tarvos Posted July 6 Posted July 6 Hi all, I've already seen threads here and here but have some questions remaining: Are the 7 and 8 seat Alphards different in anything other than the interior from factory? We've not fully committed to our van just yet and in particular I'm wondering if I'm getting a lower GVW van with a 7 seat interior? (The export cert has a box at the top with "2400" in it that *might* be GVW). I know this seems to be a tricky question to answer having browsed around on this topic too... Has anyone does this and had any issue with insurance? Practically speaking there's no issue IMO - but from the insurers perspective it's a seating (safety) modification from the stock van so I presumably need to declare it... I've not started asking around yet, just looking for any good/bad experiences... If any converters are reading this and have a decent grey/black 8 seat cloth interior, carpet, rails etc. etc. for sale please feel free to DM me Thanks in advance
tarvos Posted July 6 Author Posted July 6 On the first point I've now found the info at the post below, that does show a different GVW for the 8 seater but as was said in that post Toyota just added 8 people not 7 people to the kerb weight to get the "GVW" https://uk.alphardclub.com/forums/topic/557-alphard-specs-a-minefield/?do=findComment&comment=2141 According to the below link the 7 seater had a GVW of 2520kg. No evidence I can find of a similar page for the 8 seater. https://toyota.dreamhosters.com/pages/alphard/spec.php For interest sake the Previa 7 and 8 seater have same GVW (just swap previa in for alphard in the URL above)
Rojie Posted July 6 Posted July 6 3 hours ago, tarvos said: Hi all, I've already seen threads here and here but have some questions remaining: Are the 7 and 8 seat Alphards different in anything other than the interior from factory? We've not fully committed to our van just yet and in particular I'm wondering if I'm getting a lower GVW van with a 7 seat interior? (The export cert has a box at the top with "2400" in it that *might* be GVW). I know this seems to be a tricky question to answer having browsed around on this topic too... Has anyone does this and had any issue with insurance? Practically speaking there's no issue IMO - but from the insurers perspective it's a seating (safety) modification from the stock van so I presumably need to declare it... I've not started asking around yet, just looking for any good/bad experiences... If any converters are reading this and have a decent grey/black 8 seat cloth interior, carpet, rails etc. etc. for sale please feel free to DM me Thanks in advance They are different. Obviously, the seats, and, more importantly, the seat rails the seats attach to. 7 seaters have 4 rails in the rear, 8 seaters have 5. So the carpets are different and the insulating underlays too. Why are you concerned about Gross Vehicle Weight ?
tarvos Posted July 7 Author Posted July 7 I'm interested in GVW simply because a higher payload would make a more useful/valuable vehicle. Especially if doing a camper conversion (we are not going the whole hog, but thinking about resale value etc.). We're intending to fit a tow bar (which seems to have been covered on here before e.g. here) and although I've not dived into that part of the build yet it sounds like the combination weight limit may be limited to the GVW of the vehicle, so it potentially really does matter a lot - there's a 355kg difference in the lightest and heaviest GVW's I've been able to find for the ANH10. As it happens, looking at the other post I linked to, the 8 seater has got a 55kg higher GVW/payload (same Kerb weight as the 7) but, as that post says, this is just the weight of an extra person so it sounds like it's not saying anything about the chassis. It's also not necessarily anything to do with what is stamped on the chassis plate. The chassis plate is presumably what the legal weights would be based on in the UK. Also interesting that it might not be stamped with anything at all e.g. here
dezufo Posted July 7 Posted July 7 3 hours ago, tarvos said: I'm interested in GVW simply because a higher payload would make a more useful/valuable vehicle. Especially if doing a camper conversion (we are not going the whole hog, but thinking about resale value etc.). We're intending to fit a tow bar (which seems to have been covered on here before e.g. here) and although I've not dived into that part of the build yet it sounds like the combination weight limit may be limited to the GVW of the vehicle, so it potentially really does matter a lot - there's a 355kg difference in the lightest and heaviest GVW's I've been able to find for the ANH10. As it happens, looking at the other post I linked to, the 8 seater has got a 55kg higher GVW/payload (same Kerb weight as the 7) but, as that post says, this is just the weight of an extra person so it sounds like it's not saying anything about the chassis. It's also not necessarily anything to do with what is stamped on the chassis plate. The chassis plate is presumably what the legal weights would be based on in the UK. Also interesting that it might not be stamped with anything at all e.g. here there are no weights stamped on the vin plate, what you will find is that you are limited to a maximum total of 3500kg
tarvos Posted July 7 Author Posted July 7 3 hours ago, dezufo said: there are no weights stamped on the vin plate, what you will find is that you are limited to a maximum total of 3500kg Interesting thanks, I guess this isn't the thread to go deep on this but I'm intrigued how you arrived at that number?
Rojie Posted July 7 Posted July 7 18 minutes ago, tarvos said: Interesting thanks, I guess this isn't the thread to go deep on this but I'm intrigued how you arrived at that number? For many of us older drivers that limit is by law, irrespective of vehicle. After a certain age your right to drive over 3500kg is withdrawn unless you specifically retain it. I believe that age is currently 70. It is worth noting that, for older drivers, you must renew your drivers license every 3 years. It is free to do so, but DON'T FORGET. If you do forget, you could be in big trouble. Either way you will be compelled to take your test again. 1
dezufo Posted July 8 Posted July 8 16 hours ago, tarvos said: Interesting thanks, I guess this isn't the thread to go deep on this but I'm intrigued how you arrived at that number? From an answer to the question of towing that was in a different forum see pic 1
Rojie Posted July 8 Posted July 8 13 minutes ago, dezufo said: From an answer to the question of towing that was in a different forum see pic I have also read, somewhere, that Alphards are not for towing; especially the CVT type drive trains. Controversial, I know, but that is what I read, unfortunately I cannot remember where.
dezufo Posted July 8 Posted July 8 7 minutes ago, Rojie said: I have also read, somewhere, that Alphards are not for towing; especially the CVT type drive trains. Controversial, I know, but that is what I read, unfortunately I cannot remember where. Yes I have read it as well but it's all to do with the transmission cooling on the normal auto box, the Japanese do not do a lot of towing so the box has a small cooler which is why people are advised to fit an extra cooler. Cars with an auto box that are used for towing in the uk are designed with a large cooler , I had a ford explorer, auto box, that was used to tow a horse box never had any problems with it. The problem with the cvt is due to the way it selects the speed/gear
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