Towing with a pick up?

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orsceno1

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Hi all, we are looking to get a pickup which will need to be used as a tow vehicle (trailer to be decided but nothing too heavyweight). Does anyone have any advice/recommendations/things to avoid? Vehicle needs to be a pickup as opposed to other 4x4 as hubby is using as a commercial vehicle for his business so tax exempt, needs to be double cab to fit child in back! So any suggestions/advice very welcome please....budget not sure of yet but poss up to maybe £8k depending on what we can get for the money.
Thank you :)
 
Is the trailer being used for commercial purposes or JUST the pickup?
If just the pickup then no worries

Will those that will be towing have a B+E licence?
 
Landrovers can also be classed as commercial, as long as it's not a county (no windows in the sides of the back). So I'd say a 110. Otherwise, we have an L200 which is fine for towing, but turning circle is HUGE!
 
Just check that the model you are buying can tow the weight you want as newer does not necessarily mean more powerful. Read car reviews.

There are lots of double cab pick-ups on the market. We have a new shape Mitsushubi L200 which is very powerful and tows well, good turning circle, compared to the old shape, can carry lots of stuff inside and outside. I find it a bit big, obviously designed for male drivers as I am not short, but I struggle a bit. It isn't as comfortable a ride as a 4 x 4, but quite acceptable.

Ours is the basic model, no central locking for instance, but although it was only about 3 years old it was nowhere near your budget 3 years ago.
 
Have a look at Isuzi they are robust and stable to tow with, take care buying any older pick up as they may have been thrashed a bit and not looked after, one that has been privatly owned would be a good idea perhaps? good luck
 
used to have a new shape Mitsubishi L200 and towed an Ifor 505. Have to say it was the best towing vehicle we have ever had and going off road, without trailer, it was fab.

only problems with it were trying to park at the supermarket!
 
Thanks everyone, we need the space in the pickup for my hubbys lawnmower etc for his business so I dont think the Landy would suffice. And no the trailer towing would just be me and the horses, nothing commercial about that! And yes I do have my B+E license too ;)
Have seen a few L200s and Rangers in our price bracket so will have a closer look at towing capacity etc for the different models :)
 
orsceno1 said:
Thanks everyone, we need the space in the pickup for my hubbys lawnmower etc for his business so I dont think the Landy would suffice. And no the trailer towing would just be me and the horses, nothing commercial about that! And yes I do have my B+E license too ;)
Have seen a few L200s and Rangers in our price bracket so will have a closer look at towing capacity etc for the different models :)
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Avoid the old shape L200 and pre 2007 rangers they are both heavy on fuel and have reliabilty issues better to go for newer and more mileage later one instead you should get a post 2006 ranger for your budget just make sure its got the TDCI engine Ive run a lot of pick ups over the years and rate the later rangers the latest is state of the art and winning the group road tests , Nissans well known to have had engine trouble and the hilux are expensive and have a poor towing capacity, you could look at the isuzu good trucks....avoid builder and ex farm trucks !!!!
 
Dont Buy a Nissan Navara my 08 plate Adventura was the most unreliable Co Vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to drive. I now have a new Mitsubishi Barbarian which has so far been perfect 16K miles in 17 weeks.
 
I tow with a Ford Ranger pick up, a lot cheaper to buy as not as "trendy" as the Toyota and Mitsubishi. It's great as at the end of a long event, you can throw everything in the back and still have clean drivers area.
 
Hairy Old Cob said:
Dont Buy a Nissan Navara my 08 plate Adventura was the most unreliable Co Vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to drive. I now have a new Mitsubishi Barbarian which has so far been perfect 16K miles in 17 weeks.
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Yes not unusall I know 4 people that have or had them most have had major issues 2 spent more time at the dealership than on the road axles engine and electrical issues seem to be the main problems, the previous navara 2001/2006 had engine failures it is rare for one to have the original engine !!!! best avoided perhaps...
 
Thanks everyone some more useful tips- will definitely look at the later rangers and L200s I think. Now all I have to do is decide what sort of trailer to buy :)
 
We had a 56 plate l200 - load of rubbish. Towing capacity differs too - l200 is 2800kg some of the smaller are 2000! We're now looking at Isuzu rodeo - new one - tow capacity of 3000kg
 
I also have a Ranger, its a 2007. totally agree its a great car, and im quite small but find it nice to drive, and its not actually terribl on fuel economy. I can get 30mpg when not hauling anything.:D
 
I'v got a 56 plate navara aventura (top spec), had it for 3 years now and the past year has been in the garage so many times! Mainly due to engine problems, needed a new turbo (£1500) last summer. Always been looked after, serviced when due by Nissan etc. Done 50,000 miles so not been hammered! Looking at getting rid of it! Will be quite sad to see it go but I do get quite sentimental! It has never broken down on me though, touch wood! And always starts first time (touch wood again!).
 
Im another ranger fan.. we are onto the second one and have had the thunder for a touch of luxury!!
Both have been fantastic with not one single problem between them.
 
Elfen said:
We had a 56 plate l200 - load of rubbish. Towing capacity differs too - l200 is 2800kg some of the smaller are 2000! We're now looking at Isuzu rodeo - new one - tow capacity of 3000kg
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Yes there is a new ranger too Ive not driven one yet but the magazines and press reports are raving about it, seems its streets ahead of the others and going to be the one to have ... and it can tow 3350 kg !!!!
 
We have an approx 12 year old L2004Life, it's very reliable, doesn't cost too much to run, isn't LEZ compliant, tows really well. plenty of room in back but not for long legged adults. However it has a poor turning circle as it is a long vehicle which can sometimes be a pain. It's much better off road since we got better tyres (had road tyres before)
 
Well u have a 56 navara and love it....it tows my hb511 with 2x16.2hh horses in it as if there's nothing attached ti the tow hitch. the max timing weight is 3,500kg and the torque even when towing is amazing. i work at a ford dealership and as much as u rate the ranger for reliability the navara definitely tow alot better and is better on fuel. but will definitely be trying the new 3.2 ranger when it is released in may this year!
 
Hairy Old Cob said:
Dont Buy a Nissan Navara my 08 plate Adventura was the most unreliable Co Vehicle I have ever had the misfortune to drive. I now have a new Mitsubishi Barbarian which has so far been perfect 16K miles in 17 weeks.
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It must be a Navarra thing, because our Titan has been fine (kiss of death me saying that of course:() and it pulls all kinds of things well enough, 2 x 24' wagons and 400 bales of hay without a murmur. I don't think the Titans are too popular in the UK anyway, maybe a little thirsty ;)

OH says get a Ram, I think he was joking ;):) Totally impractical with UK gas prices.
 
Enfys said:
It must be a Navarra thing, because our Titan has been fine (kiss of death me saying that of course:() and it pulls all kinds of things well enough, 2 x 24' wagons and 400 bales of hay without a murmur. I don't think the Titans are too popular in the UK anyway, maybe a little thirsty ;)

OH says get a Ram, I think he was joking ;):) Totally impractical with UK gas prices.
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I think your nissans are built in the states or mexico ?? the ones we get are built in spain ,oh jeezzss im turning into a nurd , 22 years in the automotive bussiness I need help!!!!:D
 
I have had my 04 Ford Ranger from new and it has done 80k! I used to use it as an every day car but now have a little run around too! It is brilliant for towing and I have the thunder so nice and comfy inside!
 
I have a 53 plate bottom of the range double cab L200 and have regularly towed up to 2 large warmbloods in an ifor 510 for the last 8.5 years and it tows well. The longer vehicle makes it very stable. The downsides are the turning circle and it's not great on fuel even when not towing.
 
I also like my Hilux, I've towed with two different Navara's at work and one was fine, the other I hated! The newer one was the one I hated but can't remember what year they were.

My friend loves her L200 but I didn't like it, I think its because she's got an automatic and I don't really like them.

I liked my OH's Ford Ranger but I didn't really tow with it that much. He looked at an Izuzu (is that spelt correctly?) Rodeo but ended up with the Hilux instead as he got a good deal on it.
 
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