Ford Territory 2wd Diesel

[NICKM]

Hi All, I've just joined your awesome & informative forum and find hours go by really quickly reading all your comments & advice.....for someone who has zero experience with caravans, my eyes are opening up to this caravan culture. So a quick run down of where I'm coming from and wanting to get to! My Wife & I are looking for our 'Family Thing', we have 3 beautiful daughters between 7yrs & 4mths. My issue in getting on the road is, within the last 12mths we bought a new Ford Territory 2wd diesel and we are now looking at buying (probably hiring first) a Jayco Expanda. The must have is a toilet, as all the little ladies going outside isn't an option (apparently), this does throw extra weight into our options so an OB is therefore out but a 2wd Terri wont be going off road anyways.
My question is what models/size expandas have people towed using a 2300kg tow vehicle? And does it make a difference if free camping is or isn't planned with what options you do or don't need (extra weight)? We would love to go as big a van as we can as the girls get bigger, something that we can grow into would be perfect. Reading other threads a 17.56-2 is doable, but what about a 18.58-2? Or other models.Thanks in Advance.

 

[Tone]

Welcome to the forum and caravaning (soon). We looked for 12 months at caravans while owning a jayco hawk. We decided the best balance between size/weight and room inside was the 17.56-2. We had at the time a 6yo and 2yo and have a 2wd diesel Terri also had a Ml triton since updated to the Mq triton. We mainly were going to tow with the Terri and we went with the on road with under slung axles, had the ATM changed to 2299kg down 22kg so was legal. The Territory toes the van great better than the tritons as far as the engine goes and fuel economy. We now use the Triton for towing mainly we are tending going places were we go off the beaten track and more room for dirty stuff in the back. If we had to buy another van now we would buy another 17.56-2 on road with under slung. Hope that helps.

 

[Tone]

18.58-2 would be too heavy for the 2wd Territory.

 

[NICKM]

Welcome to the forum and caravaning (soon). We looked for 12 months at caravans while owning a jayco hawk. We decided the best balance between size/weight and room inside was the 17.56-2. We had at the time a 6yo and 2yo and have a 2wd diesel Terri also had a Ml triton since updated to the Mq triton. We mainly were going to tow with the Terri and we went with the on road with under slung axles, had the ATM changed to 2299kg down 22kg so was legal. The Territory toes the van great better than the tritons as far as the engine goes and fuel economy. We now use the Triton for towing mainly we are tending going places were we go off the beaten track and more room for dirty stuff in the back. If we had to buy another van now we would buy another 17.56-2 on road with under slung. Hope that helps.

Tone,
Thanks for the reply, Believe it or not, we have a 2015 Triton runout on previous model, but we think if we're sticking to the bitumen then the Terri will be a lot more comfortable to spend time in. Saying that the Triton will also be in the planning for precisely the same reason you have (somewhere off road). Tone, you've been a great help and eased my mind but can you clarify that under slung axles on your van means you can take it to more locations than keeping it at the standard height? Also what do you mean by having the ATM changed? What was done to lose that weight? Finally, do you worry about what you load in the Terri & caravan every time as you're so close to the limit? It's a little funny isn't it that the Terri tows better than the Triton & yet has a smaller towing capacity! Thanks again NickM

 

[Tone]

Inderslung has the axle under the springs giving you 100mm more height and also you get the outback A frame which is heavier. The standard on road model is quite low and have to be careful on steep gutters ect. The ATM is the max allowed weight that the van can be fully loaded and it is printed on the compliance plat near the door. That can be reduced slightly just means you might have to put that extra slab in the car or drink it before you leave. I weighed our van fully loaded with full water. Came to 2255kg so we are under by 45kg. But the ball weight was 255kg so that was over the Territory's max ball weight. When we travel it's with the Territory we generally don't lug any water so it's never a problem.

 

[bigcol]

welcome @NICKM

well, @Tone has done a great job of explaining for you (i hope)

there are 2 good reasons why getting the Axel underslung (apart from getting the stronger A frame front)

height - your terrortorry is higher than a normal sedan, so if you kept to the normal on road style
- you would have the rear of the van almost on the ground

ease of reversing - as it will be a little higher than normal, it will be easier backing up driveways that are higher than the road, go up a steep incline etc.........

the advantage of getting a new Van, and getting these things done at Manufacture is that the weights are also adjusted to suit
as well as being cheaper than doing it yourself at a later date

 

[Bonners]

Hi @NICKM
We tow our 17.55.5 with a territory, and the tow heights are a good match. as this van is a poptop outback, which has a higher height for offroad, but we followed the advice from this forum, when we bought new, for the reasons listed, clearance, ease of towing etc. We got the shower and toilet, which is a must for convenience and good for resale
Cheers Bonners

 

[Tricky]

We've towed 1000's of km's with the same car over the past 5 years. First a 16.49.1 and then a 18.58.1. Towed both extremely well with the geniune Ford WDH.

Recently up graded to a Ford Everest.

 

[Bank of Dad]

I towed a 17.56-2 standard with a RWD Terry. Fine.

 

[achjimmy]

Isnt it odd a territory is only rated to 2300kg!

Re the ATM don't bother getting it replated, you'll just destroy resale value. The ATM has no bearing on your tow vehicle it's the max the van can carry regardless. It's what you actually weigh that is the issue. Think like a car trailer that's rated for 3500kg ATM but only weighs 750kg. You can put a 1500kg car on the trailer and tow it with your territory no issues or you can put a 2500 kg car on the trailer then You need your triton to be legal! Vans are the same. somebody on here even had it writing from roads SA. Good luck.

 

[mbr37746]

Hey @NICKM welcome! Good conclusion you've come to with the 17.56.2 albeit I'm a bit biased.
The family can and will grow into it perfectly, I learnt really quickly not to argue with the minister for finance and warfare when the toilet and shower was suggested this time after my failure to do so in the last camper where I also retrofit a shower and portapotti with tent (with my tail between my legs).
The option of under slung axles works perfectly to give the van a bit of lift in rough places and also the mentioned driveways into servos and home etc. we have our on road van under slung and do take it into places where a lot of people would not normally think a van could go, sensible careful driving will get you a lot of places.
We tow with a an ML triton, stupidly the 06 model has only a 2300 kg weight limit, where the 07 on had 2500kg? Fortunately our van is within the limit.
As for the free camping the 17.56.2 is fairly well set up for shorter stays out of the factory, 2 gas bottles for fridge, hot water and cooking, a decent sized battery for the lights and radio and enough water to keep going a few days the biggest user will be the shower so if you can get used to the wet body, turn off, scrub, turn on and rinse the soap off you'll be fine.
We've also put in a diesel heater to allow the free camping in winter, another addition is the solar panels to keep the battery charged as the heater will draw a few amps for the fan when running all night.
Hope that helps.

 

[Kung Fu Panda]

We tow an 18:57.6 with an ATM of 2500kg with a Territory AWD. What a great tow vehicle.