2005 VZ Crewman Cross 8 Heavy Towing

[chocco]

I have had a look and cannot find anything, plenty on the Adventra but not the Cross 8.

I am looking to buy a 2005 Cross 8 to tow a caravan I am going to have it tuned etc, but was more worried about the back end sagging.

Anyone out there towing about 2 ton with our without a Weight Distribution Hitch that can shed any light on this for me please.

Cheers

[IJ.]

I towed my Adventra home with my Cross6 tonner (same basic chassis as the Crewman) It would have been well over 2t and coped no probs at all.

Trip was about 200 Km's with peak hour traffic and a lot of 110kph driving.

http://ij.supramania.com/public/prog000.jpg

[chocco]

Thanks heaps, thats exactly what I was after considering the towball weight would have been quite high.

All I have to do now is pick up the car from Canberra next week.

[IJ.]

Huge difference in towing between the V6 and V8's as well!
(power wise)

The Cross8 will make a brilliant tow car more power with some more Mass you won't even know 2t is there!

[lyle]

ive heard the crewmans can sag with lots of heavy towing as the rear end chassis is just bolted to the cab section with no chassis at all in the front half

[IJ.]

ive heard the crewmans can sag with lots of heavy towing as the rear end chassis is just bolted to the cab section with no chassis at all in the front half

Haven't heard of them "sagging", have heard of Tonners actually breaking if taken offroad with a full load though.

Can't see how towing would damage it as the Towball weight is only ever going to be 100 Kg's or so.

[XUV]

with the solid axle in them , they sit well .
shit , ya put 500kg in the back and they sit well .

A tradie mate of mine has a VZ SS Crewie , lowered 50mm in the back ,
and tows an 10x6 tandem tool trailer with ease .

You can get air bag kits for them .

Adventra's have self levelling rear suspension .

A dyno tune would be the way to go .

[ADAM 26]

Our cross 8 is great for towing, iv had it loaded up and it tows great, never used load bars on it.

the trailer with the tonner on it would be over 2 ton, plus the back full of spares would be another 250kg. towed it from melbourne to sydney and back. 2 times. both times it never had a drama. only thing we did use a bit of fuel, but was not helped by my heavy right foot. it sat on 110kmh with ease, and still had plenty in it to pull out and pass trucks.

get a tune and otr at least, it makes them much better to drive and use alot less fuel. i payed $500 for otr and mail order tune 4 years ago, and its easly made it back with the fuel we save.

iv towed with alot of diferent cars, and so far the cross 8 has been the best.

[chocco]

Thanks everyone for your responses.

Worked out the exhaust Sureflow 3.5inch, don't want to spend alot of money its already costing more than I wanted, CAI and dyno tune on PULP.

As for the brakes, upgrade the pads, fluid and maybe braided lines to help the braking, gunna wait and see how it pulls up.

Then we have the tranny cooler and service to check for damage and thats it.

At least I don't have to worry about the fuel cause its got the extra fuel tank, can't wait till I pick it up and fill it up for the first time for the drive back.

[chocco]

Picked up the beast last Thursday from Cooma near Canberra. Got there nice and early, then the fun started.

Went over the car, oil hadn't been changed like I had asked. the front LH welsh plug was weeping and there was a mild leak from the join on the P/S. No problems all will be fixed, wait another couple of hours, its about 230 in the arvo, and head off, better fill up the tanks for the 700km trip home.

Start filling up, next thing you know there is petrol pissing out from under the car, @#$%, back to the dealer. Loose hose.

End up leaving at 345, fill up both tanks and off we go, ran like a charm and didn't skip a beat. Main tank is getting low better transfer some fuel from the AUX to the main, @#$%, its not working, it was earlier when I tested it. Just made it to Bairnsdale with 10ltrs left, or so I thought.(the dreaded VZ fuel gauge problem).

Anyway's love the car, it's in mint condition. There are only 2 things I can fault, 1) The aux fuel tank installation, went and saw Brown Davis in Bayswater and most of the problems will be fixed for free, dodgy workmanship by the person who installed it in NSW. Thats what I call cust service for a install thats 6 years old and they didn't do it they make the tanks/kits !!!
2) My fault, didn't check the spare its a taller tyre than whats on the car,

* Doe's anyone know what the spare was that came with the cross 8 was it a 17 inch alloy rim or a 16 inch steel rim ?*

Things to do.
1) Purchase canopy for the dog, he is not allowed to travel in the caravan, there goes my mod's budget !!
2) Tranny service, tranny cooler, change oil in both diff's/transfer case and fit filters to the crappy beathers, P/S and brake flush/fluid change, plugs, etc
3) Cold, catback and tune.
4) If there's any money left headers for the above before the tune, Nolathane the front end, and a set of decent pad's and rotors.

Its off for the roadworthy tomorrow, then vicroads next week.

Cheers

[XUV]

Cross 8's where around 52 grand new , and i would'd said full alloy spare , but .....

http://www.autoweb.com.au/cms/A_2566/title_Holden-Crewman-Cross-8-Test/article.html

Wheels are heavy-duty 17 x 7.5 inch alloys wearing 225/55 Bridgestone Turanzas. A 16 x 7 steel spare wheel is mounted below the tray.

[chocco]

Thanks XUV.

[quinny-8]

My 04 cross 8 has a full size alloy spare

[chocco]

Interesting, I am am going to try and find a alloy for the spare, looking around at the moment.

Cheers

[chocco]

Woops, Anyone got a VZ Cross 8 Alloy lying around that they want to get rid of, let me know.

cheers