4x4 for towing?

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express_75

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Hi all

Looking to get my first horse soon and the transport to go with it - have decided that (i've just sold my old house) i will got halfers on a second hand 4x4 with my bfriend and i will buy the trailer (2 horses up to 16.2 ivor williams).
Will a Toyota Rav 2ltr TD pull? OR will it have to be a 2.5 4x4??
Will be mainly used for pulling one horse of up to 15.2 (still on the look out)

Any help would be great!

Thanks
x
 
I think the Rav might be a bit underpowered, especially with two horses. 2l is not a very big engine. If you want a Toyota go for a Colorado or a Land Cruiser.

I've towed with a Mitsubishi Shogun and a Nissan Navara. Both were great. The Shogun was a 55 reg (3.2l diesel!) but a friend has an N reg and she tows an Ifor with that. The Navara is only 2.5l diesel but tows very well. Personally I would not go for anything smaller engine-wise than that...

Also watch the weight as well, strictly speaking the weight of the towing vehicle should be equivalent or more than the laden weight of the trailer; I know this is often ignored but you don't want a vehicle which is loads lighter than the trailer or you might find yourself getting pushed quicker than you'd like down hills!!
 

Depends on your budget really. But I think most on here would say a shogun, or Land Rover or some thing like that.

Ive just bought a Hyundai Santa Fee and that tows really really well. I only two 1x 16hander in my ifor 505 though.
 
No way on the Rav 4! Have you thought of a Nissan Terrano - old shape...plenty about, pull like tractors and can be picked up cheap too. Mine has been so good that when my OH changed his car, he bought one too! They have the same reputation for strength and reliability as the Toyota brands.
 
what sort of budget do you have?

Rav is too light, plus it costs a fortune to insure. Classed as speedy nickablevehicles - my mother has a petrol auto and they want £150 to add me to her insurance, I'm 28 and have my own 4x4 and 11 years NCB!!

The market for 4x4's has dropped and Land Rover Discoverys are not relatively cheap - these can tow pretty much anything.

Shoguns are greedy on fuel and expensive to insure.
 
used to tow with a 2.8 shogun but very juicy 25miles to gallon. just swopped to a nissan navara 2.5 tows a lot better and i get about 32 to the gallon
 
Agree the shoguns are heavy on fuel and expensive to insure. The Navara is much more economical
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To tow a trailer & 2 x 16h2" horses you will need 'a real' 4X4. Range Rover, Discovery, Defender, Shogun, Pajero, Trooper etc......the Rav 4 & other small 4x4s are too small & light to tow the weight you will have on the back. Unfortunately there is no cheap way to transport horse to shows....unless you cadge a lift of someone
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Personally I've had a few 4x4. Frontera's are OK, Shoguns 'camber' too much for my liking when towing. Discovery's are good towers but by far the best is the Toyota Hilux Surf, 3ltr not 2.4. It's effortless to tow with and has a huge boot. Even better - I put 10 litres of diesel in and 20ltr's of veg oil and it's very economical!
 
I tow every week to take my daughter & pony for her lesson. I use a Land Rover for pulling and it's brilliant. I've never had a time where I thought I might not make it. Very, very reliable and can get you out of the muddiest of fields with no problems.
 
My Shogun is not expensive to insure at all.
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£400 a year for myself (I'm 24) and my other half. It was only £70 more than my Fiat Brava of the same age I had before. You also get a lot more for you money with a Shogun (Air Con etc) than with a Disco. I compared my Shogun to my friend Disco and it does about the same on fuel. (her's is a 2.2, mines a 2.8). She decided next time she's going to get a Shogun.
 
I insure my Pajero (which should be more than the Shog as it's an import) and it's less than £350 a year!
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But very thirsty!
 
[ QUOTE ]
My Shogun is not expensive to insure at all.
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£400 a year for myself (I'm 24) and my other half.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is that 3rd party or fully comp, do you have protected no claims & is you excess over £500?
 
PLEASE DON'T USE A RAV TO TOW YOUR HORSE!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S NOT HEAVY ENOUGH AND IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL. You need the weight in front as well as behind for stopping and keeping the trailer steady. YOU would be asking for trouble towing with such a small 4x4. Landrover, Showgun, any big 4x4 is needed check the towing weights in the log books. Landrover can pull 3.5 ton legally. happy hunting.
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I have a Rav too and my insurance is just £150/yr fully comp with a £400 excess with the Post Office (I also got £50 cashback).

I don't use it to tow horses but I was going to try it towing one pony - it has much more pull that the great big Ranger Pick up I use to tow with that has no guts and you need a 20 acre field to turn it!
 
I have towed with various vehicles and in my opinion the cheapest and most economical whilst still giving a good tow capacity is the nissan terrano. I love mine and not only is it great to tow with but it also drives like a car so is comfy for popping to the shops too!!"
 
Fully Comp, protected No claims bonus and our excess is the standard (no idea exact would have to get it out and check) otherwise my OH would have never have gone for it. We did a lot of research before upgrading to the 4x4 to make sure we would not be out of pocket. We're with Direct Line.

Also, just to add the Rav thing. My in laws have one and when they bought it off the dealer they were told it was not designed as a towing vehicle or to be driven off road, and is basically a 4x4 road car. Definitly not suitable.
 
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