Choosing the Best Truck for Your Farm
Choosing the Best Truck for Your Farm
Want a truck that can do the hard yards and give you the best bang for your buck? With so many great vehicles on the market, choosing the best truck for your farm isn’t an easy decision. But get it right and you could enjoy improved work efficiency, savings on fuel, as well as increased profit. Here’s how to choose a farm vehicle that ticks all your boxes!
What conditions will it operate under?
One of the first things to consider is the type of terrain your truck will need to operate on. If it’s mainly off-road conditions then you’ll need 4WD capabilities to provide traction and control.
Is your farm hilly? Features, such as the Land Cruiser’s Hill-start Assist Control (HAC), will prevent the truck from rolling backwards when starting out on steep gradients. The Land Cruiser also has a Downhill Assist Control (DAC) feature to keep the vehicle at a low and constant speed and maintain control during a steep descent.
If you need both on and off road capabilities, then a vehicle like the 4WD single & extra cab Hilux, provides a handy feature called an Automatically Disconnecting Differential (ADD). This allows you to switch to 4WD and back again to 2WD at the twist of a dial.
What tasks do you need it for?
If you need a vehicle to regularly carry gear and equipment from one place to another, then a Hilux 4WD ute is the ideal workhorse with superior carrying and towing capability.
If you don’t need a heavy duty vehicle, selecting a crossover truck like a Fortuner SUV, is a good alternative. Toyota SUVs are built on truck platforms and offer a towing strength of medium to heavy (3000 kg). They also come with 4WD capabilities and extra interior room so can double as a family-sized on road vehicle if needs be.
What performance factors are you after?
How the truck performs on your farm is vital so you need to think about what kind of horsepower the engine has. Is it powerful enough to move heavy loads but use the least amount of fuel to save on transport costs? A truck like the Landcruiser 70 has a V8 turbo diesel engine with a piezoelectric injection system, so you’re getting the power along with more accurate control over fuel delivery.
Torque is another important consideration for a farm vehicle. If you’re towing a heavy load over uneven, rocky or muddy ground, a truck with powerful low speed torque is ideal. Toyota trucks with diesel engines and optimised gear ratios offer good torque at lower revs and they’re easy to drive.
How safe is it?
When buying a new truck don’t compromise on safety, always choose a 5-Star ANCAP Safety rating. Look for a vehicle with active safety features that help avoid a crash occurring, such as, ABS, traction control, road speed limiters, reversing camera and Emergency Stop Signal (ESS). Passive safety features such as, an extensive airbag package and childproof rear door locks, will keep your family safe on those weekend trips away.
Is it fuel efficient?
When considering a truck for your farm, fuel efficiency will likely be high on your list. Diesel trucks will give you the most fuel efficiency but also think about how much truck you really need. Bigger isn’t always better as you’ll find out when it comes to filling up at the pump. If you really want to save on fuel, choose the correct engine size to the workload demand.