Toyota HiLux towing capacity

Which HiLux does the 2,155 kg figure describe?

It describes the standard-GVM SR5 48V diesel 4x4 automatic double-cab pickup in Toyota’s 30 June 2026 specification sheet. Toyota labels the kerb figures approximate maximum weights. Check the body, transmission and GVM-option columns before using one in a towing calculation.

The neighbouring SR5 cab-chassis is listed at 2,020 kg. Using that number for the pickup creates an extra 135 kg of apparent carrying room. A cab-chassis owner also has to account for the tray and other fitted equipment, so its brochure advantage is not all available for trip gear.

For the standard pickup, 3,120 kg GVM minus 2,155 kg kerb gives 965 kg of nominal payload. Your bullbar, canopy, drawers, batteries, occupants and luggage draw from that allowance. If they were fitted when the vehicle was weighed, use the measured total as your starting point rather than adding the fit-out twice.

Can an SR5 tow 3,500 kg with the touring gear aboard?

That depends on the actual load and the limits for the vehicle and its equipment. With weight distribution inactive, use a 3,500 kg complete loaded trailer and an illustrative 350 kg ball load to see how the standard SR5’s two mass budgets work. The vehicle-side calculation is 3,120 − 2,155 − 350 = 615 kg for additions above kerb.

The combined-mass calculation leaves 6,300 − 3,500 − 2,155 = 645 kg for the same additions. Use the smaller result: 615 kg. The ball is already part of the complete trailer mass in the second calculation. Subtracting it there again would count it twice.

Suppose the added fit-out weighs 220 kg, occupants total 170 kg and trip cargo adds 140 kg. Those illustrative additions total 530 kg. On the stated 350 kg ball assumption, the coupled pickup would weigh 3,035 kg, leaving 85 kg below GVM. Combined mass would be 6,185 kg, leaving 115 kg below GCM. These sums do not establish the rear-axle load or confirm that the assumed ball load is permitted.

The example is useful for deciding what to measure. Replace every assumed load with your own figures and confirm the vehicle, towbar and coupling limits before relying on the result.

Why the factory GVM option has a different towing calculation

Toyota lists an SR5 automatic pickup with a factory GVM option at 2,163 kg kerb and 3,500 kg GVM. Its nominal vehicle payload is 1,337 kg, but its GCM is still 6,300 kg. Keep it as a separate specification from the standard 3,120 kg GVM pickup.

With weight distribution inactive, the same 3,500 kg complete trailer and illustrative 350 kg ball give two allowances. The GVM-side allowance is 3,500 − 2,163 − 350 = 987 kg. The GCM-side allowance is 6,300 − 3,500 − 2,163 = 637 kg. GCM binds first, so 637 kg is the relevant combined allowance before checking the actual axle and equipment limits.

Compared on these exact assumptions, the option increases the full-tow allowance by 22 kg, from 615 to 637 kg. It provides more vehicle carrying room in other loading situations; that does not turn its unchanged GCM into a higher combined rating. Use the specification actually approved for the vehicle, including any conditions on an aftermarket modification.

Check the axles before filling the canopy

A total vehicle weight cannot tell you how that weight is shared between the axles. A canopy, drawers and recovery equipment place loads at different points along the ute, while the towball acts behind the rear axle. Get front and rear axle readings with the vehicle in its travel configuration and the towing setup used according to its instructions.

Toyota’s current public specification sheet gives the standard SR5 pickup a 3,085 mm wheelbase and 1,240 mm rear body overhang. It does not provide the vehicle ball-load maximum or front and rear axle ratings used by this guide. Those missing limits are left unquoted in the table. Use the matching Toyota documentation and the ratings on the actual vehicle and towing equipment.

A vehicle sitting level is not a measurement of its axle loads. If you use a weight-distribution hitch, follow the vehicle and hitch instructions and weigh in the correctly configured travel condition. Do not treat a simple ball-load subtraction as a substitute for those axle readings.

Water and work gear change the load between trips

A canopy setup may carry tools during the week and camping equipment on the weekend. Keep the permanent equipment in the baseline and record what comes out as well as what goes in. A measured fit-out is only a useful starting point when you know the fuel, passengers and cargo that were present.

Water carried in the ute uses vehicle carrying capacity; water in the caravan uses trailer carrying capacity. Both contribute to combined mass. The caravan water-tank guide explains how to plan the quantity and avoid counting water twice when it was already on board at the weigh-in.

For example, replacing 40 kg of work equipment with 60 kg of camping equipment adds 20 kg to the vehicle total. Moving that equipment to a different position can change axle loading even if the total stays the same. Reweigh where the changed arrangement cannot be established reliably from your records.

Keep the fitted HiLux as the starting point

Enter the HiLux’s actual ratings and record a weigh-in of the fitted vehicle in loadmate. Keep the canopy, drawers and other permanent equipment with that setup. For the next trip, update the removable loads so the review starts from the ute you own.

That record also makes later changes easier to follow. A replacement battery or different fridge can alter both the weight and where it sits. Get the loadmate app to explore how recorded weights and load changes fit together. The article’s example is not transferred by the download link.

Keep the dated Toyota sheet and your vehicle-specific limits with the measured weights. The GCM guide explains the combined check, while the weighbridge guide explains which readings to collect.