Those of you that tow with freelanders...

I only tow with mine if my OHs defender is out of action and the I tow my old rice trailer (750kg) and my 450 kg horse I would not want to tow anything heavier than that although I think on paper you can tow a slightly heavier horse.
 
When I had mine, I would tow a large rice, with my 17hh warmblood. I only went local with it because it didn't feel bigenough if the horse moved about inside.
I've just brought a kia sorento for towing. Will try it out the weekend.
 
Brilliant cars, we crossed Europe in one and it was a trip of a lifetime, but my petrolhead OH has said the bigger the engine the more you can do, he had an 2ltre engine and would only use a lightweight trailer and one 15 2 horse.
A real trooper is a Landrover Discovery, will tow anything as will a Nissan X Trail 2.2 diesel. We went to Lowther Horse Trials and got rained off a couple of years ago the X trail helped caravans and trailers out of a very muddy situation, my OH was gutted when the organisers opted to get everyone off site using tractors
 
The newer Freelanders are larger and have more powerful engines, so you need to know which model you are looking at.

I drove one of the first off the production line (knew one of the designers) and wasn't very impressed with the engine, it was seriously underpowered. The engine was swiftly replaced in the next model and the ones I saw at the Royal Welsh last year seemed much larger all round.
 
Mine has a towing capacity of 2.5 tonnes. I tow my bateson ascot (850) and my 600 kg cob. i haven't taken my section a out at the same time yet but will be doing. Wouldn't take anything bigger with my boy though!
 
I've towed a box trailer with 10 bales of hay, couldn't even feel it.
I've also towed flat bed trailer when emptying my loft, that was a bit heavier.

I would be happy towing any trailer, but just 1 horse @ 500kg's.

I have 1.8 petrol.
 
Loved our td4 freelander 2ltr diesel :) towed ifor 505 hunter (905 kgs) and 500kg horse with assorted tack and water and it was a fab car.

Now I have a Nissan Xtrail 2.2 dci sport and its towed the same ifor with 2 x 500kgs in it and also a 500kg and a 600kg :) Its an ace car :D
 
Happy to tow my Ifor 505 (907kg) with 16.1hh irish draught cross. I would travel anything else with him though as I would be overweight and worried about the power.
Having said that it esily towed a 13.2hh & 15.2hh a couple of years ago without a problem.
PS have a 2002 TD4 would not touch a petrol version or diesel one any older, there were major issues with so many of them.
 
i love my freelander however its max tow weight is 2T so therefore would be breaking the law to tow an ifor 505 as the gross weight allowed for the 505 i think is 2.3T or perhaps 2.5T and your towing vehicle has to be capable of towing the full plated weight on the trailer, i have looked into what trailers i could tow with the freelander and the only one is the equitrek trail trekka - if i ever get my lorry sold then i will be getting one of these either that or a bigger 4x4
 
odd1 said:
i love my freelander however its max tow weight is 2T so therefore would be breaking the law to tow an ifor 505 as the gross weight allowed for the 505 i think is 2.3T or perhaps 2.5T and your towing vehicle has to be capable of towing the full plated weight on the trailer, i have looked into what trailers i could tow with the freelander and the only one is the equitrek trail trekka - if i ever get my lorry sold then i will be getting one of these either that or a bigger 4x4
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replate the trailer ;)
 
odd1 said:
i love my freelander however its max tow weight is 2T so therefore would be breaking the law to tow an ifor 505 as the gross weight allowed for the 505 i think is 2.3T or perhaps 2.5T and your towing vehicle has to be capable of towing the full plated weight on the trailer, i have looked into what trailers i could tow with the freelander and the only one is the equitrek trail trekka - if i ever get my lorry sold then i will be getting one of these either that or a bigger 4x4
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More rubbish talked about towing its the weight you are towing not the design weights you muppet....read the other posts on towing or look up the facts before you post rubbish and misinfomation.....
 
Hmmm- so I'm looking at a 2002 Td also freelander BUT I would be towing a 15hh arabx and a 15.2hh warmblood.
- I may be pushing it weight wise unless i could find an extremely light trailer?
 
EquestrianFairy said:
Hmmm- so I'm looking at a 2002 Td also freelander BUT I would be towing a 15hh arabx and a 15.2hh warmblood.
- I may be pushing it weight wise unless i could find an extremely light trailer?
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I would look at a bigger vehicle it will be safer and possibly cheaper I dont see much wrong with towing one horse in a light and importantly well maintained trailer with a freelander,
However why a freelander they are dreadfull not very well made and there is a wide range of better 4x4s available for smaller or bigger budgets than the cost of a 2002 freelander.....
 
I'm not sure why.. I think because it was the newest one I could get for my money and I was hoping the newer the 4x4 the less possible damage that could have been done to it. (wear and tear)
 
odd1 said:
i love my freelander however its max tow weight is 2T so therefore would be breaking the law to tow an ifor 505 as the gross weight allowed for the 505 i think is 2.3T or perhaps 2.5T and your towing vehicle has to be capable of towing the full plated weight on the trailer
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Not true! If you have a pre 97 licence or have passed your trailer test then the towing vehicle only needs to be able to tow the weight it is actually towing.
The max laden weight issue only becomes relevant if attempting to tow with post 97 licence and not passed trailer test. In this case the above would not be legal even empty.
 
EquestrianFairy said:
I'm not sure why.. I think because it was the newest one I could get for my money and I was hoping the newer the 4x4 the less possible damage that could have been done to it. (wear and tear)
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Not sure you can judge a cars condition by age or mileage Ie would you prefer a 10 year old discovery that was owned by a older couple and used to tow a caravan or a 5 year old one that a farmer had owned !!!! I think its best to judge on its condition and how its been used.. 100 thousand miles on the motorway with regular servicing isnt anything ,but 10 thousand towing a cattle trailer and driving across fields every day ???
 
Mines 1.8 petrol, I haven't towed anything with it (don't have a licence to tow) :( But OH's mum did and she said she wouldn't want to tow a box with 2 horses in it. Was fab with a 505 hunter box and my 14.1hh cob at about 500kg.
 
EquestrianFairy said:
I'm not sure why.. I think because it was the newest one I could get for my money and I was hoping the newer the 4x4 the less possible damage that could have been done to it. (wear and tear)
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avoid a freelander like the plague!! look on any landrover forum and they get slated on a daily basis for being so bloody useless and unreliable!! There is a reason they are cheaper than older 4x4's;) I had a 1.8 petrol and the thing couldn't pull skin off custard, and had such a big turning circle it drove like a lorry:rolleyes: If you take a knowledgable person with you then an old Discovery is a better buy, a person who knows landrovers will know where to check for rust:)
 
Think you'd fare better with a fourtrak. The freelander pulls our sheep trailer ok(ish) unless its up or down steep hills, but I remember reading somewhere that its not what it can pull...it's what it can stop that matters.
 
My freelander was 10 years old when I bought it and I reckoned that everything that was going to break would have broken and been replaced! I also have the added advantage that my OH is into offroading and spends every minute ofhis free time playing whoops sorry I mean working on his or one of his friends landrovers of varying makes so if anything does go wrong it only costs me parts!

So by all means get a freelander (I love mine but agree with the turning circle!) but get yourself an offroading nut as a boyfriend to go with it! :-)
 
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