17 April

Towing is another glorious example of human status games. When the BYD Shark was released for example, many people refused to buy it because it ‘can only tow 2.5 tonnes’. But in reality BYD’s engineers in China, removed from the macho status games of Australian towing, were simply reflecting the actual towing capacity of a dual cab ute. A 3.5-tonne towing capacity is like a 12-inch penis. The thing everybody wants to be able to say they have, but which nobody can actually use. It’s the same social status game. Pretty much all of the popular dual cab utes in Australia list 3.5 tonnes as their possible towing weight. All of them are lying, it’s marketing spin. The maximum legal and safe towing weight for all of them is between 2.5-3 tonnes, and at 3 tonnes you can’t really put many people or load in the ute at the same time without going over the safe and legal total weight. All of them are at that rough BYD limit, in real terms. If you see a dual cab out there towing 3 tonnes or more, stay well away from it, it’s death on wheels. That tow ball is like a pivot, well behind the rear axle, meaning with 3 tonne or more trailers or caravans the car is almost lifted off the ground in terms of its ability to control the weight behind it (often the front wheels are literally being lifted off the ground). You can get a weight distribution hitch that puts the tow ball weight more over the axles, which is much safer, but even then your relatively small ute shouldn’t be trying to control 3 tonnes or more being towed behind it. It’ll be crawling up hills, and struggling at speed if the towed weight starts to get unruly, to slow it down. The exception is the big American wankpanzers, like the RAM and Silverado. Those can tow heavier loads, because they’re actual trucks, not utes. The much bigger picture here is that towing itself is mostly a fad. A trend. A Ken and Barbie set for adults thing, a big swinging dick social status activity. Who can buy the best gear, the biggest caravan or trailer, and can mod or spec it out in the best ways. Mostly people don’t tow and don’t need to tow, anything. It’s an optional thing driven more by social status. It’s like home batteries, which quickly became a pissing contest to see who could buy the biggest 40 kWh or 50 kWh battery. Ludicrous for most home needs. Couple of good links on towing here: https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/the-truth-about-3500kg-towing-52878/ https://www.carsales.com.au/editorial/details/advice-more-truth-about-3500kg-towing-117906/