Good for increased load capacity but can have a reputation for increased tyre wear (and probably fuel consumption).
They do have a significant detrimental effect on off road performance.
I think the Mercedes 4X4 cab chassis is 4496kg GVM straight out of the showroom, expensive but so is a 6WD conversion.
Cheers,
Peter

x2 for PnM, yobarr,

hodgie, would your lady be comfortable driving something that heavy?
You will only be getting a 4x4 with a lazy axle or are you after 6x6, all wheels capable of driving?
I'd be frightened of the cost of the latter!

I know of some 6X6 Landcruiser conversions purchased by a Government department for use in remote areas.
They were described as "dogs" in the bush by the drivers.
Cheers,
Peter

Warren-Pat_01 wrote:

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x2 for PnM, yobarr,

hodgie, would your lady be comfortable driving something that heavy?
You will only be getting a 4x4 with a lazy axle or are you after 6x6, all wheels capable of driving?
I'd be frightened of the cost of the latter! 

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 Absolutely...I won't mention any figures,for fear of causing somebody to suffer a heart attack,but you may well need to sell the house to finance the upgrade! Better to just buy a suitable vehicle in the first place,me thinks.Cheers

iana wrote:

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There's a crowd in WA (don't ask me where) doing a chassis extension on 76 series Land cruisers, I didn't know why until now, could be the better option though.

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 Interesting! It'd be a weird looking vehicle,surely,as it is actually a station wagon.How would they extend the body,I wonder,and will they be putting a better rear end...springs and diff...into it? Worth watching perhaps,but it would have a limited market,I'd think? Cheers

iana wrote:

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My mistake, I mean the tray flat top. On that note I remember reading that the turning circle is further reduced, not good for bush work.

-- Edited by iana on Monday 2nd of November 2020 01:47:05 PM

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Yeah,I was wondering about that! You refer,of course,to the VDJ79R,which has a 3180mm wheelbase,a 2300kg rear axle,and GCM of 6800kg. The turning circle is huge,but you soon get used to that,and the vehicle will do some amazing things in its standard form.Rides a bit rough,and doesn't have too many flash gadgets,but unbeatable in the bush,and for safely towing 3500kg.Cheers

hodgie55 wrote:

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Have been looking at Six Wheeler Conversions in Toowoomba as they convert a lot of different 4x4 vehicles to 6 wheel vehicles whilst still being 4x4 drive.Wondering if anyone has experience with any of these vehicles and your thoughts and recommendations please.We would only consider going up to the 4495 gvm upgrade as my lady would also be driving but only has a car licence.Thanks Ian

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 Hi

My friend put an extra axle on his dmax as he bought a new van  around 3500 kg and he had everything on his dmax so it was his only real option.He lives in qld and can not get a gcm upgrade in that state.You might be better of with an upgrade or go with the 79 single cab which will give you a gcm of 6800 kg without any upgrade and Australia wide rating on gcm .There are drawbacks with a six wheeler,no good in sand ,the 25000 cost ,sqeeling tyres when turning ,more tyres to maintain ,longer vehicle never for me

Cheers

yobarr wrote:

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iana wrote:

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There's a crowd in WA (don't ask me where) doing a chassis extension on 76 series Land cruisers, I didn't know why until now, could be the better option though.

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 Interesting! It'd be a weird looking vehicle,surely,as it is actually a station wagon.How would they extend the body,I wonder,and will they be putting a better rear end...springs and diff...into it? Worth watching perhaps,but it would have a limited market,I'd think? Cheers

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if you go to youtube " trip in a van " they have had the conversion done with the gvm/gvc upgrades, the cost i do not know but they seemed to have spared no expense

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk9sl2f9eQw&t=170s

Thanks for replies.We are either going with Dmax or Bt50 which with the conversions they do in Toowoomba take vehicles up to 4495 gvm which then allows you to have a reasonable size van which we do want as we are hoping when the virus and everything settles down to be able to travel around Australia on a full time basis.Hoping to mainly freecamp and get out and enjoy the bush.We think the conversions are around 25k which includes new tray etc and compliance plated so we think it is maybe looking into as the last thing we want to do is be over loaded and have all the troubles that go with it.

hodgie55 wrote:

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Thanks for replies.We are either going with Dmax or Bt50 which with the conversions they do in Toowoomba take vehicles up to 4495 gvm which then allows you to have a reasonable size van which we do want as we are hoping when the virus and everything settles down to be able to travel around Australia on a full time basis.Hoping to mainly freecamp and get out and enjoy the bush.We think the conversions are around 25k which includes new tray etc and compliance plated so we think it is maybe looking into as the last thing we want to do is be over loaded and have all the troubles that go with it.

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Although it was a long time ago and they could well have made improvements in suspension set ups, my brother had a transit tray back with a lazy axle added, and although it carried well it was absolutely useless on any sort of uneven ground as the lazy axle would lift the weight off the driving wheels. As I say there could well have been improvements in this area and having 4x4 will help but keep it in mind when you are looking around. Landy

Ram Man wrote:

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Hi Hodgie55,

I haven't read through all the posted replies and understand the conversion will take you up to 4495Kg Gross Vehicle Mass.

I have seen photo's of all light trucks bending even Landcruiser due to dynamic loads placed on chassics by overweight or incorrect loading, not saying it will, just saying if towing a large van is the goal.

Were you to just buy a RAM 1500 Express @ $79,950 drive away you can tow 3787Kgs and still have 845kgs payload and save on fuel or buy a used RAM 2500 with 913kgs payload & tow 4500Kgs and save on fuel.

My Ram 2500 from NSW to WA empty used 9.1L/100 and return towing 3200Kgs returned 14.7L/100 keeping to speed limits were road conditions allowed.

I am pretty certain Isuzu or Mazda won't be warranting anything on the Truck once they're converted.

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Absolutely forget the RAM 1500 if you plan to tow much more than 3000kg ATM as a PIG trailer. (Caravan).The rear axle is rated at only 1770kg, which is less than the rear axle capacity of the current range of popular twin-cabs.There is NO chance of towing much over 3000kg,assuming 10% towball weight.....and that's with nothing in the tray. The RAM 2500 is a vastly superior vehicle,if you are looking at those types of vehicles,but I don't understand why the OP appears obsessed with attaining 4495kg GVM on a 3 axle,6 wheeled,4x4 ute? Trying to tow 3500kg offroad with such a vehicle will very quickly see it all end in tears.What weight he plans to carry is beyond me,as I have everything I could possibly need to free camp for extended periods,including 600 litres of water and 200 litres of diesel,in my car and van,total weight 6800kg,legal on all axles. Anyway,we can only give advice,in an effort to help,and I wish him well,whatever his final choice.Cheers

 

 

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 4th of November 2020 12:55:20 PM

We are also hoping to buy a good brand offroad caravan as we intend to free camp and know that they are fairly heavy and wont have a lot of capacity for carrying everything we want to be permantly on the road.So trying to lok and access all options available to us before we start.

 

hodgie55 wrote:

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Hi Yobarr,would you please tell me what sort of vehicle and caravan you have to be able to achieve the figures your talking about.I'm completely new to caravanning and don't even have a caravan yet and trying to find out as much information as possible.We currently have a Mazda bt50 and trying to assume we keep what we have it would be good to get an idea what sort of weights legally we can handle and trying to be cost effective as possible.

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 Hi Ian....Your comment "I'm completely new to caravanning...." finally helps me to understand your apparent obsession with a 4wd 6 wheeler. Bluntly,forget it,or you will incur a mile of pain,particularly financial.These vehicles may be fine for bitumen,and possibly limited types of well formed metal roads, but are not at all suitable "off road".....even "free camps" will be off the menu if it rains.Been there,done that.Your current BT50 will be able to safely handle a van up to a maximum of 3100kg GVM,and would be a good vehicle to tow such a van.Since you are new to our forum,I will briefly explain your weights.Your current GVM is 3200kg,and your GCM (maximum legal weight on wheels of your car and van) is 6000kg.If you carefully load your car and van you will have 1350kg on your car's front axle,1850kg on the car's rear axle,and 2800kg on your van's axle group.(GTM if you like...gross trailed mass).Majic! 6000kg,and a nice safe unit! Of particular importance,the car is thus around 14% heavier than the van......having the van around 10% heavier than the car is very important if safety is of any concern,as this helps to minimise the chance of the "tail wagging the dog".You would have towball weight of 300kg,or the generally accepted 10% of ATM.My car is a 79 series Landcruiser,V8 diesel,and I have made an inexpensive increase in GVM to 3780kg,simply by combining the factory axle weights.(1480kg front and 2300kg rear) to allow me to to safely run at my factory GCM of 6800kg.Front axle is at 1350kg,rear axle on car is at factory rate of 2300kg,and weight on van's axle group (GTM if you like) is 3150kg....and no WDH! Although mine is a single cab model,the 79 also is available as a 4 door ute if you need to carry passengers.I fitted an aluminium canopy to mine,high enough to sit up in bed when not towing the van,and I have covered the water options too.There are 2x60 litre water tanks under the tray,and on the roof I have a 70 litre black-poly tank for hot water if we don't have the van in tow.Many criticise the 79 as being dated,ugly, uncomfortable and many other things that,to me,are of little importance.Nothing compares or competes.Within about 3 weeks I will be passing through Gatton on my way to Western Queensland,and then the NT,so I would be happy to drop in to help you if you wish? Alternatively,you might like to send me a PM with your phone number? If you are unfamiliar with how to send a PM (private message) you simply click on your user name ait all will become clear! To this end,I will send you a PM now,so you only have to click "reply". Cheers

 

-- Edited by yobarr on Wednesday 4th of November 2020 03:04:19 PM

Buy an old Land Rover Perentie 6 wheel drive.