Originally Posted by
Mauser308
I had a similar experience when I purchased my last work vehicle for my business. Decided on the spec I needed the vehicle to be able to do, towing/carrying/configuration weights and went out to a few outfits to see what they could match up. Toyota couldn't in the ute line, directed me to their light trucks, at that stage nothing else had the 3500Kg tow rating or enough balls to do it.
Ended up between a Runamok, an alone Ranger and a few light trucks - they got dumped as an option as too expensive. Likewise the Amarok didn't get the button pressed as I talked to a fella that got one as a heavy rated work towing truck and ended up giving it to his missus... Couldn't reverse up a hill with a heavy trailer, and being an auto it just sucked (used to use the manual 4L gear with the front manual hubs unlocked but can't do that with the new gen electric engagement utes...).
So got a ranger, explained to Ford what I needed and got told it'll do everything I needed. Well, after writing off two two bar shanks and extensions smashing them into kerbs and bending them, and destroying a set of factory leafs Ford fitted some custom aftermarket leaf packs for me. Fark me, it's turned the truck into a widow maker, on fast gravel roads like the East Coast the front end would just wash out and become uncontrollable. After I just about lost the thing into a fire dam near Parongahau I got the shits and took it back it to Ford - nothing wrong. Went to another outfit and got the corner weights and angles done, and it turned out the heavy rear springs had too much lift and the front end couldn't be adjusted to compensate - the front wheels were bottoming out and had about 20mm droop which stuffed up the camber angle giving a massive amount of negative camber.
I had to source a set of new front struts with a floating spring seat, and custom machine a spacer to take the 20mm droop out by slightly increasing the preload on the factory front springs. Ford dealer had given up at this stage, so yeah $65,000 later and a year of farting about and I finally had a ute that could do what I brought it for. By that stage at work we'd found other ways and I didn't really need the thing any more. Talk about pissed off and never buying another new ute! Another example about not owning it and putting it right regardless of blame or outcome - also a lot of people I talked to went away from that dealer and also, I was able to help out a lot of people who have had similar failings with their utes not doing the job. Seems manufacturers have gone cheap and used nasty comfort for townie springs rather than work load rated springs in their utes...