Freelander 1.8 petrol for towing ???????????????

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PLAYBOY

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Hello I`m looking around for new cars and have got my eye on a new kia but i dnt think i can get one untill next year , Somebody has offered me a really neat freelander 1.8 petrol for the mean time at a nice price with low miles x Somebody at work told me you can only tow one horse with one of those which is fine for me for the time been i just wondered if anybody else had towed with a freelander 1.8 petrol i only have the small double ifor willliams xx
thanks sam
 
Absolutely not. They arent up to towing one horse let alone 2 and I would never consider towing in anything under a 2.5, nice offer but give it a wide berth.
 
Only thing I've towed with a freelander is a glider trailer. That only can to about 600kg. I certainly wouldn't want to try anything much over that from a safety point of view.
Its too light and the wheel base is too short
 

Totally agree JM07 - it is bloody dangerous.

OP - I would also be worried about the Kia- I don't know much about them but without wanting to appear rude they are a cheap alternative and I would triple check the towing capabilities
 
Don't do it!! My mum had one (not for towing) and it was the most underpowered car I think I have ever driven. Certainly no way you can tow a live load with one!
Look at Discos, defenders, Troopers, Shogun....any of the 'proper' workhorses that are designed for the job!
 
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Totally agree JM07 - it is bloody dangerous.

OP - I would also be worried about the Kia- I don't know much about them but without wanting to appear rude they are a cheap alternative and I would triple check the towing capabilities

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the Kia Sorrento's are hefty pieces of kit..should be quite capable...but NOT a Kia Sportage.
 
No no no! Get yourself a nice Nissan Terrano...can pick them up real cheap and great work horses...go for the 2.7 diesel manual...brill car.
 
i pull it with a frontera sport 2.2 at the mo with 2 horses in fine i can not have a big engine as i am 19 and cannot get insured , i was looking at kia sportage 2.00 and the towing weight for 1.8 freelander is 2tonne !
 
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check out page 21 H&H.....

Trailer safety...

point 1...

NEVER TOW WITH A CAR UNDER 2.5 LITRES.

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I don't see why engine size is relevant to the safety of towing. What is relevant is the power (bhp) and most of all the torque of the car (for getting things moving anyway). For stopping purposes, you need the car to weigh more than the trailer.

For example (ignoring issues like weight as we're talking about going, not stopping), my car, a 2.5 v6 petrol has marginally more bhp, but a lot less torque than my OH's 2.2 diesel. The diesel would be the better tow car because of the better torque. Neither will ever be used to tow as both would be too light.

Diesels are generally torquier than petrols, so will always be better tow cars, but in general, for towing you need something with plenty of torque - top speed is irrelevant, you will not get near it towing (I hope).

Also 3l engine tuned in the way an old style American car is has less torque than most current 1.8 diesels.

Or am I being blonde and engine size is more important than actual moving power.
 
i had a 4 yr old Sportage and it couldnt pull a camping trailer full with garden waste comfortably uphill..at one point i was in second gear doing 10 mph!!!!!

for the safety of yourself and other road users, dont try and tow a horse trailer with it, it would be a very scary experience indeed! especially downhill.......
i also wouldn't reccomend towing with anything SWB either.
 
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i also wouldn't reccomend towing with anything SWB either.

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Why? Just interested....
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[ QUOTE ]
check out page 21 H&H.....

Trailer safety...

point 1...

NEVER TOW WITH A CAR UNDER 2.5 LITRES.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that only works with the bigger Ifors. My friend has a 505 and tows her 16.1 Irish horse with a 1.6 Sierra and I know someone else who tows a 505 (including 16.2 MW gelding) with a 1.6/1.8 car.

I was told that for my 510 you should always have a car with a long wheel base and it should be 2.5 diesel or 3 litre petrol but my horse is a 16.3hh warmblood and I will normally be towing me and a friend's 16.3hh ISH
 
They are too "upright" IMO.

my mechanic advised against a short wheel base when i was looking for a 4X4...said in had something to do with lack of balance, gravital pull etc.

i went for a LWB shogun.....tows ifors/wessex with 2 x 17.2s easily.
 
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i also wouldn't reccomend towing with anything SWB either.

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Really?
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I tow with a SWB 2.5TD Shogun Auto...it tows really well and I have some serious hills to go up and down!!
 
Its frightnening to hear that people are towing with 1.6 and 1.8 cars, its an accident waiting to happen and really freaks me out when I see this.
All it takes is a gust of wind, a big lorry overtaking or the horse to have a paddy for the trailer to start moving, the car will not stand a chance of getting the driver out of any trouble.
As you can see I feel really strongly about this. We love our horses so surely we owe it to them to put them into a safe 'set up' when moving them on the roads???
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
check out page 21 H&H.....

Trailer safety...

point 1...

NEVER TOW WITH A CAR UNDER 2.5 LITRES.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that only works with the bigger Ifors. My friend has a 505 and tows her 16.1 Irish horse with a 1.6 Sierra and I know someone else who tows a 505 (including 16.2 MW gelding) with a 1.6/1.8 car.



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LWB are much better 'towers', they give a better ride for the horses. I wouldn't say SWB are useless as they are not, I've towed with SWB Defenders and they are fine, it probably depends which make of vehicle you go for whether it is LWB or SWB
 
NO NO NO NO NO NO !!! Haven't reaad the other replies, but I nearly killed the very same vehicle by towing too much! If you have a very light weight trailer and a light weight pony/horse, then may be, but be very careful (learn from my very expensive mistake!)
 
But why would a 2.5 with less power (and particularly torque) than a 1.8 diesel be more able to get the driver out of trouble? That's what I don't understand.

I could understand saying "don't tow a horse box with a car with less than x bhp and y newton metres of torque". I don't understand what then engine capacity has to do with it.

For example. My car is a 2.5 and has 167 bhp. The BMW 520i has 170 bhp (and a 2.2 engine). A toyota celica has 189 bhp with a 1.8 engine. Of these 3, the one with the smallest engine has the most power to pull you out of trouble if necessary. Obviously none of these cars are heavy enough to tow with, they could make it go but would have trouble stopping!

Can't find torque figures online - not a car geek

But still not understanding why engine size is so relevant.
 
KIA sportage is your ideal vehicle for towing modest sized caravans, it isn't promoted as a heavy duty towing vehicle. I had one and it was great as a small 4WD, and it towed my empty trailer safely and legally.
The Sorento however is a serious piece of kit, I think it won What Car towing car of the year in 2006. So if I was buying to tow again I'd definitely check it out, because with KIA's you get a lot of car for your money.
Freelander 1.8 - forget it. Forget it being a 1.8 or a 2.5 or whatever, it just doesn't have the capacity to be legal.
 
It amazes me how many people seem to think it is the size of the engine that matters...from a safety point of view rather than towing...it is about the weight of the vehicle you are towing with. If you tow with a car or light weight 4x4 (Rav, Freelander etc) the car is not heavey enough to be safe, so if there is an issue with the trailer whilst towing the trailer will start very rapidly to dictate the direction of travel over the car because the car is not weighty enough to keep things in line. The trailer will just take over and you will end up in serious trouble.
It does not matter about swb and lwb vehicles so long as the vehicle is up to the job. I use a Terrano quite happily because they are built on a steel chassis and solid as a rock...they are megga heavey and therefore safe for towing with...in addition having a 2.7 diesel engine means it tows with ease up the steepest of hills.
People towing horses with any sort of 'car' should be pulled by the police and have their licence taken off them...it is a short cut that endangers themselves, horses and everyone around them.
 
No don't do it, I have one for sale at the moment, we towed with it once in an emergency, it managed it but with a struggle luckily we didn't have to go far. We tow with a Range rover at the moment , I know they are not everyones cup of tea but I find it gives a nice drive. Someone on our yard tows with a 2.0l xzantia(sp) citreon car, that scares me!
 
Time someone did a sticky about this. Police should be out pulling people up who are towing horse trailers with anything that can't pull 3 tonnes without noticing. End of. Hmph.

Google the car's spec. If the max tow weight is less than the gross laden weight of your trailer FORGET IT.
 
This is a chart of towing weights etc.......don't go by the overall towing weight which is massively over the weight of the vehicle. The best & safest guide is to look at the 85% column & that will give you a realistic figure you can safely tow with the vehicle you are looing at.

http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/kerbweights.htm

By this chart, a freelander 1.8 has a safe towing capacity of 1240kg. An Ifor Williams 505 ulw is 905 kg, which leaves you only 335kg for your horse & that weight barely allows for a pony
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A freelander doesn't really have the power to do the job.
 
As Caravan Club's tow car of the year in the heaviest towing bracket for god knows how many years, I don't think you need to worry about a Kia Sorento. They can tow 3 tonnes, and they weigh 2100kg so can tow 1750kg safely (85% kerbweight), which is easily a trailer and one horse. With a light trailer you could get two horses in there (but not much equipment).

Can you tell I'm picking up my Sorento next week?!
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Cheap they may be,lacking in grunt they are not.

Depends whether you're a badge snob really!
 
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