On the other hand, it is considered safer to tow a 1.5 tonne car/trailer behind a 4.5 tonne motorhome, than to tow a 2.0 tonne caravan behind a 1.5 tonne car.
Wank tank utes-What to buy?
- Thread starter David Cavanagh
- Start date
Consider geometry. The pivot point on a prime mover is ahead of the rear axle or the centre of the rear axle group if more than one rear axle. The wheels or a semi trailer are towards the rear. Those factors make for much more stable towing geometry than the ususal ute or car and trailer.
Roger
Roger
I am always impressed by the knowledge of geometry, mass, pivot points and general physics of some of our truck drivers. How else could they throw around clapped out log trucks at speed or drive top heavy B doubles with such confidence on minor roads?
I'm not sure about the "knowledge" bit, Russell, I tend to think it's more a case of blind faith..........
I think that's Russell's point.
Roger
Roger
I don't know about you Roger but I get rather nervous watching four decks of sheep or worse two of bullocks heading out the gate. Particularly if they're going all the way to Melbourne. Not many go over but enough to make you glad when they arrive.
Yes, Russell. And with the Victorian Livestock Loading Scheme, livestock transports are often heavier than the 62.5 tonnes Kim mentioned. As long as they stay within certain size limits they can go heavier than the normal 62.5 tonne limit when loaded as long as they stay within the truck's rating, in recognition that they spend nearly half their time empty. The last B Double that left here, back in June, had 2 decks of bullocks and went straight to the nearest weighbridge before heading to Deniliquin. It grossed 72.5 tonnes. I never relax until they are out on the road.
I won't have to load any B Doubles with cattle this year, young cattle are too dear to buy and I can't see a profit in it. I put extra layers of wrap on the silage I made in October, in case I didin't buy any cattle this season, so it will keep until next year. Lambs I just trickle into Ballarat a 2-deck semi every week, a much more civilised size load.
I have never had a transport carrying any of my stock tip over, but it happened to my father once when he consigned a load of sheep. The truck didn't take a bend somewhere west of here. Yes, they are insured but that doesn't help the stock.
As for utes, yesterday I went to a clearing sale at Tyrendarra, interested in the Hilux ute (2008, 160,000 km, RWC, good service history). It was a generally dear sale and the ute made $22,500 + GST. Too dear for me. I bought some corrugated iron and a couple of gates for $100 and kept most of my money in my wallet.
Roger
I won't have to load any B Doubles with cattle this year, young cattle are too dear to buy and I can't see a profit in it. I put extra layers of wrap on the silage I made in October, in case I didin't buy any cattle this season, so it will keep until next year. Lambs I just trickle into Ballarat a 2-deck semi every week, a much more civilised size load.
I have never had a transport carrying any of my stock tip over, but it happened to my father once when he consigned a load of sheep. The truck didn't take a bend somewhere west of here. Yes, they are insured but that doesn't help the stock.
As for utes, yesterday I went to a clearing sale at Tyrendarra, interested in the Hilux ute (2008, 160,000 km, RWC, good service history). It was a generally dear sale and the ute made $22,500 + GST. Too dear for me. I bought some corrugated iron and a couple of gates for $100 and kept most of my money in my wallet.
Roger
scary moment the other day when on the entry for me / exit t'other way of a tight right-hander on the GWH I coincided with a "truck and superdog" performing a seven wheel drift the other way - impressive amount of slip angle on the steering tyres - I'm assuming it wasn't loaded otherwise I wouldn't be writing this.....I'm not sure about the "knowledge" bit, Russell, I tend to think it's more a case of blind faith..........
He was just displaying his knowledge of geometry, pivot points and mass transfer for your admiration.
That's the trouble with buying utes secondhand, the prices are just too high.
Since this thread started (6 Jan) I see that Mitsubishi has introduced a 10 year warranty period. If a new purchase was on the table, that would be a reasonable incentive to make a decision, considering Triton was one of the utes being considered early in the thread.
At least the major units, ie, engine, transmission, rear axle would be covered even if the 10 yr wty excludes other minor items.
That is, if Triton is included in the new warranty period.
Cheers.
At least the major units, ie, engine, transmission, rear axle would be covered even if the 10 yr wty excludes other minor items.
That is, if Triton is included in the new warranty period.
Cheers.
Certainly worthy of consideration but of course any warranty is only as good as the servicing dealer and the network behind him.
A quick check shows the 10yr wty is conditional on servicing at Mitsubishi dealers. This may suit some customers and not others.
Many owners would always only use their dealer, and it is becoming more the norm as vehicles get more complex.
IMO if the manufacturer offers the option of a long warranty, they have every right to assert some sort of control on the servicing.
It looks like if you don't want dealer servicing, the wty will still be 5 or 7 yrs, depending on the model.
Up to the customer.
It depends on the exclusions and if the maker and dealer are serious. I can say from our old Mazda that the warranty was very limited and the warranty on a Yamaha farm bike nearly worthless. If things like wheel bearings and universal joints and CV's and electrical faults are excluded as wear items then it's not worth much.
The 10 year warranty is certainly a deal maker. here's an interesting point. The new Mitsubishi Express van is just a rebadged Renault Trafic but it has 10 yr wty. If you buy it from Renault it only has 5.
Triton dual cab down the road here just sits there going nowhere.... no, dunno all the details, but it seems there is a known major engine fault that he's been caught with, out of warranty, and the dealers don't want to know him....
Little likelihood of Mitsubishi's being sold around here whatever the offer....
Bob
Little likelihood of Mitsubishi's being sold around here whatever the offer....
Bob
As has been discussed, to me it seems every car/ute/SUV on the market has some major problem on probably a very small percentage of the model. Some of these engine/transmission faults are so expensive as to make someone like me just wonder what is going on these days. Cars are generally super reliable now compared to 50 years ago when I started out as a mechanic, but there didn't seem to be these huge cost repairs, which in a lot of cases, render a vehicle useless.
I think these long warranties, even with conditions, is a valid way that the average man in the street can have some peace of mind.
For instance, re timing belts vs chains discussion, I recently replaced the timing chains on my nephew's V6 Commode, 2006 with only 115k kms on the odometer. Probably suffered from low usage, very sludged up, but nevertheless it is a common and known fault. Very lucky to escape major damage, one chain had worn enough to jump several teeth on a cam gear, just caught it in time. I got a genuine repair kit (it comes as a kit it is such a common problem!) and with no labour charge, but with new oil & filter, sparkplugs, coolant, etc, cost $1200. Apparently a dealer will charge $2500 to $4000 for the job. This engine has 3 chains, pissy little 12mm wide Morse segment type, a good engine design ruined by cost-cutting in the timing chain Dept.
My other nephew's Nissan 4x4 dual cab, 4 cyl diesel, has single row timing chains, well known to "stretch" causing major damage. Amazingly, they put in an inspection cover, through which you can measure the chain elongation, and have a wear limit. I imagine that would also be an expensive repair too.
Not that I am a fan of poorly designed cam belt engines either. Give me a good old-fashioned double row timing chain any day.
What I am getting at is the down side of all these fancy new, clever, economical, light and powerful engines, and smart transmissions, are all mine pits for huge expense later in life. Maybe 10 years isn't long enough! But it's better than nothing.
Me, that's why I bought the 6cyl petrol Territory before they stopped making them in 2016. It is within my capabilities to service for my lifetime I believe, fingers crossed on the electronics.
(Edit: BTW my Renault Scenic sits forlornly in the back carport, virtually undriven for 12 months, it's DPO transmission silently smirking, waiting for me to do something. Another good vehicle spoilt by a poorly designed major component).
Cheers.
Last edited:
All the utes have lemon years and I usually find them. The Rodeo in 2003, the BT50 in 2009 (although they stopped dropping gearboxes). In 2009 the Nissan was on the nose with engine failures and the Mitsubishi had no friends. Forward to 2019 and Mitsubishi were doing good business with a new model at $29k driveaway and the owners seem happy with them. Tossed up between Isuzu, Mazda and Ranger and bought the Mazda again. Biggest mistake with the last Mazda was not having it dealer serviced. But who thought in 2019 we would be forbidden to visit the selling dealer for service. At least there is a dealer in Victoria a little further away but if we had bought the Isuzu it would be a long way away. So there is a lot less choice of dealers for border communities now and as the large policeman on the border said buy what you need in your own state.