Converting a prime mover to a rigid tow bar vehicle

Hi guys,

I'm back on the hunt for a vehicle that will comfortably tow a 4 ton 7.5m trailer, but I don't have the budget to buy an F250 or Silverado.

I've been toying with the idea of buying a tidy 1997 Scania T113m 4x2 locally and then bolting a rigid tow bar on to the rear chassis members, so that I could just use it for towing the trailer.

Questions are:

1. Can I bolt on a 4.5 ton tow bar to the back chassis members without too much red tape?

2. Can I have it de-restricted to a lower weight for rego fee purposes if I were to remove the 5th wheel?

3. What's it like on juice over a long journey Bob Tail, as I doubt my 4 ton trailer will slow it down too much?


Or, should I stay clear of such a big truck and look at a smaller 2006 Nissan UD MK175 curtainsider, which I'm guessing has a 9t GVM and 13 GCM.

Both are within my meagre budget

Any thoughts appreciated

Cheers, Bob

Tricky area this towbar bit. I can't answer your other questions but I can relate our experience.
I got a mobile guy to have a look at VP with the aim of fitting a 4.5 tonne towbar.
No problem, 2 days (at our place) and $4000.00
Thanks but no thanks.
Talked to my then maintenance man who is a trade qualified coach builder, lets do ourselves.
Went through the list of Authorised Modification Officers (Qld) and found one locally.
Turned up in the most battered Nissan 4 wheel drive I have ever seen (but it did have 500 illegal horses under the bonnet)
Did some drawings for him, very basic, and he agreed was overbuilt.
Made the towbar and fitted it, he came and inspected, made us add 2 spring washers, paid $200, gave us the plate.
My greenhouse building company that can do the steelwork for skyscrapers (so the paper says) made a plate and affixed it.
Total cost about $300 and we have a legal stamped, mod plated towbar.
So, yeah, is a tricky area.

No eBay APP ID and/or Cert ID defined in Kunena configurationBob, this come complete with compliance plate..



A light rigid Truck can tow a trailer up to 4.5 Tonne without paying rego as a Short combination truck..
www.rms.nsw.gov.au/business-industry/hea...guration/trucks.html

Hope this helps..

Towbar isnt a problem............but you have no hope..read zero...of getting a prime mover derated to a lower rego class than a trayback at 16ton/26ton gross with a free 3 ton max trailer thrown in ...for around $2500pa...Your best bet for savings is the log book scheme for classic vehicles relevant in your state.....if you live in Queensland,then simply no hope..

I think you will find there's a new law de-rating trailers with 50mm balls being
towed be vehicles 4.5t and over. Not sure if it also covers 75mm balls, but you
would still have to spend some decent $$$$$ on a trailer to meet your weight requirements and once you go to a pintle or bartlett ball things soon add up dollars wise.

Whats the situation with Ringfeders now?.........bartletts and flying saucer couplings are around $1500 for the parts alone......I would be sticking with a max 3 ton trailer ,and glorified car setup that doesnt need engineering approvals......and doesnt draw the scalies like anything truck based...My brother only got $5000 tradein for an immaculate 1995 Cruiser 100 ser, ,all legal with 3 ton max horsefloat...The secret is to keep trailer tare down.....dont build the thing like a battleship.......the towies say the grey nomad vans often top 4 tons when they tow them.,so cruisers and patrols are definitely up to it.

Brother in law tows a big van with his poverty pack 200 series.
Van weighs 4 ton and the cruiser has been engineered up to increase the GCW.
Toyota did weird things to the car, removed one fuel tank, stronger springs and tyres.
No idea how he'd go with this current blitz, didn't matter if a car had mod plates it still got defected.

Ok try this.

Unimog ex ADF 25k
Klaas overdrive or portal gears for road speed - 6k
Tows 8k legally or fit a 70mm ball and haul a trailer that way
And only a few years away from historic rego

Big rego.....min GVW is going to be 2.7 ton per tyre.....10.8 gross.............tow a trailer over 3 ton,ups the GCW,you re up for even bigger rego. Doesnt say where he is....but in Qld historic rego is a ripoff and a complete no go for any kind of use....In Vic,he s good ,in NSW the logbook scheme isnt set in stone.....its on trial until 2020..?..............As for a 200 series poverty pack...anyone got $150k to spare......not me .Even my brothers 1995 100 series cost $77k 23 years ago.......He was offered $5k as a trade,but hes since had much bigger private offers,looks like getting $25+ for it.