Why the 70 Series Land Cruiser Is One of the Best Tow Rigs You Can Buy
Ask anyone who tows heavy for a living, whether it's farmers, miners or caravanners doing the big lap, and the same vehicle keeps coming up. The Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series has been hauling serious loads across some of the harshest country on earth for over four decades, and it remains one of the most capable and trusted towing platforms on the market. Here's why.
The Numbers That Matter
Every variant in the 70 Series range (single cab, dual cab, wagon and Troop Carrier) is rated to tow 3,500kg braked (750kg unbraked), with a 350kg maximum towball download. That puts it at the legal ceiling for conventional towing in Australia, on par with any modern dual-cab ute.
But the headline towing figure only tells half the story. What separates the 70 Series from most 3,500kg-rated vehicles is what it can carry while towing:
• GVM up to 3,510kg with payloads ranging from roughly 1,100kg in the Troop Carrier to around 1,380kg in the single cab chassis
• GCM of 7,010kg on the 76 Series wagon, enough to tow the full 3,500kg with a full payload on board
• Dual-cab models run a 6,800kg GCM, still leaving generous payload headroom at maximum tow
Plenty of utes claim 3,500kg towing but lose most of their payload the moment a heavy trailer goes on the ball. The 70 Series is one of the few vehicles that can genuinely do both at once.
A Drivetrain Built for Load, Not Lap Times
The current 2.8-litre 1GD-FTV turbo-diesel produces 150kW and 500Nm paired with the six-speed automatic (450Nm with the five-speed manual). It won't win drag races, but peak torque arrives low in the rev range, exactly where you want it when dragging a van up a long grade or pulling a loaded trailer out of a soft riverbed. Tow tests have consistently found the four-cylinder more relaxed under load than the old V8 it replaced, with the auto holding gears intelligently on descents.
And speaking of the V8: with the legendary 4.5-litre 1VD-FTV retired from the Australian lineup at the end of 2025, the huge existing fleet of V8 70 Series will keep towing for decades to come. Both engines share the same fundamental strength: they’re understressed, simple, and built for hundreds of thousands of hard kilometres.
The Chassis Makes the Difference
Towing capability isn't just about engine torque. The 70 Series brings:
• A full ladder-frame chassis that handles towball loads and chassis twist without complaint
• Solid axles front and rear for durability under sustained heavy loads on rough roads
• Part-time 4WD with front and rear diff locks (on most variants), so you can place a trailer exactly where it needs to go on slippery boat ramps, muddy paddocks or sandy tracks
• A 130-litre fuel tank as standard, giving a real-world towing range of around 700-750km even at heavy-tow consumption figures, which is critical when the next servo is 400km away
That last point matters more than people realise. A tow rig that needs fuel every 350km is a liability in remote country.
Reliability Is a Towing Feature
When you're towing 3.5 tonnes through the Kimberley or running stock trailers on station tracks, breakdowns aren't an inconvenience, they're dangerous and expensive. The 70 Series' reputation here is unmatched: mechanically simple, easy to service in the bush, with parts available in virtually every regional town. It's the reason aid organisations, mining companies and outback operators have standardised on the platform for decades. That same dependability is exactly what you want hooked to your caravan a thousand kilometres from home.
Setting Up Your 70 Series for Towing
A capable platform still deserves a proper setup. A quality tow bar and electric brake controller are the obvious starting points, but serious towing also calls for upgraded suspension to handle sustained towball weight, extended towing mirrors for wide vans, and decent recovery gear for when the track turns ugly. If you’re building your rig out, 70 Series Store specialises in accessories made specifically for the 70 Series platform, so everything is designed around the vehicle’s unique dimensions and workhorse duty cycle rather than adapted from a generic ute fit.
The Bottom Line
The 70 Series Land Cruiser isn't the newest, quietest or most refined tow vehicle on sale, and that's precisely the point. It offers maximum-rated towing with genuine payload to spare, low-down diesel torque, a chassis engineered for abuse, huge fuel range and a reliability record nothing else in its class can match. For anyone towing heavy, towing remote, or towing for work, it remains one of the best options on four wheels.
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Barry O'Connor
Australia has had a number of areas all over Australia affected by bushfires and all businesses/ towns are looking for is for people to come and stay a few days.