Should I be worried about 7 people and luggage in my 05?

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
Apr 8, 2014
Threads
30
Messages
996
Location
Nazareth, PA
Hey guys,

I am taking a bachelor trip weekend from the Lehigh Valley PA area to Mohegan Sun in CT. It's about 240 miles 1 way. I have a 2005 LX470 with 109k on it. I have recently done the AHC fluid change 3 times over 3 months...and the reservoir now shows pretty light pink fluid so I know that is good. The system itself has been working very well, goes up and down with no issues and the ride is great. I know the max interior load is 1,280lbs, but I will probably be around 1,500 with all the guys and luggage. I've never put that much weight in it before and I don't want to break my suspension. What do you guys think?

Thanks
 
My experience is the weight limit is conservative and more influenced by lawyers than engineering. You should be fine.
 
I would be more concerned with fitting 7 men into the truck and having room for 7 bags. Don't even plan on bringing a cooler full of beer. You may need to utilize the roof rack.
 
My thoughts were the same, but I wanted to make sure from some experienced guys. This rig belonged to my mother for 9 years and and 99% of the time it had just her in it. No towing, no big loads of stuff or people...so it's seen extremely light use. I bought it from her 7 months ago and since I have been doing all the maintenance to bring it back up to a reliable level. Mom took great care of it (garage, no accidents) but she did skimp on the maintenance other than oil changes. So I've done everything it could possibly need (under the hood is almost new with parts) and then some.

But now that I have it, my wife and I haul my son and dog around in it, I've done some light off roading...and I plan on actually using it for what's it built for. I am just a little hesitant since it's now pushing 10 years old.
 
I would be more concerned with fitting 7 men into the truck and having room for 7 bags. Don't even plan on bringing a cooler full of beer. You may need to utilize the roof rack.

We're just going for 2 days, so we should be able to get by with small backpacks. 2 of the guys are pretty small (under 5'5") so I figured them in the 3rd row with all the bags piled up to the window. Since it's only a couple hours and we're heading to a casino I think we can skip the cooler with beer. But I like where your head is at!
 
So the LX interior max is 1,280, but the LC is 1,470. Is that because of the suspension (normal as opposed to AHC), or because it weighs less?
 
Haha for my brother in laws bachelor party we put 8 plus bags in rooftop box lol

And drove 150+ miles in the snow
 
Other than claustrophobia, you should be fine.
 
Thanks guys.

Hey, the drivers seat is comfy...tough s*** for the other guys they're getting a free ride.
 
just did 4 hours each way with full family, two dogs, gear, food etc. for 4 days and the hitch box fully loaded and it was just fine. you have nothing to worry about aside from the hangovers you all will have :)
IMG_20140830_073852_edit_zps6a5f058e.jpg
 
Dudes in the back are gonna hate you... But I take six and the dog plus camping gear (2 kids). I use a roof-top bag. There is so little room behind the third row. Plus, as a gesture of goodwill, if you use the roof and not the back, the 3rd row guys can recline...
 
I've had 5 people in my car with the cargo are packed for camping to the ceiling and a cargo hitch loaded up too for 6 hours in the mountains. No worries/ Have fun and be safe.
 
just did 4 hours each way with full family, two dogs, gear, food etc. for 4 days and the hitch box fully loaded and it was just fine. you have nothing to worry about aside from the hangovers you all will have :)
IMG_20140830_073852_edit_zps6a5f058e.jpg

That box is nice. What kind? Does it come with a hitch adapter?

I'm thinking about driving to Denver, CO to see my sister early next year and with a 100lb lab, kid, plus luggage I think I'm going to need one of those.
 
Thanks, its a Thule box and it fits the normal 2" hitch receiver and plugs into trailer harness for lights.

Heres are better pics and I like that it swings out so you can open the rear flip down door without removing it.

IMG_20140820_175743_zps1a789ec6.jpg


IMG_20140820_191356_zps0e15868d.jpg
 
That is a neat additional cargo alternative to roofing it. Definitely like the swing out feature. What's the most weight (aprox) that you've had in it thus far?
 
yeah, I like roof boxes and have had them on a few cars before but with how high the LX sits the wife wanted something that she could also access easily and this was about all I could find that did the trick. I would say maybe 150lbs or so is the most we have put into it. Its not super huge but clears enough space in the back so the dogs can actually move around on long road trips.
 
That thing is awesome. I'll have to keep an eye out on craigslist for one of those. Just looked on their website and it's $600 new. Ouch.
 
Back
Top Bottom