Freelander to tow Space Trekka?

Er, you might be able to tow it empty
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One 450Kg pony? And a 1100Kg box? so under the tow weight, even with water and tack...

but maybe a Four Trak would be better. I just cringe at the fuel consumption.

E
 
oh it is also strongly recomended that you dont excede the weight of the car and preferably keep it under 85% of the weight of the car so that the trailer does not out weigh the car and thus is safer as it doesnt shove the car round as much.
The freelander weighs 1770kg, that would put you over that reccomendation with just one small pony on board.

Also the maximum it can tow is 2 tonnes (the freelander 2 as i cant find info for the old one) thats far to small. we tow an Ifor 505, with 2 ponies in it and we allow for the fact that we will be towing around 2.3tonnes (with tack and water).
 
My Freelander is fantastic to tow with. I regularly tow my Ifor Wiliams with two horses. The info sheet says the reccomended max towing weight on a braked trailer is 2000kg......
 
YR thats not the reccomended thats the legal maximum, anymore and your insurance is invalidated and if you get pulled over and weighed by the police they are fully entitled to seize both the car and the trailer if you cant get it underweight on the spot so please dont risk it.
 
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My Freelander is fantastic to tow with. I regularly tow my Ifor Wiliams with two horses. The info sheet says the reccomended max towing weight on a braked trailer is 2000kg......

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Then you are more than likely breaking the law by exceeding the vehicles max towing weight
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Two horses could weigh as much as 1500kgs.....plus the trailer, tack, water etc.......
 
I really wouldn't tow with a freelander, i have a space trekka and tow it with a disco.

You need a much more heavy duty 4x4 than a freelander to tow horses.
 
Wouldn't even entertain the idea. I had a Freelander and towed one horse with it. I was happy with it for that job and it was my every day car as well. I would never have towed more than one - absolutely foolish to do so. The Equi-treks are big trailers and you would need a heavier 4x4.
 
I also wouldn't even consider towing a Space Trekka with a Freelander. My friend tows her lw TB in her small Ifor with a Freelander and is happy with it, but is adamant that she will not take anything heavier in it as the car just won't cope, and probably wouldn't be legal (I haven't looked into the legal side of towing with a Freelander as we have a Disco and a Defender and wouldn't tow with anything else).
Another friend has a Space Trekka and tows it with a Toyota Landcruiser, which is a huge beast and handles the other huge beast well but my friend is reluctant to tow two (both about 600kg horses) in the trailer even with that kind of car! The only cars I've seen towing Equi-Treks of any kind were huge, powerful, heavy 4x4s... which the Freelander is not.
 
OK, just to be sure we're all talking the same language...

The Freelander can tow around 1800 kg

the Space Trekka weighs in at 1100 Kg - this is the lightest of the Trekkas

the pony weighs 436 Kg when last weighed, let's call it 450 and I weigh 50
so between us we're 500Kg

so that takes us to 1600 which leaves 200 Kg for junk, or a safety margin

still not a good idea?

If not, then which of the lighter trailers is sane/safe?

Humbaur?
Cheval Liberte?

Others?

ta

E
 
It is preferable to have enough weight in the tow car to ensure that the trailer doesn't end up pushing the car downhill. Horses are a less stable load than some, so you need a tow car with stability. The Freelander is a very capable offroader, but is not particularly large. The weights you state do add up, but if you must have the Freelander as a tow car rather than, say, a Discovery, then I'd be tempted to go for a trailer that weighs in at around 900kg and no more. I have always been surprised at the specified towing capability of the Freelander.
 
no not safe, youve got to include tack and water and hay in that + any other thing you have put on or in the trailer (saddle racks, shovel for removing poo, bridles rugs, grooming kit, lunch, feed for pony, clothes for shows etc). That all adds up and very quickly will go over the weight. 1 litre of water weighs 1kg and i take an absolute minimum of 25litres per pony to a show for a light day when its not particularly hot. i often take more and get through it all if its particularly hot. The closer you are to the limit the more the trailer will shove the car around making braking difficult down hill and a less stable ride for the horses..

Also bare in mind that most show fields you have to go up hills and off road to get to, a freelander cannot do it, they realy will struggle with hills and they are absolutely useless when towing off road. at one of my local shows the people who tow ifors with free landers stop at the bottom of the hill and unload and walk the ponies up. 4 horse horse boxes and most other 4x4's get up there no problem at all.

to be honest, i'd think about changing the car rather then your choice of trailers the terrano doesnt chew that much fuel and you can get a SWB version of it.
 
The figures sound fine - but you need to take into consideration, hill starts and braking down a steep hill.

I considered your option but found that i would be limiting myself to certain events (ie without hills, muddy fields). I ended up with a disco and then defender.

We took 2 horses in the bigger equitrek and nearly burnt the clutch out of a shogun ( not me driving) hill starting!

Good luck
 
Biggest consideration to my mind is cross winds. Trekks has significant side area whilst freelander has short wheel base and low weight.
Accident waiting to happen.
 
If you're towing a pony then I'd recommend an Ifor 505. I did like my Freelander and would definitely consider another if I didn't need to tow 2 horses. I now tow an Ifor 510 with a Discovery and it's a lovely combination. I also invested in a tack pack and it's great. The Ifor's are really easy to deal with - hitch up easily, doors are easy and they're quite stable to tow as well.
 
echoing whoever said they would be concerned with the wind. we tow with an ML270 which weighs 2.5 tonnes, when we get strong winds going along the coast road, our ifor realy does shove the car around a bit. i'd hate to try it with anything much lighter as it would be very hard to control.
 
Thanks all...

Guess the sane option is to wear the horribly high fuel consumption of a FourTrak....

will go hunting shortly

anyone know any *good* trailer training companies in the South shropshire area?

E
 
Sorry, but echo what everyone else is saying - I have a Freelander and love it to bits, but wouldn't tow anything with it! The most my Freelander will ever tow will be 10 bales of hay on a flatbed trailer, and even then i'm going to do a trial run first.

Best of sticking to the big boys made for the job - and swallowing the cost of the extra fuel consumption........
 
Using QR - I once tried to tow my Sports Trekka with my OH's Freelander instead of my Disco and found it a pretty hair-raising experience. And the point about the wind is a good one - even the Disco feels it when the Trekka is hit by a gust of wind.
 
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