Towing with an Auto

It's good provided you have a man enough car!
If its slightly underpowered going up hills is slow because you can't drop down a gear early like you could in a manual
 
urrrm .... I probably won't give the answer you want to that one!
I wouldn't tow with a freelander, disco or RR yes!
 
Mine is an auto and it is brilliant. If anything it is easier because it is one less thing for you to think about when driving a trailer. Mine is a BMW X5 3.0l and tows a 4 star Equi-Trek.
 
I'm afraid I go along with what has been said....I don't think a Freelander has sufficient power to do the job you want. You really need a 'proper' 4x4....Discovery, defender, shogun, Pajero etc. Automatics are fine for towing, really smooth but if the tow car hasn't enough power it matters little which gearbox type it has... Sorry
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Unfortunaly, I have to go were funds allow! Id love a Shogun or some thing like that, but I cant afford it.

I only tow one 16hh horse in an Ifor 505, and currently tow with a 1.6 Grand Vitara and it does very well.

Surley a 2 litre deseil of any sort will do the job I want it for?
 
When i was looking for a 4X4 i ruled out the freelander due to the fact i would have been very close to the max i could tow with it with my trailer and horses weight on board. They do not have a high towing weight so please beware of this. Your old 1.6 may have towed ok but you most certainty would have been over weight. It does not matter about the size of the engine so to speak you should be looking at its towing capability.
 
You need torque rather than power - so a diesel will generally do a good job - but check the figures. The other issue is the weight of the tow car - for safety to help limit snaking which can lead to the car/trailer flipping over.
 
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ditto, and you are quite likely to knacker the engine too!

Why not look at an older secondhand proper 4x4?

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Because Id rather have some thing new that I no will be reliable and still unver warrenty.
So far, Ive looked at the Hyubdi Santa Fe and I was going to look at the Freelander tonight, but think I wont bother now!

I checked out the Hyundi Santa Fe's weight and that will do the job well. Might stick to that idea.
 
My friend tows with a manual 2.0l diesel freelander, she has the Ifor 505 and a 16hh TB type. She hasn't ever had a problem with it and it should be under the weight for you, however I wouldn't put 2 in the trailer, it would struggle I think and also I very much doubt it would be legal!

I tow my Ifor 510 with a Grand Cherokee 3l diesel, that is an auto and is fine. Also because it is tiptronic you can change down gears if you needed to, so far I haven't had to!
 
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My friend tows with a manual 2.0l diesel freelander, she has the Ifor 505 and a 16hh TB type. She hasn't ever had a problem with it and it should be under the weight for you, however I wouldn't put 2 in the trailer, it would struggle I think and also I very much doubt it would be legal!


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Sounds like your friend is towing the same as me then, maybe I will look at the Freelander then!
Soooo confused!
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I tow with a 2.8 Deisal Shogun Auto, it's SUPERB! It's an old shogun, but still going nicely. It is definatley the weight of the towing vehicle that is as important as engine size and I don't think those Freelanders are heavy enough, although a know someone that tows x 2 16hh horses in her's, not sure what her clutch is like though!!

This is my first time on this Forum, sorry if this message looks muddled!
 
When they bought the Freelander they also looked at the Hyundai. They are obviously the smallest you can use. Are you going for the new Freelander - had an off roading day in one of those and it came across as being a lot better than the previous model
 
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When they bought the Freelander they also looked at the Hyundai. They are obviously the smallest you can use. Are you going for the new Freelander - had an off roading day in one of those and it came across as being a lot better than the previous model

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Sorta new! Im looking at 02 - 03 plates.
Why did your friend chose the Freelander over the Hyundi?
Was is something to do with Fuel consumpsion?
 
To be honest i'm not actually sure. I think they just preferred the Freelander. As far as I'm aware the Freelander has a weight of between 1800kgs and 2000kgs. Therefore if you want to tow a 505 plus 450kg horse then you are within the weight restrictions. They say your towing weight should ideally be no more than 85% of the kerb weight of the vehicle, which is roughly around 1700kgs, so I think you should still be fine.
I wouldn't tow with one but that is because I have the bigger trailer and a big boy to go in it!!
At the end of the day you have to buy what is best for you
 
A Freelander is fine for towing one horse in a lightweight trailer, so you should be fine. Towing with an automatic is wonderful; in fact I would never go back to a manual gearbox now if I was paid to!
 
q/r

I tow with a 2.8td SWB Pajero M reg and it is very fit for the job! I wouldn't like to tow horses with a manual but would if I had to but not out of choice.
A 2.5 swb Pajero would be fine for what you are proposing to tow.
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there is just a little more grunt in the 2.8 so better if towing 2 big horses but 2.5 is fine.
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And you can pick them up fairly cheaply too
 
Td4 freelander is the newest one isnt it? I dont think they came out until last year? They are supposed to be a big improvement on the old ones. I ave gone from a 3.1D Trooper manual to a 2.5d Discovery auto so I would say the trooper was better for towing but the disco does an adequate job even with 2 big horses. I would go for a Jap/Korean 4x4 tbh they are muchmore reliable and you get better value for money. A friend has just got a Hyundai Terracan 2.9d auto and he said it i excellant (he isnt short of a bob or two, so it must be a good car).
 
I have a IW 505 and tow a 16.3 with a Rav 4 2.0 fine - but I am not that far below the towing max and have to make sure everything goes in the car and not in the trailer.
My Rav has coped fine for the past 3 years (has got us up hills, over ice and out of mud) but I can't take anyone (not even a shetland!) with me....
 
Bit of a dumb question but do auto's give enough rev to pull? I've only been in one auto car a beamer and that definitely doesn't rev high enough, I would be terrorfied to pull my two lumps with a auto.
 
I have a Freelander, but won't tow a horse in a trailer with it. We use our Range Rover for that. We have been advised by the Ifor Williams dealer that some vehicles, the towing hitch is slightly too low (Freelander being one of them) which will increase the possibility of the trailer 'snaking' downhill which as you probably know, can be pretty much suicide. You really do need a chunky 4 x 4, built for the job. Freelanders are just pretend ones and are only really for dropping the kids off at school and shopping. Sorry, but I absolutely LOVE my Freelander and wouldn't be without it, but I know its limitations. Its ideal for our muddy lane, and going accross the field at a push, when its dry, but not towing. Saying that, I have towed an EMPTY box, but not one with a horse or even a pony in it. You can get good 4x4's cheap enough, and in fact we sold our 'L' reg Pajero Exceed LWB last year for £2700 so you can get them cheap enough. Do get further advice from a trailer dealer, as they know what theyre talking about. All the best.
 
Have you tried looking at the reviews on whatcar.co.uk? That's where I did all my research. You can look up kerbweights there too, so you can see if you're ok to tow what you need to. I decided upon the Kia Sorento, but am now veering back to the lorry idea. But if I do get a trailer, I'll get a Kia Sorento no question.
 
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