trailer boffs....a few Qs (well, lots!)

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atot

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Okay, mum is definately getting a freelander series 2 TD4, through work...
We want to purchase a 2nd hand trailer, to ferry madam around to all her 'parties'...
Where is the best place to look for a 2nd hand one? Also, how do we know how much this freelander can take, in terms of weight of the trailer...It will be used for one 15hh....
Would it be poss for two horses/ponies to be taken in the trailer, being pulled by the above??

What do we need to check for, when we go and see a 2nd hand trailer?

Sorry, so many questions! We want to find out lots before we get one.....

any help appreciated! thank you.

I might have a few more to ask, later..
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in the trailer, the most important thing will be the floor, hmmm try horsequest maybe! if you look in the booklet thing that you'll get with the freelander it'll tell you what the max weight to tow will be, but i'm sure it'll be fine =]
 
okay, thank you - will get browsing. What is the max. weight a trailer can be? I am terrible on guessing weights....
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you could get an alluminium one, there the lightest, not sure on how much they weigh though =]
 
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Not sure on the exact spec of the Freelander, but many one here have said that they struggle to pull anything other than a light single trailer
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oh no....are you sure thats not the discovery people are talking about??
DAMN if not. triple bugger. I might post another thread then....
thanks for letting me know.
 
I have an IW HB401. It weighs 770kg and is 2 yrs old so has a metal floor. My pone is approx 450kg.

Would not want to tow more than one horse with a Freelander - they aren't really workhorses. Try to speak to people who tow with one to get a better idea.
 
If you have an IW 505 (The twin trailer for up to 16.2(?) you need a car capable of towing 2435kg (or something very close - almost 2 and a half tonne, anyway).
 
Trailer weights are about 1750kg unladen, I think. Then you have to add the horses weight on top of that.

I think the previous comments are right about Freelanders but never had one myself. Look up the book that comes with it as that will tell you max towing weight.
 
The log book will tell you the maximum towing capacity of the car - once you have that you need to work backwards from there. An unladen IW 510 weighs 1000kg, so an average 500kg horse plus other bits and pieces can soon add up to you being overweight.
 
QR

thank you everyone.

molmoo1 - have just done a thread in SB - hopefully will get some thoughts from there too.... thanks.


ladyluck - we haven't got the book yet because we don't have the freelander yet, but I might have to talk to mum if it's going to be a problem to pull a trailer...I will find out a bit more first though, thanks for your help

scotsmare - Must remember weight of bits and bobs, thanks. As a general rule, is it the bigger/heavier the car, the more it can carry? I know very little about them, so apologise if this is a stupid question! thanks
 
OK, this freelander has a max. towing weight of 2000kg...that is NOT a lot is it...
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crumbs. might need to rethink the freelander.
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You'd get away with a IW 505 and a small horse but not much else!

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Ok, so if we made sure that horses weight added up to within the weight of horse + trailer weight = less than 2000kg, do you think we will be ok? We deff. won't be able to take another horse then..... Will talk to mum and see what she thinks about changing. Bugger.
 
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No, it doesn't matter about size of car, it's the engine size that matters as thats what governs towing capacity. Not a stupid question if you don't already know the answer!

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Why didn't I think of that....
Do you know what a suitable engine size would be for pulling a IW 505...? The Diesel engine is 2.2 litre, and the petrol engine is 3.2 litres...
 
If horse, trailer & extra bits weigh less than 2000kg then you should be ok. We have a shogun sport which is a 2.5 litre and it happily tows our 510. With regard to suitable engine size, each car will have a different spec and the only way you can be sure of whether or not it can tow your box is by checking the capacity with the dealer.
 
the trouble with the freelander is that it isnt very "hefty"...


it will tow...but the stopping would be interesting...the trailer would end up pushing the tow vehicle..especially downhill..
 
I don't think we will risk it. I'm going to talk to Mum - as she gets a car through work, and will see what else they have on offer. Thanks for your help - will keep that shogun sport in mind.... we just have to be a bit careful - it can't really be a monster, cos we're using it in London too, as it's her work car. any other recommendations you have in mind?
 
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the trouble with the freelander is that it isnt very "hefty"...


it will tow...but the stopping would be interesting...the trailer would end up pushing the tow vehicle..especially downhill..

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no way will that do then
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Do you have any recommendations, that aren't too 'monsterish'...
thanks!
 
We had a Freelander a couple of years ago that couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding but I'm told the Series 2 has much more pulling power. I tow an Equitrek with a Discovery tdi (2.5 diesel) and it copes with one medium-sized horse but would probably struggle with two.

As JM07 says, the weight of the car does begin to matter when it comes to braking ....
 
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We had a Freelander a couple of years ago that couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding but I'm told the Series 2 has much more pulling power. I tow an Equitrek with a Discovery tdi (2.5 diesel) and it copes with one medium-sized horse but would probably struggle with two.

As JM07 says, the weight of the car does begin to matter when it comes to braking ....

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Ahhh right...although it has more pulling power, it would still worry me re. the braking....
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I've heard terrible things re. the discovery tho....I will see what is on offer from mum's work...

Thanks for the info.
 
QR- Am I being naive? I honestly thought the weight of the car was the largest deciding factor, not engine size. Hence why you couldn't tow with a nissan micra, even if it had a 4ltr engine.
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I have a Freelander 2, TD4 and I tow a 505 with it, generally with two ponies on board and I find it great - hardly know anything is there, and certainly no probs stopping, although I do have a Class 1 HGV licence and tend to overcompensate on stopping distances etc and don't go above 40 mostly. I have towed a 15.2 and a 13.2 in it, only for a short distance and I felt that was about the max it was comfy with. Just for one occasion going about 5 miles I had to tow a 510 with 2 x 15.2 on board and that I didn't enjoy at all, partly as I knew I was over the limit for the car but also as it really felt like it was bloody hard work for the car (I won't be repeating the experience but didn't have a choice at the time).
 
My suzuki GV has a tow limit of 2000kg . this is grand - my 505 and my horse plus extras just about scrap this weight and i have never had any bother with towing.
 
thank goodness someone likes it. Because mum isn't budging - it's either the disco or freelander. We will definately only tow with one horse, just to be on the safe side.
 
We used to tow my ifor williams 505 with 2 horses in it with a Vauxhall Frontera - think it was a 3 litre?? diesel. My dad said it was very easy to tow with and you could hardly notice you had the trailer on the back
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Edited to say - Sorry jus read ur post above - prob not very useful this info now
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My freelander is brilliant at towing with a HB401 and a horse that weighs 450kg
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its just an ordinary freelander though that pulls 2 tonne

It will pull a hb505 with a horse in as done that (very occasionally two 14.2hh cobsx)

However if I were you go for the discovery as they like pulling two big horses in a hb506
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i have a 2.5 swb shogun as well. it's plated to tow 2.8ton, but that's because it's way heavier than a freelander. the shogun itself weighs nearly 2ton. Plus the shogun has a super hefty gear box with a low range too.

you should be fine towing one horse and a modern style trailer (as opposed to a big old timber job), as someone said, iw505 is verging on 1000kg. it wouldn't be safe to tow 2 horses with a freelander. they are in the same category as your rav 4's and HRV's and the like.

another thing to consider though is the wear and tear on your engine gears and clutch. A 'softer' car will have to work harder to manouvre a trailer.

Shogun./ Discovery/ defender/ L200 / navara / nissan terano etc would all be up to the job

F x
 
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We used to tow my ifor williams 505 with 2 horses in it with a Vauxhall Frontera - think it was a 3 litre?? diesel. My dad said it was very easy to tow with and you could hardly notice you had the trailer on the back
smile.gif

Edited to say - Sorry jus read ur post above - prob not very useful this info now
tongue.gif


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noo don't worry, it won't change mum's mind but thanks for replying anyway.
 
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