FACTS AND FIGURES
be in the owner's manual; the vehicle’s GCM
and GVM; and the total weight of the trailer,
which includes the towball weight.
Forget the marketing hype. When it comes
to towing capacities, all is not always as it
seems, as the specs of these popular tow
vehicles show.
Arguably, the easiest way to determine
whether your vehicle and van are within
GCM is to ascertain four key figures: the kerb
(unladen) weight of the vehicle, which should
The figures in the table below are by no
means exhaustive, but try applying them
to the examples in figure 1 and figure 2 –
this exercise may help you understand GCM
a little better.
Kerb Weight (kg) Gross Vehicle
Mass (GVM) (kg) Toyota Land Cruiser
200 V8 diesel 2740 3350 6850 3500
Jeep Grand Cherokee
3L V6 diesel (Laredo) 2267 2949 6099 3500
Ford Ranger 4x4
Wildtrak Dual
Cab 3.2L diesel 2260 (manual) 3200 6000 3500
Holden Colorado
Z71 (auto) 2163 3150 6000 3500
Isuzu D-MAX
LS-T (Crew Cab) 2026 3050 5950 3500
Mazda BT-50 GT 2147 3200 6000 3500
Mercedes-Benz
X350d Power 2190 3250 6180 3500
Nissan Patrol Ti-L
Y62* 2750 3500 7000 3500
Toyota 79 Double
Cab-Chassis GXL 2190 3300 6800 3500
Volkswagen Amarok
TDI580 Ultimate** 2244 3080 6000 3500
VEHICLE
MAKE
AND MODEL
+ FIGURE 1
GCM (kg)
+ FIGURE 2
* With 350kg TBM, Nissan reduces the GVM of the Y62 Patrol by 130kg to 3370kg.
** The V6 Amarok allows a TBM of 300kg.
22 \
Maximum
Braked Towing
Capacity (kg)