These 10 Utes Can't Actually Tow 3,500kg in Australia — Is Yours One?
Auto Alert Australia
148,068 views
Eighty kilos. That's how much a Toyota HiLux GR Sport can legally carry while towing the 3,500kg it's advertised to tow — not in the tray, for everything. You, your passengers, the fridge, the bull bar, the drawers and the jerry cans. That's from Toyota's own published weights, worked through by the motoring press.
And it's not just the HiLux. When police and Transport and Main Roads weighed caravan rigs at targeted roadside checks in Queensland, they found up to nine in ten over a legal limit. Victoria Police found 57% overweight — and only around 2% of drivers knew their real weight. In NSW, being over can cost you $469 and three demerit points for each limit you exceed. And if you crash while overweight, your insurer can refuse the whole claim, even when the other driver was at fault.
Every ute has two limits — what the ute itself can weigh, and the combined limit for the ute and van together. Hitch up a full 3,500kg van and the combined limit decides what's left for everything else. For most utes sold in Australia, that number is far smaller than owners realise.
The countdown, bad to catastrophic:
10. Mitsubishi Triton (and the new Navara on the same platform) — about 580kg left on a GSR
9. Ford Ranger V6 — about 512kg, and Ford's own Australian site admitting caravans have outgrown the utes built to tow them
8. Kia Tasman X-Pro — about 463kg
7. Mazda BT-50 — 324–398kg, with towing figures identical to the D-Max
6. Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain — about 330kg
5. BYD Shark 6 — capped at 2,500kg braked, so it can't legally tow a heavier van at all
4. Ford Ranger Raptor — the flagship tows a full tonne less than a base Ranger
3. Toyota HiLux 2020–2025 — about 240kg on the popular SR5 auto
2. Toyota HiLux GR Sport — about 80kg
1. Nissan Navara 2015–2025 — as little as 31kg under Nissan's own towball rules
We also cover where police set up the scales, how the fines stack, why an overweight rig voids your insurance, and the fair side — the brochure figures are real, plenty of owners are legal, the new 2026 HiLux raised its combined limit to 6,300kg, the LandCruiser 70 can genuinely carry its full load and tow its full rating, and Ford's Ranger Super Duty pushes the combined limit to 8,000kg. Plus why a GVM upgrade doesn't fix the problem.
And the 15-minute check that tells you exactly where you stand: load up the way you travel, weigh the ute, the van, the towball and the whole combination at a public weighbridge or mobile weighing service, and compare each to your plates. Then ring your insurer and ask what happens to your claim if you're found to be over — and keep the weighbridge ticket in the glovebox.
What do you tow with, what do you tow, and have you ever weighed it? If you've been weighed by police on the Bruce Highway or the Hume, tell everyone what happened.
Sources: Queensland Police and Transport and Main Roads, Victoria Police, Transport for NSW, Ford Australia, Toyota Australia, manufacturer specification sheets, carsales, Drive, CarExpert, Club 4X4, loadmate.
This video is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Payload-at-full-tow figures are calculated from manufacturer GCM and kerb weights for the variants named and assume a trailer at the full 3,500kg rating. Real-world weights vary with accessories, fuel and load — the only way to know yours is to weigh it. Check your owner's manual, vehicle plates and insurance policy for the limits that apply to you.
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20 Comments
I did my homework before choosing the tow vehicle, adding accessories & choosing the van knowing what limits apply and I still came close.
I don't tow with a ute but a larger SUV with a GVM/GCM upgrade, with a van at 2300 I was well within those 2 limits. What you failed to mention is the rear axle limit is the most likely to blow out first.
This was what happened in my case. The tow ball was over by 19kg & rear axle 95kg with all other boxes ticked.
I did have everything fully loaded, fuel/water, food, baggage, dog, firewood, - the works, as I wanted to see where it stood, this gave me a great guide as to what I need to do on a trip and what to change or leave behind.
Yes GVM/GCM is the first major part, but ball & axle need to be considered and it should have been stated more strongly in the video. If you run a story like this you should give the whole picture.
Don't be tail heavy on the trailer or van but ensure correct weight on the towing vehicles hitch, or a phenomenon like tank slap will occur, the van (trailer)will oscillate violently.
This was peak 2014 4wd magazine era. Where you HAD to have the new 3rd UHF antenna.
Now I realise. Unless you are actually bush camping every month. Or travelling Aus full time. Or live rural. You don't really need anything.
Some all LT tyres. Maybe, maybe a suspension setup. I say setup because not everyone needs a lift.
You are pretty much sorted.
So a 2025 Triton GLS, all terrains, a caravan. Would pretty much get you anywhere you need to go.
Or a Ford Ranger. All you need to pack is the Roadside Assist number 😅
In saying all of that. While my tastes have drastically changed as I get older. Especially taking my HDJ81 to the grocery store one day and coming out with my trolley. Staring at it differently for the first time.
Again seeing myself as an absolute chimpanzee who was taking a tent, drawers and rolling toolbox with fishing rods everywhere I went. I just felt dumb.
Couldn't park anywhere incase someone unbolted the 20k I bolted on.
Lost all the pep it has when it was stock.
Drilled holes everywhere. Ran wires everywhere.
Still, I do think some bigger wheels and chunky tyres look awesome.
These 10 Utes Can't Actually Tow 3,500kg in Australia — Is Yours One?
Auto Alert Australia
148,068 views
Eighty kilos. That's how much a Toyota HiLux GR Sport can legally carry while towing the 3,500kg it's advertised to tow — not in the tray, for everything. You, your passengers, the fridge, the bull bar, the drawers and the jerry cans. That's from Toyota's own published weights, worked through by the motoring press.
And it's not just the HiLux. When police and Transport and Main Roads weighed caravan rigs at targeted roadside checks in Queensland, they found up to nine in ten over a legal limit. Victoria Police found 57% overweight — and only around 2% of drivers knew their real weight. In NSW, being over can cost you $469 and three demerit points for each limit you exceed. And if you crash while overweight, your insurer can refuse the whole claim, even when the other driver was at fault.
Every ute has two limits — what the ute itself can weigh, and the combined limit for the ute and van together. Hitch up a full 3,500kg van and the combined limit decides what's left for everything else. For most utes sold in Australia, that number is far smaller than owners realise.
The countdown, bad to catastrophic:
10. Mitsubishi Triton (and the new Navara on the same platform) — about 580kg left on a GSR
9. Ford Ranger V6 — about 512kg, and Ford's own Australian site admitting caravans have outgrown the utes built to tow them
8. Kia Tasman X-Pro — about 463kg
7. Mazda BT-50 — 324–398kg, with towing figures identical to the D-Max
6. Isuzu D-Max X-Terrain — about 330kg
5. BYD Shark 6 — capped at 2,500kg braked, so it can't legally tow a heavier van at all
4. Ford Ranger Raptor — the flagship tows a full tonne less than a base Ranger
3. Toyota HiLux 2020–2025 — about 240kg on the popular SR5 auto
2. Toyota HiLux GR Sport — about 80kg
1. Nissan Navara 2015–2025 — as little as 31kg under Nissan's own towball rules
We also cover where police set up the scales, how the fines stack, why an overweight rig voids your insurance, and the fair side — the brochure figures are real, plenty of owners are legal, the new 2026 HiLux raised its combined limit to 6,300kg, the LandCruiser 70 can genuinely carry its full load and tow its full rating, and Ford's Ranger Super Duty pushes the combined limit to 8,000kg. Plus why a GVM upgrade doesn't fix the problem.
And the 15-minute check that tells you exactly where you stand: load up the way you travel, weigh the ute, the van, the towball and the whole combination at a public weighbridge or mobile weighing service, and compare each to your plates. Then ring your insurer and ask what happens to your claim if you're found to be over — and keep the weighbridge ticket in the glovebox.
What do you tow with, what do you tow, and have you ever weighed it? If you've been weighed by police on the Bruce Highway or the Hume, tell everyone what happened.
Sources: Queensland Police and Transport and Main Roads, Victoria Police, Transport for NSW, Ford Australia, Toyota Australia, manufacturer specification sheets, carsales, Drive, CarExpert, Club 4X4, loadmate.
This video is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Payload-at-full-tow figures are calculated from manufacturer GCM and kerb weights for the variants named and assume a trailer at the full 3,500kg rating. Real-world weights vary with accessories, fuel and load — the only way to know yours is to weigh it. Check your owner's manual, vehicle plates and insurance policy for the limits that apply to you.
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