Rx for towing

[Chasdad]

My brothers on the look out for something to tow his caravan. His considering a shogun.  Me being a lexus fan i said how about an rx model. Im sure theyd be nicer to drive especially when not towing. My main concern is the auto gearbox .especially if he gets a hybrid. Are they upto towing . 

[2ddesign]

Hi

Yes, I have an RX 450h model and I pull a Trigano Silver 310 model with pop up roof. The cost of the tow bar is high, £900 fitted by Westfalia at their Bristol centre. This is the only tow bar that can go on an RX 450h, because of the air suspension!

 

2ddesign

[Chasdad]

Thanks for that .nice car . I dont think his budget would go to one of those. Have all the rx models got air suspension. Im always worried about mine on my ls430 so i wouldnt recommend one to him on an old one

[luckyduck]

Hi - I have an RX 400h, been towing with it now for 4 years with no problems - I have towed Bailey Unicorns all this time - towbar was no issue, just got my local man to fit it, and electrics caused no issues with the car lighting or Battery - even tows at 60 on electric on level motorways

[Chasdad]

When you say tows at 60 on electric. I thought they only ran on elctric upto 30 ish

[Gliderpilot]

The 400h will drive on electric at nearly any speed, depending on the conditions. Slightly down hill it will use electric only at higher speeds, but at low speed, under 25, it's all electric until you run out of power then the ICE takes over. I tow a large twin axle Bailey with my 400h, it has more than enough power for any hills in the UK. The "Auto" gearbox is not an issue as there are really no gears at all. not even a reverse! It's all controlled by the use of the electric motor/generators vie two epicyclic units. Reverse is achieved by reversing the electric traction motor/generator (MG2).

[Chasdad]

10 hours ago, Gliderpilot said:

The 400h will drive on electric at nearly any speed, depending on the conditions. Slightly down hill it will use electric only at higher speeds, but at low speed, under 25, it's all electric until you run out of power then the ICE takes over. I tow a large twin axle Bailey with my 400h, it has more than enough power for any hills in the UK. The "Auto" gearbox is not an issue as there are really no gears at all. not even a reverse! It's all controlled by the use of the electric motor/generators vie two epicyclic units. Reverse is achieved by reversing the electric traction motor/generator (MG2).

 

[Chasdad]

What year us yours. Hows it been reliability wise

[Arjan]

RX450 on the Grimsel, Switserland, no problem, 1800 kg Caravan

[garyfreefly]

Hi   we have had a RX300 for around 5 years petrol/lpg  it pulls our horse box around no problem * horses in the box * no issues whatsoever 

I think the horses appreciate the auto box gear shifting  more than our old manual Landy gear changing so no complaints from them either !

ps we live in North Wales so we have also got lots of hills....       :-)

[Chasdad]

How have you found having lpg. Ive just bought a ls400 with it and have been surprised how few garages there are around where l live. I was going to tell my brother to go petrol then lpg it .but garages seem to be dwindling

[Gliderpilot]

12 hours ago, Chasdad said:

What year us yours. Hows it been reliability wise

2008 just coming up to 98,000 miles, had it for 2 years. It needed new disks and pads almost straight away despite a full service history. This was a really easy DIY job, apart from the seized rear slide pin. My local garage freed it with some heat and a big spanner. New pins were cheap from Lexus on e-bay. But that's just wear and tear!

[garyfreefly]

ours has around 120,000 on the clock.....yes its had new discs and brake pads in its life when req as with any auto you do tend to use the brakes a bit more than a manual

but in saying that when the other half is driving with the horse box she does tend to use the overdrive button to slow the vehicle down ( i tend not to ) this probably equates to men being lazy !

she also uses the gears a lot more again I must be just lazy

We have 3 lpg garages local so its not too much of a issue but on a longer journey it can be so we have thought ahead and have a lpg garages map in the glove box 

its a bit of a pain having a range of only 170mls as well,  but the saving makes it worthwhile for us 

[carld]

This is my 04 rx300,  this is also fitted with a BRC lpg converion which was installed prior to me purchasing the car. The car runs great on lpg and there are plenty of lpg station local, sorry to go off topic slightly, the car isbfitted with a tow bar and ive used it twice and you would hardly notice your towing anything.

Id say go for it.

 

t

[Chasdad]

Thanks  all. Info appreciated

[sorcerer]

16 hours ago, Chasdad said:

How have you found having lpg. Ive just bought a ls400 with it and have been surprised how few garages there are around where l live. I was going to tell my brother to go petrol then lpg it .but garages seem to be dwindling

If you have an Android phone you can download an app from the Play Store for the Fill LPG website. You can also download the FillLPG POIs for satnavs. My nearest filling place is a Calor Centre rather than a filling station forecourt; even that's a 12-mile round trip to fill up if I don't happen to be heading in that direction anyway but it's well worth the small inconvenience to make substantial savings on fuel.

 

[sorcerer]

4 hours ago, garyfreefly said:

its a bit of a pain having a range of only 170mls as well,  but the saving makes it worthwhile for us 

You could have a bigger tank fitted. Mine's an 85 litre tank and gives a range of over 200 miles minimum to a best so far of 300 miles.

Quote

We have 3 lpg garages local so its not too much of a issue but on a longer journey it can be so we have thought ahead and have a lpg garages map in the glove box

A paper map could well go out of date quite quickly so have a look at my reply above to @Chasdad regarding the FillLPG website and also the free Android app and satnav POI files.

[garyfreefly]

where is the tank ?  mine is in the spare wheel well  and we can not get a bigger one  ( that I know of )  in that space    fitting a great big tank in the boot is a  NO GO  as we drop the rear seats very often to increase the boot space.... 

I take your point on the paper maps going out of date but it always works ....my mobile network is Vodafone however and to get a signal that will even let you text or speak to someone is a minor miracle never mind a mobile internet signal.....

[sorcerer]

Mine's in the spare wheel well too - there's a couple of pictures in this topic I started a few weeks ago here:

 

[hprice1099]

On 9/1/2016 at 4:48 PM, 2ddesign said:

Hi

Yes, I have an RX 450h model and I pull a Trigano Silver 310 model with pop up roof. The cost of the tow bar is high, £900 fitted by Westfalia at their Bristol centre. This is the only tow bar that can go on an RX 450h, because of the air suspension!

 

2ddesign

Hi mate, any chance you remember the model of the towbar? Thanks

[2ddesign]

Hi 

Westfalia Towing hitch Lexus RX 3358600001 Detachable Tow Bar

Total price including wiring Kit Lexus RX + VAT= £896.40 

 

[Gliderpilot]

 

1 hour ago, 2ddesign said:

Hi 

Westfalia Towing hitch Lexus RX 3358600001 Detachable Tow Bar

Total price including wiring Kit Lexus RX + VAT= £896.40 

 

Got mine from PF Jones, was about that price fitted on my drive.

[hprice1099]

2 hours ago, 2ddesign said:

Hi 

Westfalia Towing hitch Lexus RX 3358600001 Detachable Tow Bar

Total price including wiring Kit Lexus RX + VAT= £896.40 

 

Thanks 

[hprice1099]

29 minutes ago, Gliderpilot said:

 

Got mine from PF Jones, was about that price fitted on my drive.

Thanks, I’ve seen Lexus RX450h ATV/SUV 2009-2015 Detachable Swan Neck Towbar that fits. Just need it fitting 😬👍🏻

[Gliderpilot]

PF Jones do a fitting service at the factory in Manchester or at your home, mine was done at home.