Towing with aD40 Auto

[mottleemob]

Does anyone tow a van weighing approx 2800 kgs with a D40 auto if so what are your impressions? Itrade my D22 on a td 100 series Landcruiser auto and i am very disappointed in the performance of it.
cheers phil

 

[KraftyPg]

I don't do it regularly but I have on occasion towed nearly 4 tonne of cattle behind my Nav. Sure you know it's on the back and you want to be nice to the car especially on the hills but it does it with no real issues.

I'll sit at about 95 on the open road with the trailer on and despite any stop starting blowing the shit out of economy it tows really well.

 

[joe2006]

I wrote a lengthy reply but lost it hence the abbreviated version.

Loaded our van would weigh near the figure you stated and while I will continue to tow with it, it would not be my first choice again. Not enough power in overdrive and too much fuel held in 4th. It's really hard to maintain speed in overdrive and it generally doesn't want to be there anyway. Apart from consumption, really no problems mainatining speed in 4th.

 

[Old.Tony]

But Joe, what are those consumption figures? From what I hear, the 100 series chew a fair bit of juice without towing.

Phil, we only tow about 1.8T (I think it might be a little overloaded and we're attending to that by chucking everything out that we don't need, jeez I've crammed some shit in there!). I do notice that it's sometimes difficult to keep in top gear, but once you can get her to 90km/h she's not too bad.

We've been looking at a new caravan for some time, but finances have been fluctuating a little so we're reluctant to jump at a $95,000 investment with the worry over future income. Otherwise, we'd be hauling a 2700kg van ourselves!

 

[joe2006]

OT not sure if that was really a question but I will answer it anyway . This was the information included in my initial but sadly lost, unabridged version of reply.

Worst was about 24lt per 100 (just made Broken Hill from Mildura) and I think I recall reading that you actually beat my consumption record on one horror stretch.

After contemplating suicide (not really), burning the Navara (not really), selling the van, car and flying home (not really), I sought solace in the words of wisdom on Navara Asia (not really but it did help). The suggestion to tow in overdrive was made (I think by your good self) and low and behold, the consumption figures reduced to the 17's. I must add, it's bloody hard work and nigh impossible if there is a puff of wind around or a slight inclide in the landscape. I think heading toward the max towing capacity starts to cause a bit of pain.

Others might come along and say they tow vans of similar weight without issue. I can say that I am impressed with the handling of the Navara with the van attached. In that respect it is a fair bit better than the previous tug. Something to be said for cart springs.

As for the 100 series, no idea because they have never really been of any interest.

 

[BravoBrad]

Worst was about 24lt per 100

How quick were you going? Only reason I ask, Is I tow around 2.3t with a 5.7l Adventra, and return 17 to 18l/100 sitting on 100 in hilly terrain.(I don't drive for economy) I haven't towed anything heavy with the D40 yet.

 

[joe2006]

Around the 90 mark from memory. I would have to dig up the old post but certainly not at 100.

Maybe if they had TC lock up in 4th it would improve the situation?

 

[Old.Tony]

That horror stretch for us came back a second time.

First time, I was new to the vehicle anyway - my Nav had 8290km on the odo when I refuelled at Wilcannia and headed off towards Cobar. I had been trying to maintain 100km/h but struggled badly with it, and a lot of that time was spent in 4th trying to get back to speed for the TC to lock. 24.81LPHK for that tank.

The second time I was much more familiar with the car, but I was in a bloody hurry. I'd filled at my local servo and headed up towards Gilgandra for last year's muster. We drove in driving rain and a headwind that hammered us hard, got to Dunedoo and had to refuel - in the middle of a hail storm. I did take it easier after that, but once you're at Dunedoo there's little hillclimbing to be done anyway. We burned through 24.68LPHK with that tank.

Our best while towing was purchased from Kings Creek Station. 15.86LPHK towing through Central Aust and some of that on the Ernest Giles Rd where we had the accelerator to the boards in 4WD mode to get through the soft sand. I should note that we generally accelerated quite gently and cruised at 90-95km/h for most of this tank. I am fairly sure some of what we put in was biodiesel - it's apparently common for the tanker drivers to mix up to 20% of bio into the diesel fuel for places like that, and this is part of the reason why I'm no longer hugely concerned with bio in my tank.

 

[joe2006]

Sorry I should not laugh but your story made me feel better.

Still like the TC lock up on 4th idea. They can do the fairly simple mod on other vehicles.

Must be human nature, wanting what we have not got.

Think I am off the chip idea. Out of interest I spoke to the Steinbauer man at a show a while back. He asked if I had a DPF although happy enough to supply a chip. Made me wonder how the DPF copes with a bit more fuel (aka smoke) long term?

 

[montana]

Does anyone tow a van weighing approx 2800 kgs with a D40 auto if so what are your impressions? Itrade my D22 on a td 100 series Landcruiser auto and i am very disappointed in the performance of it.
cheers phil

so i hear,read this on another forum my d40 has just been depowered with a replacement engine and tow 2650atm van.does it easy.if i was to buy now i would go a newer type auto and 140kw motor so you can hold gears better than old style in mine.

 

[Old.Tony]

Joe, I think the DPF will handle it but it'll regen a lot more frequently = use a little more fuel.

I think it might be worth contacting Wholesale Automatics and specifically ask if they can help here. I am very interested myself because they have units like this one (click here) that make it very interesting and simple to use. I doubt Nissan would warrant the gearbox if this is fitted because it's defeating the normal operation of the gearbox.

I'm interested because we're at Nundle in a hotel room right now, and yesterday afternoon went on some 4WD tracks with some of the Newcastle guys. Going down some steep muddy sections in 4LO I had to maintain positive braking the entire way down, and since much of these tracks ended in crossing a mountain stream at the bottom of the aforementioned steep descents, I run the risk of cracking a rotor.

We're going to do some more tracks today before heading home, but I think that during the week I'll fire off an email to these guys and see what they can do for me. If it's removable, then I might like to have one especially given how much towing we do!

 

[joe2006]

I have read people say that they are so efficient that the engine will stall if you forget to disengage and that it is really bad for the auto. Someone suggested that it could be wired so that it automatically disengages when the brake is depressed but that defeats the purpose of using it in situations in which it is most useful ie steep decents in which you will invariably hit the brakes at some stage. A manual switch seems the only option.

Let us know how you go. Just ask Orto!

Oops, should have clicked on your link first.