Towing Experts. Help please...

lillie07

lillie07

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 August 2006
Messages
3,461
Location
Surrey
Visit site
Are BMW X5's, VW Toureg's and Misubitshi L200's all suitable towing vehicles for a big trailer with a 17.2hh heavy weight horse?

I am looking at the DVLA website and vehicle spec's and just getting more and more confused!

Any help would be much appreciated :-)
 
I'd go for the Toureag out of those, the L200 is a good workhorse but lacks the stability for a large trailer and horse due to being so light at the back - and I wouldn't give you a thankyou for an X5 My little fourtrack has had to tow one off wet grass before!!! useless chav mobiles!!
 
Towing weight wise,any of the above vehicles are fine for towing a horse trailer with horses..... It is down to personal preference and recomendations that will help you decide.
 
I tow a bateson Ascot trailer with my 16.1 TB mare and 13 hand pony with a BMW X3 with no probs at all and within weight, it all depends on your trailer weight combined with the horse and load in car, as long as you dont exceed the total gross weight you are fine.
 
I know that neither the X5 or L200 would be able to legally tow a big trailer and a bit horse (I am guessing the maximum gross weight would be around the 3000kgs mark for the trailer, which would put it above the legal towing limit for both vehicles)

X5 = 2.3t
L200 = 2.7t

Having just looked up the Toureg, the limit varies from 3t to 3.5t depending on model, so I would say that is the safest to go with.
 
I have a L200 and we tow a big trailer with two big horses - the max towing capacity is 2.7t - trailer weighs say max of 1t unladen, two horses weigh 1.2t combined = 2.2t - surely?

I would say out of the three vehicles you mention the L200 would be the better towing option - it is a work horse whereas the other two arn't.
 
CPW - when it comes to towing, legally what matters is the Maximum gross weight, not what you are actually towing. If your trailer's maximum laden weight is over 2.7t (which most big 2 horse trailers are) then I'm afraid you are breaking the law, even if your trailer and horses are actually under the 2.7t limit.
 
So what car would you need to tow an Ifor Williams 610 with - as it seems irrelavent how many horses you have on it????
 
zoeshiloh said:
CPW - when it comes to towing, legally what matters is the Maximum gross weight, not what you are actually towing. If your trailer's maximum laden weight is over 2.7t (which most big 2 horse trailers are) then I'm afraid you are breaking the law, even if your trailer and horses are actually under the 2.7t limit.
Click to expand...
Sorry that is rubish there is no relationship in UK law in the case of light vehicles between the gross weight of the trailer and the towing vehicle when the trailer is under 3500kg!! (taken from the dept for transport website)
 
perfect11s said:
Sorry that is rubish there is no relationship in UK law in the case of light vehicles between the gross weight of the trailer and the towing vehicle when the trailer is under 3500kg!! (taken from the dept for transport website)
Click to expand...

Sorry but i think you're talking rubbish! I agree with Zoe, from all the stuff i looked at when doing my B+E towing capactiy relates to the MGW of the trailer not the actual weight. Just as the differences for B/C/C1 licences it relates to the maximum weight of a vehicle, not the acutal weight.

OP - i have found this website very useful in comparing lots of different vehicles and finding maximum tow weights

http://www.uktow.com/towing capacity.asp#tab1

Would also avoid a BMW and aim for a tourag - the even use a pic of it towing a 610 for promotional P2P stuff :)
 
zoeshiloh said:
Ifor Williams 610 maximum laden weight is 3.5t so you would need a vehicle that could tow 3.5t, the same applies for the equitrek multitrekka. I recently did my B+E and all this sort of stuff was covered on the intensive course I took.
Click to expand...
well they had better tell the dft they are wrong !!!!! you must not exceed the gross train weight or the towing capacity of the vehicle that is the law... simple eh
 
The legal towing limit for horse trailers is the max braked towing weight. The L200 is 2800kg, which is enough for an Ifor and two horses. It's only the Equi Treks and the other big trailers with living that need the truly heavy weight towers like Rangies and Discos.

Of the three you list the L200 is the most reliable. The Touregs, whilst having a big towing capacity, have a terrible reliability record and I would avoid like the plague!
 
Ditto the toureg breaking down every 3seconds - I was looking at buying one and my mechanic friend warned me off! Says the most reliable cars to buy are generally the japanese brands, so mitibishi, isuzi etc, so I now have a new wish list :o
 
oh, and RE the MAM of trailer car:

I did a lot of research ages ago and basically the answer from the police, the DVLA, VOSA and others were 'we don't know' Seriously, they're not sure.

The police and VOSA said if there was any doubt on the car's towing ability (i.e the cars MAM doesn't match the trailers full MAM (it's potentially highest weight NOT what it actually weights right now)) then they'll haul you off to a weight bright (with horses!) and hand it over to the courts to decide, which will cost you time and money.
 
Legal towing limits are extremely important, but at the end of the day even if it is still legal you've got to live with these vehicles.

I've used a couple of these and I regularly chat with the guys in the MOT test centre (I'm also a classic/sports car nut).

I have personally seen an X5 get stuck trying to go up a grass verge covered in dew cos he got impatient waiting in the queue for a car wash.

The Toureg handles really badly (bad suspension bushes - MOT guys fail them regularly) which can also induce trailer snaking. If maintained correctly they are alot better but pulling the suspension apart every 3 years doesn't seem healthy...

The L200 is a wonderful vehicle but it doesn't have alot of torque. Get a good speed on a hill with a bit of a load in the back and you're fine. God help you if someone pulls out in front and you have to break and THEN try and accelerate up said hill. So imagine what it might be like with a horsebox and two beasties behind you.

Given the price of these vehicles I'd be inclined to look elsewhere (if you haven't bought it already) - depending on budget - a pajero or land crusier, a fourtrak or a Landie/disco.

One thing the last 2 have going for them is diff lock. If you get stuck in mud (or even wet grass as in parking up at a show/funride in a field) and one of the wheels starts spinning, you've had it. Difflock means you can lock all four wheels together to get out of trouble. One can't go off spinning all on it's own... This is NOT the same a 4 wheel drive as my YO thought. Easy to smirk when you know cars... :D at least she saw the funny side. My instructors hubby is also a car nut and ribbed her ceaselessly when she got her shiny new ford pickup stuck trying to roll the fields. Nearly had to rescue her with our old 200tdi...
 
Last edited:
Kallibear said:
oh, and RE the MAM of trailer car:

I did a lot of research ages ago and basically the answer from the police, the DVLA, VOSA and others were 'we don't know' Seriously, they're not sure.

The police and VOSA said if there was any doubt on the car's towing ability (i.e the cars MAM doesn't match the trailers full MAM (it's potentially highest weight NOT what it actually weights right now)) then they'll haul you off to a weight bright (with horses!) and hand it over to the courts to decide, which will cost you time and money.
Click to expand...

Actualy it would cost the police a lot of time and money and an embarrasing lecture from the court on wasting their time.Manufacturers maximum weights do not have the same effect as ministry plates. Merely because the manufacturers design limit is higher than the towing vehicles design limit ,does not make it overloaded.
 
Sleepeeze_dad said:
Legal towing limits are extremely important, but at the end of the day even if it is still legal you've got to live with these vehicles.

I've used a couple of these and I regularly chat with the guys in the MOT test centre (I'm also a classic/sports car nut).

I have personally seen an X5 get stuck trying to go up a grass verge covered in dew cos he got impatient waiting in the queue for a car wash.

The Toureg handles really badly (bad suspension bushes - MOT guys fail them regularly) which can also induce trailer snaking. If maintained correctly they are alot better but pulling the suspension apart every 3 years doesn't seem healthy...

The L200 is a wonderful vehicle but it doesn't have alot of torque. Get a good speed on a hill with a bit of a load in the back and you're fine. God help you if someone pulls out in front and you have to break and THEN try and accelerate up said hill. So imagine what it might be like with a horsebox and two beasties behind you.

Given the price of these vehicles I'd be inclined to look elsewhere (if you haven't bought it already) - depending on budget - a pajero or land crusier, a fourtrak or a Landie/disco.

One thing the last 2 have going for them is diff lock. If you get stuck in mud (or even wet grass as in parking up at a show/funride in a field) and one of the wheels starts spinning, you've had it. Difflock means you can lock all four wheels together to get out of trouble. One can't go off spinning all on it's own... This is NOT the same a 4 wheel drive as my YO thought. Easy to smirk when you know cars... :D at least she saw the funny side. My instructors hubby is also a car nut and ribbed her ceaselessly when she got her shiny new ford pickup stuck trying to roll the fields. Nearly had to rescue her with our old 200tdi...
Click to expand...
You can have all the diff locks, 4x4 in the world etc but if you dont have chunky tyres you wont get far on mud or wet grass, the make or model makes no diffrence!!!its all about the tyres....
 
Oh I so agree about the tyres. It is a question of balance and I didn't want to confuse the issue. Chunkier or "knobblier" the tyre the more road noise and the mpg dips a bit when using them on the road but obviously the more "off road" situations you can deal with. Obviously an off road can't corner like a road tyre - all gets a bit "bouncy castle" the bigger the tyre.

X5's and Touregs almost exclusively have pure road tyres fitted - although they claim to be aimed at off road users, most dealers sell them to the school run mummies who really don't do road tyre noise.

We use federal all terrains on ours and chunky cargoes on the trailer. Great for pretty much all surfaces except really glutinous mud. We happily drag our big old rice beaufort across an all sand school when it's dry and soft and not even a slip. Also alot of cars aquaplane in the wet - you can see them all slowing down for big puddles... the steering wheel pulls to one side etc etc. All terrains? straight through at a "canter" and didn't even notice it was there. Wife loves that bit ;)
 
Last edited:
perfect11s said:
You can have all the diff locks, 4x4 in the world etc but if you dont have chunky tyres you wont get far on mud or wet grass, the make or model makes no diffrence!!!its all about the tyres....
Click to expand...

Actually not entirely true. I have a Disco 3 on road tyres and regularly take it through mud that is deeper than the depth of the tyres. And when I say mud I do mean the kind of stuff that will pull your wellies off. I have even towed through that kind of mud. Can't pretend it deals with it as easily as my brother-in-law's Disco 3 with off road tyres but on road tyres it goes places my Jeep Grand Cherokee couldn't go on off road tyres.

No doubt off road tyres make a difference, but some vehicles are just better than others at dealling with gloop, slippy grass etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top