I Bought a V6 AMAROK

[Ian H]

You've been watching g too many Pat Callinan shows.

[spiderpig]

Ha ha. It was a demo they gave me while our other car was in at the holden/vw dealership getting a recall done.
Didn't complain as wanted to test drive one anyway, seriously that engine/trans is super impressive, it felt as powerful and torquey to drive as a LC200, v8, actually it would prob smoke one.

[Vealey]

Wheel 4 sale.

Hi John,

Do you still have the wheel for sale?

Is it a 17 inch rim?

Tripping up the Ood in a few weeks and wouldn't mind an extra spare.

Cheers,

Vealey

[littleriver]

Back in the 70s there was no such thing as technology either compared to today.

Caravans and large boat trailers didn't have ESC or breakaway, did they even have elec brakes? Likewise 4wds had nothing like they do today in driver aids and vehicle safety related tech.

X2

Also the difference in transmissions and horsepower/torque has way superseded that of the 70's ..by leaps and bounds ..

Vw's v6 Amarok is a winner .. congrats
...

[BruceandBobbi]

As I said a month ago....Technology can only do so much. They had vacuum brake. I had some type of vacuum set up under the bonnet with a hose running to the back of the truck. Caravans over a certain weight had to have vacuum brakes fitted by law. They had a controller in the cabin much like the electric brakes of today use to control the amount of braking to the caravan.

Added. As for HP and torquethis was a Holden one tonner with a 308 plus 60 thou. Rams heads, Bert Jones cam, Waggot anti pump lifters, 650 holley etc. My father had a dodge truck 6 cylinder side valve. His mate had a Dodge truck same size with the slant 6 ohv motor. The old side valve had more torque than the ohv engine. Pulled away from it up hills.Don't forget we had to drive and control our vehicles not rely on electronic aids.

[Dicko1]

Tow Vehicle and Caravan Weight

by Andrew Woodmansey et al.

The weight relationship between tow vehicle and caravan is an important one for safe towing.
To avoid the ‘tail wagging the dog’, it is important that the tow vehicle is at least as heavy as the caravan being towed. If it’s not, the tow vehicle is unlikely to be able to control a caravan should it become unstable when impacted by external forces such as a cross wind, heavy cornering, heavy braking or uneven or slippery road surfaces.

__________________

How Much Weight Safety Margin Should I Allow?

There is some debate (and legislation in Germany) on the ideal weight safety margin between tow vehicle and caravan:
• The conventional wisdom is that the tow vehicle must be at least as heavy as the caravan being towed (i.e. a 1-to-1 ratio between tow vehicle and van weight);
• In the UK there is the “85% rule”. This is not legislated, but is a recommendation of the Camping and Caravanning Club of the UK and other UK bodies. This recommendation states that the weight of the loaded caravan should be no more than 85% of the car’s kerb weight. However, according to the Camping and Caravanning Club of the UK, ‘those who are experienced at towing may go up to 100 per cent of the car’s kerbweight, but no-one should tow a caravan that is heavier than the towing limit of the vehicle it’s behind’;
• In Germany, caravans with brakes and hydraulic shock absorbers may not (by legislation) exceed 0.8 times the empty weight of the tow vehicle unless the tow vehicle does not exceed 80 kmph;
• In Australia, there is no legislation on weight safety margins, but the Caravan Council of Australia suggests that ‘for added safety and peace of mind, the laden tow-vehicle should weigh 30% more than the laden caravan/trailer’ (for the non mathematically minded, this is the same as saying that caravan should not exceed about 77% of the laden weight of the tow vehicle);
Note that the above relates to the weight relationship between tow vehicle and caravan. There is always legislation in each country on the maximum weights of tow vehicles, caravans and towing combinations.
From the above you might think that the Caravan Council of Australia is being the most conservative of all these countries in applying a 77% safety margin. But in fact, because the CCA’s recommendations are based on laden weights of the tow vehicle and not the unladen (or kerb) weights, they are in fact the least conservative.
This can be seen from the following table, which translates these guidelines or regulations into actual weights for eight of Australia’s most popular tow vehicles:
Comparison of Tow Vehicle & Caravan Weight Relationships

UK – Recommendations of the Camping and Caravanning Club of the UK (relates to tow vehicle kerb weight)
Germany – Federal Legislation for caravans with brakes and shock absorbers (relates to tow vehicle kerb weight)
Australia – Recommendations of the Caravan Council of Australia (relates to tow vehicle GVM)
Kerb Weight – the unladen weight of the tow vehicle without occupants or payload
GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) – the maximum permissible laden mass of the tow vehicle including occupants and any weight applied to the towball
ATM (Aggregate Trailer Mass) – The maximum allowable laden weight of the caravan as assessed by the manufacturer

What is noteworthy from this table is that the recommended (or legislated) maximum caravan weight is significantly lower in all cases than the maximum towing capacities of each tow vehicle (which ranges from 3200 kg to 3500 kg for the vehicles above).
In just the same way as tyre manufacturers stipulate maximum speeds for their tyres (sometimes 300 km/h for normal road tyres), maximum towing capacities are mechanically derived maximums, beyond which things start to fall apart. They are not intended to be fully exploited by the typical user, and especially not the novice user.
So don’t treat the maximum towing capacity of your tow vehicle like an airline luggage allowance (‘it’s there to be used’). Treat it instead as the extreme limit of your towing universe, and stay well within its boundaries.

[Alan_Volkswagen]

Mate towing numbers are approved by ADR on figures supplied by the manufacturers. In real life they mean bugger all.

The GVM is six tonne!

From carsguide....Alongside a rise in gross vehicle mass (GVM) from 5550kg to 6000kg, the improved tow rating was reached via modifications to the Amarok V6's rear bar, allowing it to match rivals including the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger and Isuzu D-Max.


“It also means that we’re above the Mitsubishi Triton which is 3.1 tonnes and the Toyota HiLux SR5 which is 3200kg, adding that customers should be aware of their vehicle's gross vehicle mass.

It's a pg contest between the manufactures for no gain for the consumers except trouble.

Image it trying to drag it's full 6,000kg up the Toowoomba Range, the climb out of Woolongong, Cunninghams gap, the two climbs on the M1 north of Sydney at Mooney Mooney Creek and the Hawkesbury River.

Hope you enjoy your new ride they a very nice. Just don't think the 6,000kg is realistic.

That’s quite a road trip you have planned Bruce. Good thing the Amarok has a 3.5t braked towing capacity and up to 6400kg GCM.

@Alan_VW

[redbruce]

That’s quite a road trip you have planned Bruce. Good thing the Amarok has a 3.5t braked towing capacity and up to 6400kg GCM. Give it a go! #BornFromToughLove

Amarok is like all other so called 3500kg capacity utes. They arent in practical terms and the Ranger its based on also has 6400kg GCM and designed for Australian conditions.

https://www.carsguide.com.au/tradies/advice/35-tonne-tow-ratings-busting-the-great-3500kg-myths-73141

New Ranger is having all manner of ongoing warranty issues atm but hopefully the historical auto trans durability/reliability issues that they both are known for have been addressed in the new design.

A bit harder to fix the reputations of Volkswagon and Ford for product misrepresentation and poor customer service in Australia. Both have copped the biggest fines in history from ACCC in the last few years.

Seems nothings changed at Ford: https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-a...0-b4d7b4b2a9ba

[Dicko1]

That’s quite a road trip you have planned Bruce. Good thing the Amarok has a 3.5t braked towing capacity and up to 6400kg GCM. Give it a go! #BornFromToughLove

@Alan_VW

Your a vw owner with one post...ffs.

[BruceandBobbi]

Your a vw owner with one post...ffs.

Hey Dicko.

What's the bet Alan_Volkswagen; will be posting spam shortly.

[redbruce]

Hey Dicko.

What's the bet Alan_Volkswagen; will be posting spam shortly.

Be a brave move. We havent forgotten Volkswagen dieselgate and the defense of the indefensible offered up by Volkswagen Australia CEO Michael Bartsch (https://www.goauto.com.au/news/volks...-16/20552.html) which history shows he lost (https://www.accc.gov.au/media-releas...illion-penalty). He left for the US just after.

Anyway, we have zero tolerance for spam on this forum.