what vehicle do you tow with?

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eventerbabe

eventerbabe

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Dec 16, 2004
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pretty much settled on trading in the car and getting a 4x4. I'm interested to know what everyone on here tows with. Are there any 4x4s i should avoid? anyone found problems developed with their 4x4s coz of towing (i've read towing with a trooper plays havoc with the steering!). when viewing potential purchases, anything i should be on the look out for? i know a manual is a must as i want to tow.... many thanks in advance :)
 
Nissan Terrano, tows really well, haven't had any problems with it in the 18 months we've owned it. Fuel isn't too bad although is a lot more than my little vauxhall corsa! Parts and servicing are expensive though OH does a lot of the maintainance himself.
 
I'm really naive about all this but why is a manual a must for towing ? Would have thought an automatic would have made it smoother / less complicated ?
 
its only the older automatics that you have to avoid for towing, not sure why, but my friend has a jeep and that is automatic and she tows with that, so I think it may just be a certain type of automatic now, I have a Ford Maverick (similar to Nissan Terrano) and would be more than happy to get another one when the time comes to upgrade, copes with all the towing I do, is pretty good offroad, and has 7 seats which I needed, cheers Bev
 
i've just been told that a manual is better, didn't quite understand the technical jargon :rolleyes: something about low gear ratios i think.... my mates dad (a mechanic) explained it all when i spoke to him about towing vehicles but a lot went over my head! i understand car jargon up to a point, then i get lost :p

Bev, are parts hard to source for the mavericks? an old friend of ours had one and always complained he couldn't get parts.
 
I don't have a trailer now I have access to a lorry but last year we used a Nissan Pajero.(think it was the pajero though could have been a terano) It was the bigger version and happily towed 2 big horses,the trailer plus a car full of people and tack with no problems whatsoever.It wasn't too bad to tow with fuel wise and parts were easy to get hold of from the Nissan dealer.
 
Think I have told you these before from chatting to you about it.

Had an L200 Warrior manual - superb - couldn't fault it. Good on fuel but not so good on purchasing price. Insurance was good. Would own this car again if i could.

Pajero SWB Auto - Did the job but wouldn't recommend. Struggled, drank fuel and expensive to insure. Wouldn't advise to get one.

Land Rover Discovery. Manual. Great towing vehicle - good tow all day. Insurance was middle range, fuel was very expensive. But for a good heavy tow vechicle very good.

Shogun Manual - Superb again, very nice modern ride thats built for the job. Fuel not too bad - Insurance middle range. Again expensive purchase price though

After towing with manual and auto - would recommend manual personally
 
The land rover discovery's have really come down in price and they are cheap for parts now (dads mate is a land rove mechanic).

The terrano is great as well and these two may be more economical on the fuel as they arent as heavy as say a mitsibushi. And you can get these for a good price, seen lots form arounf £2000 - £8000. £8000 one being an 03 plate.

I did see a mitsubishi L200 51 plate for £7500 in the auto trader the other week. No vat on it. think it was in glasgow

Avoid any mitsubishi with a timing belt if over 2.8, always check it has a timing chain. the belt isnt strong enough and will only cause problems, especially if used for towing where you are putting extra strain on the engine.

I would look at Mackay trading for mitsubishi. they get the imports with very low mileage. and very reasonable price. but againthey will be more expensive to run.
 
i'm veering more towards a defender 90 or a disco purely for insurance reasons, have had quotes on L200's and troopers and they were coming out between £900 and 4k!!!!!! not at all economical. discos are about £600 fully comp, defenders £400 fully comp.

any decent website links also appreciated! i've exhausted most sources in my area, am happy to look as far afield as edinburgh and glasgow for the right car.

timing belts were the bain of my life last year! cost me £500 to get the clios timing belt replaced........

should i avoid the really high mileage vehicles? a lot of the defenders i've been looking at are over 100,000 miles, even P to S reg ones.
 
Check the towing specs on the vehicle, the towing pkg & motor size & capabilities.

Anyhow, I have a 1977 GMC Sierra Classic Suburban. The motor is a 450.
When you drive it, you can't help but grunt like "Tim The Toolman"!
It's old, huge, but in mint condition. Can tow anything!

When not towing: the gas consumption is the same as my NEON!:eek:
It has a HUGE gas reservoir.

Edit added: Whenever comes the time to replace it (hope that day is waaaay off in the future), I will definitly look at getting another GMC Sierra.
 
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For me it has to be Landrover everytime.

Old Defenders are just great if you want a work horse but if it has to do two jobs then it has to be a Discovery!. Never had any problems towing with a Discovery whatsover!

Parts and purchase prices have come down now on the older models and there is a wide selection of non genuine parts available!

Frontera's are pants, don't even waste your money!

Quite like the bigger Nissan jobby, new one but should imagine theya re still quite expensive

Shoguns don't have a great rep round here with the Farmers but can't tell you exactly why?

Pajero's I know nothing about except before I rushed in I'd be wanting to know about parts etc as I believe they are imports. Friend of the BF had a Grey import Toyota Supra nad had to get a lot of parts shipped from Japan, costing more and meaning a longer wait!

But I'm a Landy girl at heart!
A
 
eventerbabe said:
any decent website links also appreciated! i've exhausted most sources in my area, am happy to look as far afield as edinburgh and glasgow for the right car.

should i avoid the really high mileage vehicles? a lot of the defenders i've been looking at are over 100,000 miles, even P to S reg ones.
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Have you tried Autotrader?

We were looking at Disco's earlier this year and if you are prepared to travel then there are bargains to be had.

High mileage vehicles are Ok if you know their history and you are prepared to spend more maintaining them. Ok for me as BF does all servicing repairs.

Keep looking they are out there!

Are you quite young cos the Disco my parents had was £250 Fully Comp with me and the Bf on it?

A
 
eventerbabe said:
should i avoid the really high mileage vehicles? a lot of the defenders i've been looking at are over 100,000 miles, even P to S reg ones.
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Well, I bought my truck in Oct. 2005 with a click count of 63000miles. But the owner told us that it had much more mileage on it.
The previous motor went around once already as well as the current motor.

So really it all depends on the vehicle.
I researched my truck on these 2 sites:
www.epinions.com and www.carsurvey.org

and it gave it (our particular truck) raving reviews. We also spoke with many people (garagist, truck officionados...) who also raved on the dependency of our truck. So we overlooked the mileage & haven't regreted our decision one bit!
 
I personally wouldn't by from mackay

over priced and again mostly imports cept for a few trade in's so higher insurance. Looked there when getting a pajero. Got one for half the price and ten times better condition via auto trader - glad i waited and looked around
 
Asti, i'm 23, but coming up to 3 years no claims on insurance. I'm a regular on autotrader! actually found quite a nice P-reg defender 90, £6995 inc VAT which i thought was reasonable. Insurance on that came in at £400 fully comp.

LMS, thanks for those links!
 
High mileage is fine if it has a service history to back it up! check the car has been cared for. Check regualr oil changes and servicing. Check turbo etc. Take your mechanic friend if possible.

I recently sold my Disco for £1800, fsh, with 170k on clock and still in perfect working order. So don't discount if high miles
 
Where stick shift or automatic is concerned, I drive both and am comfortable with both but find that if you're on a busy multilaned speedway, with an automatic I can concentrate better on what's going on around me & not worry about changing gears.

Gas consumption, I've always been told that stick shifts were better.
 
I've got a Jeep Cherokee 2.5 CRD, which does the job of towing a treat. Fuel economy not brill, but it is a 2.5 engine, so can't expect it to be as fruggel as a Smart Car!

Discos have a good reputation for towing and the price has probably dropped now due to the new model disco which came out last year sometime.

Try to get the newest you can afford, and maybe also take a long hard look at emissions, as the government are probably going to to tax us evil 4x4 drivers for polluting the planet and clogging up the city streets.:( .

In fact, I'm loathe to clean mine, even though it really needs it, as the mud splattered down the sides at least makes it look like it goes further off road than Tescos car park!:D
 
Who are you calling for your insurance quote??
I was with Diamond and when I changed my car they quoted £2200 :eek: I got a much better deal from Privelege at £900 :D Can you believe it!
 
i was using the autotrader search facility, just to give me a rough idea of what to expect insurance wise. pointless looking at vehicles i can't ever afford to insure!! funny you say that, Diamond gave me a hellishly expensive quote last time my insurance was up for renewal. they phoned me back then hung up when i told them the price i'd got from Churchill :rolleyes:

Try to get the newest you can afford, and maybe also take a long hard look at emissions, as the government are probably going to to tax us evil 4x4 drivers for polluting the planet and clogging up the city streets. .
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thanks for that. i've managed to find a bit of extra money so i can get something a bit newer. a local garage has a few nice disco's for £5-7k, the high mileage was putting me off but maybe i should take a second look....

found a great T-reg disco, 80k miles FSH but priced at only £4995. same price as a lot of places are wanting for an N or P reg vehicle. maybe i'm just suspicious!
 
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