South Africans have a love affair with hooking up a boat or caravan to the back of their double cab and heading out of town for a weekend – preferably much longer.
If you’re looking to upgrade your family hauler, or switch to one of these practical vehicles, it’s important to know what it will be capable of pulling behind it.
The good news is manufacturers are acutely aware of the local fondness for towing, and they have made sure to offer products that can satisfy that need.
What you can tow based on your licence
Depending on the type of driver’s licence in your possession, you are legally allowed to tow up to a certain weight.
With a standard Code B, a driver may to a trailer with a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 750kg, but for anything heavier, such as a caravan, a Code EB, EC, or EC1 is required.
GVM, according to Toyota, “is the maximum allowable mass of the vehicle when fully loaded with passengers and cargo (i.e. kerb mass plus passengers and cargo).”
Braked vs unbraked
Whether a trailer is braked or unbraked will also affect the legality of towing.
If it does not have its own braking system, the trailer must weigh under 750kg regardless of the type of licence of the driver; but if it does have a braking system, the trailer can weigh up to 3,500kg if the driver has the correct paperwork.
Additionally, for trailers under 750kg, the vehicle towing it must weigh a minimum of double the weight, said Santam. In other words, if the trailer comes in at 721kg, the car it’s hooked up to must have a kerb weight of 1,442kg.
Meanwhile, if the trailer exceeds 750kg and has its own braking system, the weight of the vehicle must at least be equal to or more than that of the object it’s towing.
Strongest towbars in South Africa
Ranked in the following table are the new bakkies on sale in South Africa right now with the highest braked towing capacities.
It must be noted that these figures are the maximum weights supported by a particular model range, but that not all specifications of that vehicle are able to tow the full amount listed. This can be due to numerous factors such as different engines, gearboxes, or drivelines fitted to the various trims.
| Rank | Model | Towing cap. |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ford Ranger | 3,500kg |
| 1. | Isuzu D-Max | 3,500kg |
| 1. | Mazda BT-50 | 3,500kg |
| 1. | Nissan Navara | 3,500kg |
| 1. | Toyota Hilux | 3,500kg |
| 1. | Toyota Land Cruiser 79 | 3,500kg |
| 1. | VW Amarok | 3,500kg |
| 2. | Mitsubishi Triton | 3,100kg |
| 3. | Peugeot Landtrek | 3,000kg |
| 4. | Jeep Gladiator | 2,721kg |
| 5. | Mahindra Pik Up | 2,500kg |
| 6. | JAC T6 | 2,000kg |
| 6. | JAC T8 | 2,000kg |
| 7. | GWM Steed | 1,700kg |
| 8. | GWM P-Series | 1,375kg |
| 9. | Mahindra Bolero | 750kg |
| 10. | Nissan NP200 | 650kg |
Keyword: Bakkies with the strongest towing power in South Africa