get that upgraded (by about 350Kg I think) which might help - check the weight of everything.

With a 2.5T caravan in NSW you'll need to use a breakaway battery with monitor. It requires a 12 pin plug but I'd try to separate the main power feed for the fridge to an Anderson plug (which might require some rewiring).

I ran a pair of 8Ga pairs (so 4 8Ga wires in total) from the front of my car to the rear. Up front, an ignition-activated relay protected by thermal breakers provides power - I could have used a VSR - and these provide power to the tub and to the trailer. The tub power is not heavily used - an inverter powers a 60L Engel while driving (a solar panel charges the battery which keeps the fridge going when we're not driving).

Oh the brake controller really needs 6sqmm cable as a minimum. Over that length of cable there's significant voltage drop, and with a voltage drop will come a current rise - turning thin cables into heating elements.
 
Exhaust, ecu retune, catch can, intercooler got pipe,, egr blank( can also do during retune) suspension are all this id have done before leaving
 
Tony's warning about pushing your GVM is timely for you.
My experience is as follows:
D40 STX 550
The specs :
TARE 2104 (10 litres fuel, no load)
GVM 3010 (maximum load)
Therefore a carrying capacity of 906Kg.
But you must obey axle ratings:
Front Axle maximum load 1530
Rear Axle maximum load 1717
The sum of these two is 3,247Kg is the absolute maximum the GVM can be raised regardless of suspension mods. No one is going to take it that close.
The GVM upgrades I have seen to 4WD's only lift the GVM by about 100Kg, which still allows a small safety factor for loading balancing at the front or back axles etc.
In reality most of the load goes on the rear axle. A friend recently loaded up with all reasonable kit and went to the weighbridge: front axle OK, rear axle over by 800Kg.
I approached ARB about a GVM upgrade but its not on their list of vehicles that they do GVM upgrades.
In my case I have:
ARB deluxe winch bar
Winch
Side rails
Old Man Emu suspension
Fibreglass canopy with steel bars
Tow bar
Aluminium Drawers, Fridge slider, Cargo slider
Aux battery not yet fitted
Full tank fuel
Everything thing else (fridge, recover gear, driver/passengers, food water additional fuel etc.) was removed before weighing.
Put it over the weighbridge 2760Kg
Max load the vehicle is plated to carry (GVM) 3010 - what it now weighs 2760 leaves a payload of 250Kg
250Kg has to cover passengers and all kit.
Penalties for being overloaded:
I am told Main Roads often check vehicles & vans but not vehicles by themselves so much unless doing a blitz.
Their roadside scales measure both front an rear axles loads.
Fines then apply. If badly overloaded then vehicle cannot continue. In an accident insurance can be voided if overloaded.
It 'aint easy and all 4WD's suffer just the same.
 
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I notice Pedders offer a GVM upgrade:
Dual Cab ST-X 550 4x4 Diesel -3010 GVM Standard vs Pedders GVM 3215kgs – 205kgs increase!
This may not be value to everyone as the back axle limit will probably be reached before the GVM increase is hit. It is difficult to load heavy things at the front of the vehicle to take load off the rear axle.
However if one suspension specialist offers a GVM upgrade and one does not which one would you choose?
 
G'day
Get a long range fuel tank.

A GVM upgrade does not change the GCM (Gross combined mass) so the vehicle may be able to carry more but the trailer will have to be lighter.
 
Notice this table at the bottom of the Nissan spec sheet for D40 4WD's:
Ball Weight and effect of vehicle GVM
150Kg GVM
200Kg Reduced loaded vehicle mass below GVM by 60Kg
250Kg Reduced loaded vehicle mass below GVM by 130Kg
300Kg Reduced loaded vehicle mass below GVM by 200Kg

Not sure I understand it but I think it is saying that if the ball weight is say 200Kg that will add to the vehicle load, as well the GVM rating has been reduced by 60Kg.
It seems its a double wammy attack - same as adding 260Kg of cargo.
If you packed badly and had 250Kg on the ball then it effectively increases the tow vehicle load by 250 + 130 = 380Kg.
Is this really how it works or am I not understanding something?
 
Spoke with Pedders today - wish I had spoken with them earlier.
For about $3.3K they fit new shockies & springs and also increase the plated GVM by 240Kg.
The back axle maximum load limit goes from 1717Kg to 1960Kg
That extra 240Kg will mean the difference between getting a fine or not or means the vehicle is still covered by insurance. The Pedders upgrade may cost a bit more but you can then legally drive.

ARB, Tough Dog etc don't appear to provide this service for the D40 550. The guy on the side of the road with the scales and the fine book does not care what the springs are rated at, only what the GVM plate says.
 
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Spoke with Pedders today - wish I had spoken with them earlier.
For about $3.3K they fit new shockies & springs and also increase the plated GVM by 240Kg.

G'day
Does this lift the vehicle at all?
 
Notice this table at the bottom of the Nissan spec sheet for D40 4WD's:
Ball Weight and effect of vehicle GVM
150Kg GVM
200Kg Reduced loaded vehicle mass below GVM by 60Kg
250Kg Reduced loaded vehicle mass below GVM by 130Kg
300Kg Reduced loaded vehicle mass below GVM by 200Kg

Not sure I understand it but I think it is saying that if the ball weight is say 200Kg that will add to the vehicle load, as well the GVM rating has been reduced by 60Kg.
It seems its a double wammy attack - same as adding 260Kg of cargo.
If you packed badly and had 250Kg on the ball then it effectively increases the tow vehicle load by 250 + 130 = 380Kg.
Is this really how it works or am I not understanding something?

I think that they actually mean that if the towball weight is 200kg, you need to reduce the GVM of the vehicle by 60kg.
So if you have a GVM of 2860kg, you would need to reduce it to 2800kg.
 
Spoke with Pedders today - wish I had spoken with them earlier.
For about $3.3K they fit new shockies & springs and also increase the plated GVM by 240Kg.
The back axle maximum load limit goes from 1717Kg to 1960Kg
That extra 240Kg will mean the difference between getting a fine or not or means the vehicle is still covered by insurance. The Pedders upgrade may cost a bit more but you can then legally drive.

ARB, Tough Dog etc don't appear to provide this service for the D40 550. The guy on the side of the road with the scales and the fine book does not care what the springs are rated at, only what the GVM plate says.
That is a lot of money considering the componants used to obtain a little more GVM.
$3300 for new springs and shocks... and a plate giving permission for a few extra cartons of grog for the trip.
 
In my case the extra 240Kg means being able to carry water, food and some recovery gear.
As it is when I remove everything that isn't bolted down I can only carry 250Kg. Being able to carry another 240Kg with a GVM increase is vital.
I installed an Old Man Emu 2" suspension lift kit (no GVM increase) but for a bit more I could have had the same thing provided by Pedders with a GVM increase that would double my carrying capacity from 250 to 480 Kg.
It's not spending $3,300 - it's just spending a few hundred over the cost of Old Man Emu.
I just wish I had known about it earlier then I would have gone with the mob that provided the best GVM solution with the suspension kit. So far that is Pedders.
 
Yes annoying when you find something better. I seldom look at the caravaners forum much but the buggers are about with the scales and checking the tug and van and a few have been taken away on a tilt tray due to being overweight.
 
Yes annoying when you find something better.
Yes it is, thought I had done the research. Glad I am not a caravaner.
Many of the articles I read say "Oh dear we are over our GVM" without any information about how to avoid it.
We need a chart of suspension providers versus GVM increase for the D40.
Pedders are on top so far for me.
 

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