Dual cab - three options, convince me otherwise

[Flemo]

Hey Flemo......
Just been asked if we want to go and stay at the Blue Dolphin Holiday Resort for a week in early Decemeber. Is it any good. If I go do you want to catch up for a surf and a beer? My board will fit easily in the back of the Mazda....

Cheers Nomad

Yea mate, prob the best park in town, good facilities for the kids and right on the river. Prob about 2 k's out of town so no quick walk to the beach tho. Early December prob a good time to go to beat the crowds, and you def don't wanna be there in peak Chrissy hols cause they seriously squeeze them in.
Surf and a beer? Always keen for both!

[Murray]

Hi Folks,
Not meaning to hi-jack this thread but I am looking for info on BT50 suspension. I just bought two BT50 Freestyle Hi-Riders for work. We need load carrying ability. The BT50 Freestyle Hi rider is rated at 1450kg payload.  With full tank of diesel and 960kg in gear the springs are inverted. Almost 400kg less than what it is rated to carry!!!   The vehicle is one week old and is going back to Mazda tomorrow, with the weigh bridge certificate.

Do I have a vehicle with incorrect springs or have others experienced/heard of this also. Is the 1450kg payload just an advertising con?

I added this to this thread because others were talking knowledgeably about Rangers and BT50s. I was hoping someone could add some light before I head into a serious argument with Mazda.

Cheers
Murray

[Matto]

Do I have a vehicle with incorrect springs or have others experienced/heard of this also. Is the 1450kg payload just an advertising con?

Can't help you with the BT50 specifically, but...

Father-in-law requested a new D40 Navara as his work truck. Wanted it specifically fitted out with an alloy box on the rear, rear slide-out drawer, light bar on the top, etc. Picked it up - perfect. Took it back to the depot and loaded in all their tools and found the same as you - rear springs were sitting the wrong way around. They drove it straight back to Nissan, and Nissan replaced the rear springs straight away with HD items. It annoyed him because he had to unload all his tools again (and then a third time when the wiring for the canopy & light bar melted the loom under the dash the following week), but since then the car has been perfect.

If I were you I'd do the same as you've done - take the loaded vehicle back to Mazda and just ask them what's going on. I suspect they'll swap the springs straight up for you. Most people who buy a ute want comfort, hence all the new utes coming with very soft rear springs.

Good luck!
Matto

[Murray]

Hi Matto,
I partly suspect most utes never get loaded to the max and manufacturers use springs to suit the majority, and deal with the fallout as it happens. In this case to be 400kg short of the payload seemed just a bit too much. I just hope it is sorted quickly and without an argument. The rest of the car is great. Good pulling power with the big diesel.

Cheers

[Murray]

Just an update on the suspension for whoever cares:
Went to Mazda with certificate from weighbridge. Not even an argument. A decision to upgrade the springs was made within 5 minutes. Not Mazda springs though, a local Brisbane company will do the job. I am yet to be notified who.
So this gives strength to the belief that ute springs are under-rated to give a softer ride knowing most owners do not reach the full payload. When you complain they just upgrade the springs.

Cheers
Murray

[Brettmc]

I have also bit the bullet and upgraded to a dual cab today , sold my petrol V8 landcruiser and bought a Ford Ranger XLT diesel auto, should improve my fuel economy a bit when towing the swan around.

[HEM19X]

Just an update on the suspension for whoever cares:
Went to Mazda with certificate from weighbridge. Not even an argument. A decision to upgrade the springs was made within 5 minutes. Not Mazda springs though, a local Brisbane company will do the job. I am yet to be notified who.
So this gives strength to the belief that ute springs are under-rated to give a softer ride knowing most owners do not reach the full payload. When you complain they just upgrade the springs.

Cheers
Murray

Murray,

We have OME "Constant 400" spring pack on our BT50 Freestyle that is great, sounds something like what you need...OME also do a "200"spring pack.



p.s Flemo, nice pick up with the BT, I'm sure you will luv it.

The only issue we had with ours was the duel mass fly wheel in the clutch...they are suss when reversing under load - i.e. up hill with a CT etc attached. To combat this we use L4 in these situations but there is a way to get L2...discussed on the 4WD action forum from memory.

Regards

Hem

[freezy11]

Dont get heavy duty springs, if you ever have the ute unloaded it will be like driving an empty truck.
They use soft springs so it as a smoother ride when unloaded. There is alot of people who have utes with nothing in the back, or less than 250kg of stuff.
Get some bellow air bags. Adjustable to what you are carrying. Make sure they are the heavy duty ones.
Got them on my Dmax. From speaking to suspension places alot of people have them on their utes.
Alot of suspension places wouldn't put heavy duty springs on, when I was speaking to them.

I have a lift off tool box, weights around 750kg with all of my gear, so a big diffrence when its loaded up to when its empty.
I guess this is where the air bags come into their own, compared to heavy duty leafs.
I run the bags at 40-50psi normal then let all the air out when I just have camping gear in the back.

[Swannie]

Guys I've noticed some good deals on hilux sr5 duel cabs.  Are the hilux still good or are they now a bit outdated?
Greg

[Chris F]

Guys I've noticed some good deals on hilux sr5 duel cabs.  Are the hilux still good or are they now a bit outdated?
Greg

I'd say both, a good vehicle but a bit outdated. There's more of them on the road than any other dual cab and although they no longer match the specs of some of their competitors they are still extremely popular and a very good vehicle. My SR Hilux has worked hard for nearly 5 years with minimal hassles and when I replace it next year it will be either the new 70 series dual cab or an SR5. I know neither of these vehicles have some of the features of the latest dual cabs, the rest just don't grab me. I guess after a couple of amazingly reliable Hiluxes I'm now pretty biased.

[Flemo]

Guys I've noticed some good deals on hilux sr5 duel cabs.  Are the hilux still good or are they now a bit outdated?
Greg

Still good, I've got the current sr5 but giving it back to work when I Finnish up next week. Def considered it but as for good deals I couldn't get one. Same extras as Mazda chucked onto hilux were 4 grand more. Prob stuff all in the big picture but bt50 was better to drive, ticked all the boxes and Mazda did the best deal on $$.

[Murray]

Dont get heavy duty springs, if you ever have the ute unloaded it will be like driving an empty truck.
They use soft springs so it as a smoother ride when unloaded. There is alot of people who have utes with nothing in the back, or less than 250kg of stuff.
Get some bellow air bags. Adjustable to what you are carrying. Make sure they are the heavy duty ones.

Hi Freezy,
These are work utes for servicing equipment and will never be unloaded. They do 30,000 - 40,000k a year. Thanks for your feedback, but I need HD springs. I told Mazda when I signed that the utes will carry 1200kg and on outback runs will carry more. When we load up for a big run (4 -6 weeks) we weigh the utes to ensure they aren't over their limits. I know how much we carry. It would be nice if Mazda would listen and upgrade the springs before we took delivery. Sadfully, I have to fit out the second ute, load it, get cert from weigh bridge and go back to Mazda and then they will ok the upgrade. It is just their way of not admitting the springs can't take what they advertise. It's a pain, but in the end I get exactly what I wanted.

Cheers
Murray

[freezy11]

Murray all the utes are the same.
I wasn't too impressed when I had to beef up the suspension on mine.
Normally have 750 to 1000kg on the back everyday.

I guess they are aiming the suspension setups for 4wders and people towing average boats, caravans etc.
But if you have a fixed trade body, with no weight change, HD springs will do the trick.

Its false advertising saying the vechiles have a payload of so many kgs, and the suspension isnt set up for those loads.

The sad fact is, that they are sales men. They just want to sell you a product. They have never towed 2 tonne behind a ute or had 1000kg in the back of a ute.

[rescue1]

The Navara springs are basically flat to start with, that's why I got Ultimate to redo the suspension for me

Flemo if you need any warning lights or work lights give me a yell and I'll look after you...

BTW you guys should look at the latest Ranger ad, I've driven most of the roads they took the thing through in South Africa and surrounds and when had trouble in a modified Cruiser....

[GeeTee]

Dont get heavy duty springs, if you ever have the ute unloaded it will be like driving an empty truck.
They use soft springs so it as a smoother ride when unloaded. There is alot of people who have utes with nothing in the back, or less than 250kg of stuff.
Get some bellow air bags. Adjustable to what you are carrying. Make sure they are the heavy duty ones.
Got them on my Dmax. From speaking to suspension places alot of people have them on their utes.
Alot of suspension places wouldn't put heavy duty springs on, when I was speaking to them.

I have a lift off tool box, weights around 750kg with all of my gear, so a big diffrence when its loaded up to when its empty.
I guess this is where the air bags come into their own, compared to heavy duty leafs.
I run the bags at 40-50psi normal then let all the air out when I just have camping gear in the back.

That's good the airbags work for you but it's a good idea to never use retro-fit airbags off-road or towing as most of them eliminate the bumpstop and place a point-load into the chassis where it is not designed to take it. Both of these situations are bad; no bump stop means an over-arched (bent) leaf spring; concentrated stress from airbag can snap the chassis. There are always ride and handling compromises with a truck that can carry 0-1000kg but a well-rated aftermarket variable rate spring can help with acceptable comfort   

[Bird]

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/utes-crash-out-on-safety-scores-20121012-27gsu.html

[Nutto]

http://theage.drive.com.au/motor-news/utes-crash-out-on-safety-scores-20121012-27gsu.html

So that means Ranger/BT50, VW & colorado (d/cab only)  are 5 star
The rest (Hilux, Navara, Triton, D-max) are still 'only' 4 star.     What's the bet that next year, they will all be upgraded to meet the mythical "5 star" rating.
Still,  I suppose it's still "safer"  rating than an old patrol I suppose...
Mine is only 3 star....next thing you know, I'll get slammed for putting my family at risk carting them around in a 3 star rated ute......spare me the nanny state bullShit!!.   Maybe if I go and put a seatbelt chime warning bell in, I will get another star,  or I'll just use our 6 year old 5 star rated subaru liberty...will need some pimping to perform camping & touring duties though

[Bird]

So that means Ranger/BT50, VW & colorado (d/cab only)  are 5 star
The rest (Hilux, Navara, Triton, D-max) are still 'only' 4 star.     What's the bet that next year, they will all be upgraded to meet the mythical "5 star" rating.
Still,  I suppose it's still "safer"  rating than an old patrol I suppose...
Mine is only 3 star....next thing you know, I'll get slammed for putting my family at risk carting them around in a 3 star rated ute......spare me the nanny state bull****!!.   Maybe if I go and put a seatbelt chime warning bell in, I will get another star,  or I'll just use our 6 year old 5 star rated subaru liberty...will need some pimping to perform camping & touring duties though

The sad thing is like reading the comments at the bottom of that article, some people treat those "ratings" as gospel... when infact its just faeces

[Flemo]

Update- Picked up the fiddy on Wednesday, very happy with it and have the confidence if my missus kick me out I can live in the rear tray, massive compared to the old hilux. Got some serious poke, drove it onsite in the slippery stuff today and went well then got 8.6ltr/100k's on the highway cruise home. Time will tell but all good so far. Lismore Mazda did an awesome deal, can recomend to northern NSW people..

Love the black bullbar/sportsbar combo..