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And not just any towing. We love towing big rigs across huge distances, especially during December when the scramble for some coastal R&R transplants most the Gauteng urban population.
Fortuner and Hilux 'unsafe' towing rigs?
Unfortunately South Africa also hosts horrific road accident statistics when totalled up at the end of each year.
This December was no different, and lately some caravan, trailer and boat owners who tow have started to mumble about the stability of their Toyota Fortuner and Hilux double-cab vehicles.
Some allege the best-selling bakkie and SUV ranges in South Africa exhibit a disconcerting instability when towing, resulting in accidents.
These are rather weighty allegations, especially as Toyota sells around 500 Fortuners a month locally.
Wheels24 was invited this week to the Gerotek vehicle test facility outside Pretoria to evaluate the towing stability of the Fortuner and Hilux range for ourselves.
Not a happy camper
With Jurgens Caravans hitched to standard mounted tow bars we set off on a 50-km route. It was not a happy experience.
Above 70 km/h, the Caravan swayed like a drunken matric dance date and there was a terrible vertical tremor that reverberated through the driver seat over surface irregularities and even on smooth downhill surfaces.
I was driving a D-4D Fortuner and an epic sense of relief rushed over me we came to a stop to swap drivers.
Around the halfway point we stopped for a snack and re-hitched the Caravans before making our way back to Gerotek.
Although I do not recommend motoring above 80km/h whilst towing, on the way back I got up to a stable 120km/h with the sway and chassis tremors banished.
I immediately thought somebody had put something in the soft-drinks we had had at the halfway point; there was simply no other explanation for the newfound stability and towing prowess - same Caravans, same cars, same tyres, same tow bar...
Drop it like it's hot
Admittedly there was one difference. Both the Fortuner and double-cab D-4D models were equipped with a standard tow bar, mounted at approximately 600 mm.
This is way above the SABS recommended tow height maximum of 465 mm, and to get it within the correct height of between 350-465 mm clearance you would have to weigh your Hilux or Fortuner down with a full payload - and who does that when they're towing?
At 600 mm, the angle of connection with the Caravan is raised and sets the weight distribution bias behind the Caravan rear axle, doing little to aid stability.
Reduce the attachment angle to between 0.5- and 1.0 degree and you have an ideal set-up. To achieve this we simply unhitched the Caravans at the halfway point and attached them to the secondary tow bar which was mounted on a drop-plate, dropping the tow bar by about 155 mm.
Tyre pressures throughout the exercise were at a maximum manufacturer recommendation. Towing with the drop-plate fitted tow bars, the Fortuner and Hilux performed faultlessly. These vehicles are highly competent towing rigs, no doubt about it.
Be meticulous
So who is at fault? Obviously excessive speeds and negligent tyre-pressure guides are a huge source of towing accidents, but the use of a drop plate on vehicles with 4x4 levels of ground clearance is essential in my view.
You simply cannot tow safely with an inclined connection angle, and with most 4x4 vehicles and standard tow bar mount heights this is exactly what you are going to end up with.
So keep those tyre pressures up, use a drop plate on your 4x4 when towing and you should be arrive at your destination safely and mostly unaware that you have just towed something the size of a small house.
And even though modern vehicles have more than enough torque compared to towing options available to the public just ten years ago, see the abundance of power as a means of powering up inclines safely and running at the most economical point in the rev range, the torque peak.
The extra power is not meant to enable towing at 140km/h or even 120km/h, tow at 80km/h, which is what local driving instructor Basil Mann recommend I do as he chaperoned me in the passenger seat along the route.
And if you think Mann is being overly cautious and silly, this is a driver who beat Ayrton Senna at the beginning, and competed against Michael Schumacher at the end of his racing career in Europe, so I would be inclined to heed his advice.
Many 4x4 owners complain about the chore of removing a drop-plate (you cannot really go-off with one admittedly), but honestly, what is the price coefficient of tightening or replacing a couple of bolts less than a dozen times a year compared to the safety of your family?
