pajero/shogun towing advice needed please!

georgiegirl

georgiegirl

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Hi all,

got my lovely pajero and have taken it out for a tow with the empty trailer - towing with an auto is sheer bliss!!!

However.....i have a few questions.....

when towing do people leave it in 2 wheel drive (2h i think its called) or shift it up to 4 wheel drive? ie for standard road towing.

also.....with the auto gearbox do you need to do anything special when towing downhill? or just go slow and steady? or press the hold button to keep it in one gear or put it the autp gearstick into the low range thing??

gah.....my landy didnt have all these options and buttons and im somewhat confused!!
 
Even with two horses up I use two wheeled drive but not overdrive. Fuel consumption would rise in 4wd. Had Shogun for 4 years.
 
I always tow on road in 2wd, if the ground is soft off road, then I select 4wd.

Downhill, I just take it steady and use the brakes. One tip going up a steep hill, I will select the lowest gear and then shift to 2nd then back into Drive as we reach the top of the climb. I find this gives a better drive and also gives the autobox and easier time.

Last tip, if it's a diesel. General stooging about I just use cheap pump fuel. Towing I often use diesel extra (or it's equivalent), as it seems to give the engine some extra ooomph and also the fuel consumption is better.
 
I used to have a shogun, although it was a manual with the 2 gear sticks. On a normal road in dry conditions, It would be fine to leave it in 2wd. If it's wet or icy etc, I would use 4h just as a precaution.
 
Our Shogun (a September 2005 3.2TD LWB) has a sticker on the door and a large note in the handbook to the effect that if the vehicle is towing you should use 4H. I guess that you could use 2H if it was a very small trailer but I found that even towing an unladen Equitrek the ride and handling were 'unpleasant.' In 4H the ride and handling were totally transformed.

I'll agree with Neilms' comments about different fuels. Certainly the 'extra' diesels do seem to give better performance both power and economy (marginal) wise.

With regards to going downhill. With ours if you use the brakes at the top of the hill to get to the speed you want, the hill decent programme does the rest. Just try and stay away from using the brakes too often on the decent unless you want to cook them, a very unpleasant experience.
 
I have a 2.8 LWB 'L' reg Pajero which I have towed with for 7 years. I always tow in 2H unless off road. I have the HOLD/POWER switch on the inbetween setting, a little bit of both, been told this is best for economy. I also set off up steep hills in L gear and move up through 2 to drive. Going down hill I just go steady and use brakes if needed :)
 
For road driving even whilst towing the general guidelines are that you should use 2wd, switching to 4wd on shingle or off-road surfaces. Using 4wd will wear down your tyres quicker and use more fuel. However you should probably take heed of your car's instruction manual.
 
We always tow in 2wd, unless conditions warrant 4wd. The wear and tear and fuel costs are too high otherwise and have never found it advantageous on the road.
 
I have towed with Pajeros for 8 years now (2.8 )and have never needed to use 4wd for normal road towing conditions. The wear and tear on the car (brakes, tyres, fuel etc) doesn' warrant it.

The car is MORE than capable to cope with most conditions. Believe me I KNOW this because of what I put my car through using it in STUPID conditions when I had my horses living out 24/7 and had to access them.

The only reason I may change to 4wd is if the road was unusually wet / icy etc. But generally the long wheel base is completely capable of towing most modern horse trailers.

I also have a short wheel base but wouldn't feel comfortable towing big trailers with it just because of the wheel base stability issue. My preference is for long wheelbase when towing horses.

I have been so impressed with the Pajero that I now have the Shogun 3.2.
 
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