Need towing car advice....

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TinTin10

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I know its not strictly related to horses but, considering you guy have to tow heavy trailers on a regular basis, I thought you would be excellent people to ask!

I need some advice on the best, most reliable used 4x4 towing vehicle I can get for around £4000 or less.

Background to the question is that I am starting a mobile catering business, and ive just bought a 20ft trailer (Didnt really want to go this large but the deal was too good to pass up). I will be doing my B+E test to be able to tow it once its fitted out.

Considering the size of the trailer, the fittings/equipment is going to eat into my budget more than I anticipated, so I really need to get a towing vehicle which isnt going to cost me the earth (in relative terms to me) if anything goes wrong.

Ive looked at the Disco 2, but considering my budget, Il not get a warranty and the parts and labour will really wipe me out, leaving me unable to tow the trailer which il be using to produce my income.

I hope ive given enough details for you to be able to give me some advice, and I thank you in advance for any assistance you can give.

Sean
 
What is are your trailer weights?

A lot of folk I know tow with Kia Sorrentos, the older models and love them, they have an excellent towing capacity.

I personally tow with a Kia Sportage 2.0 diesel but I think they would be too weedy for what you need, my set up is total weight of 1600kgish inc the trailer and horse and I could do with a bit more oomph at times.
 
I love my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Superb at towing, lots of high end spec, for not a lot of money. I've had mine for around 4 years and it's never let me down, flies through mots and generally cheap to run. Not amazing mpg though, but not terrible.
 
Do you know what your trailer will weigh when it's kitted out? I imagine you'll need a full up 4x4 capable of towing 3.5t, I believe that catering trailers are pretty hefty.

Shoguns are good.

Good luck with your new enterprise :).
 
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sarahann1 said:
What is are your trailer weights?

A lot of folk I know tow with Kia Sorrentos, the older models and love them, they have an excellent towing capacity.

I personally tow with a Kia Sportage 2.0 diesel but I think they would be too weedy for what you need, my set up is total weight of 1600kgish inc the trailer and horse and I could do with a bit more oomph at times.
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Thanks for the reply :)

Im not really sure how much the trailer will weight once fitted out but, given the size, im probably looking at 3000kg+. I know theres only a few vehicles that can tow that weight, and I was *this* close to buying a part ex disco 2 at a dealers near me, but then looked online and it seems they are pricey to fix and constantly off the road.
 
alainax said:
I love my Jeep Grand Cherokee. Superb at towing, lots of high end spec, for not a lot of money. I've had mine for around 4 years and it's never let me down, flies through mots and generally cheap to run. Not amazing mpg though, but not terrible.
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Thanks for the reply :)

I found some really well priced Jeeps but I heard a lot about parts being ridiculously expense and repairs being pricey?
 
Tiddlypom said:
Do you know what your trailer will weigh when it's kitted out? I imagine you'll need a full up 4x4 capable of towing 3.5t, I believe that catering trailers are pretty hefty.

Shoguns are good.

Good luck with your new enterprise :).
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Thanks for the reply :)

The Shoguns seem to be really well priced, have you any experience with their repair bills etc?

And thanks!
 
TinTin10 said:
Thanks for the reply :)

I found some really well priced Jeeps but I heard a lot about parts being ridiculously expense and repairs being pricey?
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Not from my experience. I don't go to a jeep garage though, just a local garage and parts are similar to everything else in cost :)
 
We've got the newer Touareg and have not had any problems. We used to have a old BMW X5, which everyone says is rubbish in mud but we towed all over the country with it and always got out of the muddy fields, even when tractors were towing all the lorries out. (Electrics started going wrong so it had to go even though I loved it)

The Touareg has the same towing strength as the Disco
 
asmp said:
We've got the newer Touareg and have not had any problems. We used to have a old BMW X5, which everyone says is rubbish in mud but we towed all over the country with it and always got out of the muddy fields, even when tractors were towing all the lorries out. (Electrics started going wrong so it had to go even though I loved it)

The Touareg has the same towing strength as the Disco
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I think maybe im going overkill on the offroading ability needed, which is why I was leaning toward a Disco. Im just worried about buying a tow car and finding it unable to tow the bloody trailer out of soft ground!

Maybe I should be looking for a 4wd which has more on-road focus?
 
Look for a pick up they are treated as vans so make good sense for tax in a business have a good tow capacity and part time 4wd which makes them more economical.

For £4k look at an old mitsubishi isuzu or hilux, lots of problems with old Nissan Navaras at the moment so high risk of buying a lemon.
 
I had a jeep Cherokee. It was a great car and excellent for towing but getting parts was a nightmare so I traded it in.
 
I towed catering trailers for the people I used to work for, they are heavier than you think they are! We towed with 3l pickups which towed them really well but you deifnately need some oomph! Also depends where you're wanting to go as some sites we went to got very very muddy and getting the trailers out was interesting even with the pickups!!
 
LittleVet said:
I towed catering trailers for the people I used to work for, they are heavier than you think they are! We towed with 3l pickups which towed them really well but you deifnately need some oomph! Also depends where you're wanting to go as some sites we went to got very very muddy and getting the trailers out was interesting even with the pickups!!
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Thanks for the reply :)

It will be a mixture really, but a lot of the markets/festivals are on grassland with heavy footfall, so would definitely need to have vehicle capable of pulling the trailer out.

I think im plugging for a Jeep Grand Cherokee, as its got the ML270 engine but its designed more toward off-roading than the ML.
 
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