Tow car- Toureg or Jeep Grand Cherokee

[GSD Woman]

Here the Ford Ranger is smaller truck and I wouldn't count on one to pull one horse much less two. Try a 150 or a 250 if you want a Ford or an Expedition.

 

[dixie]

I’ve had no problems with my Ssangyong and I’ve owned it for 5 yrs and it’s done 100k. dealers have been fabulous too and had no trouble at all with them. I think that depends on the individual garage tho. M
I also loved an old Grand Cherokee I once owned, the first auto I owned. Very thirsty tho.

 

[marmalade88]

I went through the same thoughts re the fan and insurance fitting a tow bar with the Towrag and managed to get one from a VW dealer with a factory fitted tow bar. It really depends on your budget and how long you’re prepared to wait for one to come on the market

 

[Caol Ila]

Here the Ford Ranger is smaller truck and I wouldn't count on one to pull one horse much less two. Try a 150 or a 250 if you want a Ford or an Expedition.

LOL. You're only getting an F-150 or an F-250 here if you import one from the US, or if you find one that some other moron has imported. They get 12-15mpg, which is maybe like 16 UK gallons, and no one can afford that because petrol is bloody expensive here. Plus, you'd never be able to park the thing. Because you can't buy huge pickups here, people tow with ridiculous vehicles, at least from my American point of view. Sorry, British people. Towing with all manner of small SUVs and estate cars is never anything less than slightly horrifying. If you don't have an F-250 dually, what are you doing?

In all seriousness, a Ford Ranger or any similar pickup like a Hilux or L200 is as good as it gets here. And you can't get one with a quad cab and a six foot bed, to my great disappointment.

 

[EventingMum]

Here the Ford Ranger is smaller truck and I wouldn't count on one to pull one horse much less two. Try a 150 or a 250 if you want a Ford or an Expedition.

UK Ford Rangers have a towing capacity of 3.5t which is as good as it gets. However, they are a pick up which OP doesn't want. That said, I have one and really rate it and it has all the bells and whistles I need plus it tows really well on and off road. I have a 3.2l so does my son but previously he had a 2.2l and it was also fine for towing. He doesn't notice a massive difference in fuel consumption either, just a couple of mpg. The beauty of a pick up is that it is classed as commercial so the tax is cheaper also the Ranger is cheaper to service than our previous HiLux.

 

[Michen]

I went through the same thoughts re the fan and insurance fitting a tow bar with the Towrag and managed to get one from a VW dealer with a factory fitted tow bar. It really depends on your budget and how long you’re prepared to wait for one to come on the market

Ironically I spoke to my tow bar/trailer chat. He fits 4 tow bars on average a month onto touregs- for the local VW garage. No uprated fan!

 

[ameeyal]

I’m going to stand up for jeeps , I’ve had them for years and they are great vehicles, I have 2 grand cherrokes, a 4.7 and a 5.7 hemi they are great towing vehicles, great in the snow, very reliable, mine are lpgs which helps as they are petrol gusslers, I wouldn’t have a diesel, to many problems. You get a lot of car for your money with a jeep.

 

[ameeyal]

And I forgot to mention, my husband was hit side on by a car travelling at 40 miles an hour, he was in our jeep and it saved his life, They are built like tanks.

 

[GSD Woman]

Interesting lesson about trucks in the UK. Good to know that the Rangers over there can actually tow. I had a Chevy V8 trailblazer and the gas mileage sucked. My father gave it to me so he could get something new. The one that Chevy could do was haul and it had 2 different 4 wheel drive options so it was good in fields.

 

[Caol Ila]

I had a Ford F-250 when I was still in the US, and I loved it dearly. Hauled a two-horse slant load trailer like it was nothing. I miss that truck. But could not justify buying a truck here due to (a) gas mileage (b) there are no publically accessible 4x4 tracks in Scotland that you can use to get from point A to point B, so having a low-range gearbox is pointless unless you work for a farm/estate (c) no quad cabs with auto gearboxes that have six foot beds, only five foot beds, so not great as a camper (d) don't have a horse trailer and I get PTSD every time I think about taking the driving test that would allow me to haul one with a pickup. At the time I was car shopping, the horse was 30 miles away from where I lived, so the gas mileage thing was kind of a big deal.

My reasons for buying a truck were (a) I like them (b) I have a lot of camping/climbing/kayaking gear and it would be nice to be able to throw it into the vehicle in a heap.

OP should definitely get one.

 

[palterwell]

I’ve had 3 Grand Cherokees, I absolutely love them for towing .

 

[marmalade88]

Ironically I spoke to my tow bar/trailer chat. He fits 4 tow bars on average a month onto touregs- for the local VW garage. No uprated fan!

Yeah most people will just whack them on and I was getting to that stage. Not plus side of the factory fitted one is it’s folds back underneath the car with a push of a button. She’s a big old bus to fit in the car parks around here so I’ll take the extra 4 inches at the back!

 

[Michen]

Yeah most people will just whack them on and I was getting to that stage. Not plus side of the factory fitted one is it’s folds back underneath the car with a push of a button. She’s a big old bus to fit in the car parks around here so I’ll take the extra 4 inches at the back!

I was concerned about that as it seemed detachable but the garage absolutely assured me it’s not and just as solid as a fixed one..

 

[asmp]

This is what happens when someone rear ends you on an dual carriageway when you have a towbar on a Touareg. There was no damage to the rear of the car, only the towbar which was replaced by their insurance.

 

[LEC]

I spent ages deciding on what to get for a towing car as wanted 3.5t which I wouldn’t compromise on even though I rarely tow with two. I have towed with disco 4, freelander, shogun, Isuzu and defender and went for the Touareg. I really like it and it’s been good so far. I have towed a fair bit with it 1 and 2 horses and I am pleased with its economy and it has enough grunt.

 

[McFluff]

Just a minor point, but in the UK, if you have a pick up as a commercial vehicle then you have lower speed limits. Not an issue when towing, but catches people out on motorways when not towing!

 

[marmalade88]

I was concerned about that as it seemed detachable but the garage absolutely assured me it’s not and just as solid as a fixed one..

I was also worried, I hate those detachable ones with the pins that slide in and you take on and off yourself. This sort of hinges up and down and clicks in itself. I’ve towed 2x 600kg horses in a 506 and it was so easy up the hills.

 

[Michen]

I was also worried, I hate those detachable ones with the pins that slide in and you take on and off yourself. This sort of hinges up and down and clicks in itself. I’ve towed 2x 600kg horses in a 506 and it was so easy up the hills.

Great to know thank you. I’ll probably hold out for one with a factory fit from the dealer then, am not in a rush as not like we can go anywhere at the moment!