UK Pickups - reviews

[Shovelhands]

Nice review material based on real experience
All of what you say is what I’ve based my decision to buy a new NP300
For me a lifestyle decision - boss of my own business and granddad of a large family
Will be used to tow various plant trailers loaded up to 3500kg with equipment for use by the driver with 100km radius of here, move tools and equipment to/from site, daily driver for the boss and tow the caravan on occasions when we have holidays with grandchildren (2 at a time)
So it had to have the comfort of coil spring rear suspension and decent specced kit for the passengers
Now collecting stuff to bolt on such at a nice Witter height adjustable towbar etc
Now gotta decide what load bed cover options to go for

If you want a full canopy, give me a buzz, the one I got is very well made and the company couldn’t be more helpful

 

[Monkeybusiness]

I’ve got an Armadillo roller shutter which suits my needs but isn’t particularly waterproof. It is secure though - there are other variants that can be easily cut open between the slats with a Stanley knife as the hinge mechanism is basically a roll of rubber...
If I was going for a full canopy I’d probably go for one of these - they look the dog’s danglies - http://www.upcountry4x4.co.uk/nissan_navara-np300/hardtop_rsi-steel-smart-canopy.asp

 

[fred]

Nice review material based on real experience
All of what you say is what I’ve based my decision to buy a new NP300
For me a lifestyle decision - boss of my own business and granddad of a large family
Will be used to tow various plant trailers loaded up to 3500kg with equipment for use by the driver with 100km radius of here, move tools and equipment to/from site, daily driver for the boss and tow the caravan on occasions when we have holidays with grandchildren (2 at a time)
So it had to have the comfort of coil spring rear suspension and decent specced kit for the passengers
Now collecting stuff to bolt on such at a nice Witter height adjustable towbar etc
Now gotta decide what load bed cover options to go for

if your towing 3.5 ton then you are technically breaking the law as its a lot over the plated train weight of 6 tons - 3.1 tons of vehicle = 2.9 left. I'd guess wit the rest of kit on the truck you be lucky to have 2.5 ton left of tow weight, including the trailer.

I know we all are overloaded at time as its nigh on impossible to not be but the vosa boys are dead strict if you are pulled. Expensive fines.

 

[Monkeybusiness]

if your towing 3.5 ton then you are technically breaking the law as its a lot over the plated train weight of 6 tons - 3.1 tons of vehicle = 2.9 left. I'd guess wit the rest of kit on the truck you be lucky to have 2.5 ton left of tow weight, including the trailer.

I know we all are overloaded at time as its nigh on impossible to not be but the vosa boys are dead strict if you are pulled. Expensive fines.

You’re confusing gross weight with the unladen weight. If you run the vehicle fully loaded at its maximum gross weight of 3.1tonne then you are correct that you are limited to towing 2.9 tonnes. However, you can tow 3.5 tonnes if the vehicle is running with a light enough payload. Obviously it’s a compromise, but it is all legal.
The one other thing that needs bearing in mind is the implied load on the rear axle by the trailer’s nose weight - this will potentially eat into your rear axle’s maximum 1750kg loading if you are also carrying anything in the tub.

 

[Shovelhands]

Max imposed load on the towball is only 140kg anyhow.

 

[fred]

its about time the gov overhauled the weights. purpose made pickups like iveco's , fiats etc with proper ladder chassis not car derived jobbies, can be made to carry a good 8 tons without changing the overall size. They got no hope of making them electric and still expecting a payload at 3.5tons.

 

[Routy56]

if your towing 3.5 ton then you are technically breaking the law as its a lot over the plated train weight of 6 tons - 3.1 tons of vehicle = 2.9 left. I'd guess wit the rest of kit on the truck you be lucky to have 2.5 ton left of tow weight, including the trailer.

I know we all are overloaded at time as its nigh on impossible to not be but the vosa boys are dead strict if you are pulled. Expensive fines.

Thanks for the head up on this Fred
Although not sure if I agree - probably not gonna come anywhere near the Gross Train Weight (it won't be plated!) of 6,000kgs.
My Ifor Williams is 3500kgs. Mon. Kerb Weight Spec is 1991kgs which will no doubt rise by up to 200kgs or so with towbar and me etc.
Still leaves about 300kgs payload capacity for me sandwiches, shovels and laser level etc
Ifor weighs in at 985gs. Mini and buckets at 1700kgs so even with extra stuff don't usually run near the full authorised weight
Do you have experience of enforcement or the policies of the DVSA - this advice could help others

 

[Brendan]

Don't get me wrong majority are used for towing and there is pics of one towing 8t of type 1 on a 3.5t trailer. It's just a heads up.
On the latest Ranger all the double cabs except the XL are van speed limits so 50mph single carriageway, 60mph dual and 70mph motorway.
Think the wildtrack has a max nose weight of 350kg

 

[Gunners]

What put me off the Ranger was all the talk of major engine issues when used hard for towing. Otherwise its a lovely truck, right sized engine, apple car play, looks good - except when people get those stupid raptor kits put on
The Hilux was another option for me but the dealer didnt have one to look at - couldnt tell me when he would - or where another dealer might have one, so that was a short conversation!
I ran a D40 Navara for 5 years and it was a good truck, Nissan warranty was good at fixing a couple of minor issues I had, mainly with the 4wd sensors and the new Navara comes with 5 years of that warranty. Whats not to like at that price!

 

[Brendan]

What put me off the Ranger was all the talk of major engine issues when used hard for towing. Otherwise its a lovely truck, right sized engine, apple car play, looks good - except when people get those stupid raptor kits put on
The Hilux was another option for me but the dealer didnt have one to look at - couldnt tell me when he would - or where another dealer might have one, so that was a short conversation!
I ran a D40 Navara for 5 years and it was a good truck, Nissan warranty was good at fixing a couple of minor issues I had, mainly with the 4wd sensors and the new Navara comes with 5 years of that warranty. Whats not to like at that price!

Like any vehicle you only hear of the bad ones.
Early t6 engines apparently suffer from oil pump failure with people opting to swap it out for a newer version of the pump. Although actual failure stories are thin on the ground and any problems may have been from wrong oil change procedure on the 2.2 and 3.2 your not meant to let the oil drain out completely and the max time to drain is 10mins as the oil pump can't self prime (something to do with the variable vanes in it)
Mine tows over 2.5t+ alot of the time and have had zero engine issues, a couple of guys on owners group run a few pulling 3.5t mobile stages with near enough zero issues @Grahams how has yours been?

Another thing to note is sales (or at least registrations) the ranger outsells the rest by a huge margin (not far off double the next best selling pickup) so bad stories are likely to be more heard off from a sheer numbers point of view

 

[Grahams]

I had a piston ring breakup at 62,000 miles, about 20 months old and totalled the engine. As it was 2000 miles out of warranty ford didn’t want to know. I do a lot of hard towing around the 3500kg mark most of the time and often long distances, but I was still pretty upset. The only upside was the fuel savings over my defender had already paid for it.
Also had a drive belt break which ment a tow home from the AA.
Very frustrating to have these failures, but don’t know anyone else who has had problems, but don’t know anyone else who uses it as hard.
When it’s working it is a great motor. Very comfortable and tows effortlessly. I have the 3.2 auto Wildtrack version.
As Bendan says the Ranger is by far the biggest pickup seller (military now have seem instead of defenders) and the big hire fleets like SHB supply them, so you are bound to get more failures.
Graham

 

[V8Druid]

Like any vehicle you only hear of the bad ones.
Early t6 engines apparently suffer from oil pump failure with people opting to swap it out for a newer version of the pump. Although actual failure stories are thin on the ground and any problems may have been from wrong oil change procedure on the 2.2 and 3.2 your not meant to let the oil drain out completely and the max time to drain is 10mins as the oil pump can't self prime (something to do with the variable vanes in it)
Mine tows over 2.5t+ alot of the time and have had zero engine issues, a couple of guys on owners group run a few pulling 3.5t mobile stages with near enough zero issues @Grahams how has yours been?

Another thing to note is sales (or at least registrations) the ranger outsells the rest by a huge margin (not far off double the next best selling pickup) so bad stories are likely to be more heard off from a sheer numbers point of view

Old Rover V8 3.5/3.9 engines were the same ..... change filter first and fit new one, full of oil ... then drop sump and refill relatively promptly ... oil pumps would not self prime ..... if you let them drain, had to split the pump and pack it with Vaseline.

 

[Brendan]

I had a piston ring breakup at 62,000 miles, about 20 months old and totalled the engine. As it was 2000 miles out of warranty ford didn’t want to know. I do a lot of hard towing around the 3500kg mark most of the time and often long distances, but I was still pretty upset. The only upside was the fuel savings over my defender had already paid for it.
Also had a drive belt break which ment a tow home from the AA.
Very frustrating to have these failures, but don’t know anyone else who has had problems, but don’t know anyone else who uses it as hard.
When it’s working it is a great motor. Very comfortable and tows effortlessly. I have the 3.2 auto Wildtrack version.
As Bendan says the Ranger is by far the biggest pickup seller (military now have seem instead of defenders) and the big hire fleets like SHB supply them, so you are bound to get more failures.
Graham

What was the price of an engine?
Unfortunately it's luck of the draw you either get a good one or a bad one, have heard the latest Hilux can eat clutches for breakfast

 

[Grahams]

From memory about £6500 fitted

 

[Smiffy]

One weird thing I think is why do the work motors that are likely to be loaded the whole time not get the larger engines
Its an option in aus and nz so why here do they not offer it im sure it wouldnt affect sales of the top specs ones and from a economic pount of view why is it acceptable for people to have the bigger less efficient engine to run around empty the whole time
All the green policys we have seem kind of pointless when the pickups are getting bigger and more common

 

[Brendan]

One weird thing I think is why do the work motors that are likely to be loaded the whole time not get the larger engines
Its an option in aus and nz so why here do they not offer it im sure it wouldnt affect sales of the top specs ones and from a economic pount of view why is it acceptable for people to have the bigger less efficient engine to run around empty the whole time
All the green policys we have seem kind of pointless when the pickups are getting bigger and more common

Smaller engines are more efficient or at least produce less dangerous exhaust fumes when not under load but there is no replacement for displacement. Those little engines require high boost to get there power. Ford are only doing a 2.0 next year but will probably have to do a u turn like vw did and do a 3l V6 instead of the 2.0 bi turbo (think it's the only amarok engine now)
To be fair not heard of any faults with the navara

 

[Monkeybusiness]

No idea but it's what they have in the manual

Where did you find those screenshots? I’ve just had a look in my actual physical paper manual that came with my UK spec truck supplied by a Nissan main dealer and it doesn’t have that disclaimer about towing invalidating the warranty. I’d be amazed if they’ve changed their stance over the last 2 years (but could be wrong!).

 

[Brendan]

Was an online manual although not sure what countries version, might be an early draft or just different???

 

[Monkeybusiness]

I would imagine it will be Thailand/Phillipines or somewhere such like, as they are shared markets with Oz/NZ/South Africa. It’ll be to cover Nissan’s arses when the pickups are used to tow anything and everything in countries that don’t have an equivalent to the DVSA keeping an eye on trailer roadworthiness!...
There are loads of manuals online that don’t originate from .co.uk websites, I’d be a bit wary of what is apparently factual in terms of warranty info if going from those.

 

[Brendan]

Still good for giggle though