Towing with a Freelander ...... conflicting advice

grandmaweloveyou

grandmaweloveyou

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What do you all think?

Freelander Automatic 2002 2.0 ES TD4

Who uses one of these to tow with and how much do you tow?

It really seems a 50/50 opinion on this.

Thanks.
 
The max weight that a freelander can tow is 2tonnes, http://www.cuddles.abelgratis.net/landrover.htm
but, eg if you pick an ifor, the max gross weight is over 2.5 tonnes, so unless you pick a super lightweight trailer or a single one, you wouldn't be able to tow a horse trailer with the freelander.
Someone put it really well on here in another post, you need to make sure the 'tail doesn't wag the dog'!
 
Hi. So how does that work, is 2 tonne including the weight of the Freelander or just the total weight including horse of the trailer?
Then you have to take into consideration the weight of tack etc within the Freelander?
Thanks
Ooh isnt it easier and more balanced to have a double trailer than a single?
 
TChamp said:
Hi. So how does that work, is 2 tonne including the weight of the Freelander or just the total weight including horse of the trailer?
the 2t is the weight of the trailer and its load
Then you have to take into consideration the weight of tack etc within the Freelander?
as long as you don't exceed the maximum laden weight of the Freelander, the tack etc in it doesn't come into this equation
Thanks
Ooh isnt it easier and more balanced to have a double trailer than a single?
Modern single trailers are just as stable as doubles, having said that, I'm not the biggest fan personally
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You would be legal with a lightweight trailer like a Cheval Liberte, some Batesons and possibly the new, lightweight Equitrek.
I don't think the Freelanders are particularly good for towing though, they are not man enough.
 
Im not sure of the old freelander models but post 2006 can two one horse and trailer - anything more then its recommended to get a disco.

I am not sure of the early models but i have seen them towing IW 505s with two horses happily before. If your a one horse person then I would go for it!
 
TChamp said:
Hi. So how does that work, is 2 tonne including the weight of the Freelander or just the total weight including horse of the trailer?
Then you have to take into consideration the weight of tack etc within the Freelander?
Thanks
Ooh isnt it easier and more balanced to have a double trailer than a single?
Click to expand...

No it doesn't need to include the freelander. You need the max towing weight of the vehicle you choose to be more than the gross weight (weight of trailer plus max weight inside) of the trailer. The more 'spare' weight you have the better really as it is safer. If it were me looking then I would pick a towing vehicle with a 3.5 tonne max towing weight (we have an ancient N reg 3.1 isuzu trooper which I love and was less than 2K!). The website I linked to will give you the weights, so it is then more a job of working out what you want the vehicle to have and your budget. I would always way prefer a double myself as I think they are safer, but if for whatever reason you have a car that can't tow the weight, then a single is certainly better than nothing!
 
i am tempted to upgrade to a disco as i was using my freelander for mobile hairdressing and now i have the salon i dont need to worry too much about mpg etc BUT i dont think i can justify selling it and probably losing alot of money (only had it 6months) to get a disco....hence i am hoping i can use the freelander to tow as i am missing out on so much at the moment with not having one.

hmmmm decisions decisions. thanks everyone tho.

the search is on for an iw 505 me thinks unless someone offers me the right price for my freelander......
 
no need to be quite so blunt!!

well ive just researched pricing and it seems i wont lose on the freelander - whilst being a paperweight it holds its value ;) - so i think i may be on the hunt for a disco and trailer if anyones wants to sell.....

thanks guys.
 
didn't think it was that blunt?

lots of mums seem to like paperweights for the school run so I imagine the resale is good ;)

I had one as a replacement car when someone smashed my Mini at a junction and whilst it was a nice car I wouldn't dream of towing with it for one second.
 
The tow weight is the same as some estates, and I wouldn't reccomend it even with a light weight trailer, as not only would you be tight on your towing weights, but you put great strain on your clutch and engine. Not only that but going up hill you would be going backwards.
 
Old freelander Big Big Big no no!!! Deffinatly not for more than one horse any way. And because they endlessly break down, ours has cost an absolute fortune!! Far more than we paid for it, I higly recommend getting a Honda though (:
 
Sorry, but you won't be legal towing a IW505 with a freelander. The max gross weight of the 505 is about 2.3T (over 2T anyway), so is over the towing capacity of the car. If you had an accident the insurance company may well not pay out because you would be driving outside of the safe limits of the car. Just not worth the risk, even if you see others doing it with apparently no trouble.

My OH is a bit of a car buff, and he makes the point that you are far far safer having too much 'grunt' for a job than just enough, so make sure you are well within the specified limits weight-wise. There will also be considerably less wear on an engine and chassis working below its max limits than on one at its limit.
 
millitiger said:
I wouldn't use one for towing horses but imo a Freelander is a giant paperweight not a 4x4.
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Whilst I agree with you on the towing side of things I love my Landy Freelander and wouldn't change it for anything, it's great for offroading - so not quite the giant paperweight :)

You can tow with the Freelander - BUT and it's a big BUT - I wouldn't like to try and stop even vaguely suddenly with a trailer and pony let alone a horse behind.
 
Clannad48 said:
Whilst I agree with you on the towing side of things I love my Landy Freelander and wouldn't change it for anything, it's great for offroading - so not quite the giant paperweight :)

You can tow with the Freelander - BUT and it's a big BUT - I wouldn't like to try and stop even vaguely suddenly with a trailer and pony let alone a horse behind.
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You can tow with it, but would be doing so illegally with most trailers. Not worth the safety risk. Best to keep it for the off roading and try and find something else for towing!
 
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