1998 TOYOTA CAMRY220S
They’vebeen campingforover30years,and
this is only their secondtowingcombination,
withaToyota providing the pulling power,
proving thateverythingkeeps goingrightfor
Nick and RosePienaarfromBothasig.
Most of the moderntowingvehicles
you’ll see in campsites these daysare
automatic turbodiesels,with plentyof
torque.Wecampregularly,and some of the
guysinour club haveNavaras, Hiluxesand
Fortuners,but beforethesevehicles came
tothefore,Camryswereextremely popular
towingvehicles in thiscountry.
WeboughttheCamryused 10years ago
forR139 000and picked up theWilk Topaz
sixyears ago.
TheCamryisnot the most powerful
workhorse,with a2,2ℓnormally aspirated
engine under the bonnet sowehaveto
make clever use of the gearboxwhile
towing uphill.Otherwise it’s alovely cruising
Oldfaithfulvehicle with and without the caravan, and
economical enoughforustouse onadaily
basis.Itaverages around11 ℓ/100kmand
weusuallytowbetween80 and 100km/h.
Thefuelconsumptionpenaltyfortowingat
120 km/his drastic and thatspeed isn’t really
safeanyway.
Theone issuewehad with thisvehicle is
thatthe independentrear suspension is quite
softand the carwould squatdownatthe
back,especially withaload,butwe’vehad
amodification done with the springs so that
wecan hitchacaravan and puttwoadults in
the back seatand not haveanyissues.
WeusedtodriveaCressida 3.0before
theCamry,whichwasalsoabeautifultowing
vehicle and had all the powerweneeded,
but thatstraight-six enginewassignificantly
thirstier than theCamry’sfour-cylinder motor.
TheCamrywas alsoalotmoremodern, so it
wasaneasy choice.
Ourfavouritecamping destination isby
farStormsRiverMouthin theTsitsikamma
NationalParkbecause of the natural beauty
of theforestsand ocean alltogether
in one spot.Showusyour wheels
Send an emailto
[email protected]
us about what’sinyour garage.