What does everyone tow with?

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Just looking for some suggestions really ..... Our old Daihatsu Fourtrak has sadly died a death so we're currently looking for a replacement. We're heading off to see a Mitsubishi Shogun this morning but any other ideas of a suitable towing vehicle would be appreciated! We bought a brand new Ifor Williams last year, I think it's an HB510? So it's pretty light, and we would be towing one 16.1hh and one 15.2hh ..... We're leaning towards a three door, I think we would struggle to park any of the really monster 4x4s in our city parking space. Cheers :)
 
If you are looking for something compact the Nissan x trail is worth a look.

We have a Disco 3 which is really fab to tow with but prob too big for your " city parking space" lol
 
I've got a Mitsubishi Shogun Sport for towing - I can't compare it to anything else but I love it, and I find it incredibly easy to drive and park :) Yes, it will need more physical space that a Nissan Micra, but I find it extremely easy to manoeuvre and the visibility's great.
 
I tow an I510 with a SWB Landcruser (1996/P). You wouldn't know you had anything on the back. The engine is actually less BHP than a Shogun but I think it's more powerful having towed with both. The SWB LC's are a bit like hen's teeth but worth travelling for.
 
You will notice quite a difference in fuel costs between the Fourtrak and the Shogun. I have a SWB Shogun and it's lovely, but it's also rather thirsty. It is ONLY used for towing.
 
Probably not suited to your small parking space, but we have a Hilux (single cab) and an L200 (double cab). Both tow nicely. We tow cattle mainly and they tend jump about more than horses and both cope fine with that. The L200 is a slightly rougher ride, I think that is due to the higher tow ball not being as suited to our stock trailer. It isn't as bad with the horse trailer. Hilux is better on fuel both towing and not. L200 has better ground clearance. Both are good towing on grass/offroad.
 
9tails said:
You will notice quite a difference in fuel costs between the Fourtrak and the Shogun. I have a SWB Shogun and it's lovely, but it's also rather thirsty. It is ONLY used for towing.
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TBH the Daihatsu drinks diesel too, I think it's the older engines aren't at all economical. It's a 1999 so it's done pretty well! We were considering also having a smaller car for round the town but it's my husband who drives and he says he prefers to drive a more manly 4x4 as his full time car lol.

showpony said:
If you are looking for something compact the Nissan x trail is worth a look.

We have a Disco 3 which is really fab to tow with but prob too big for your " city parking space" lol
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Yeah, I was looking at our car park behind our apartment building and just couldn't imagine getting anything massive in there. Whoever built the entrance to the car park was not thinking as it's down a slope with a sharp 90 degree angle turn at the bottom with a pretty narrow gateway. Will take a look at the Nissan.

Cheers for all the suggestions guys. Does anyone who uses a more compact 4x4 find it not so stable for towing or is this not a problem? We've always either towed with the Daihatsu or with my Dad's huge pickup, wondering how the smaller 4x4s cope?
 
We tow with my O/H's Nissan xtrail when its just one horse and its fab. Its smallish compared to many 4x4's and therefore easy to drive (I don't tow myself yet)
When we took two horses we used a Shogun from his work which was far better equipped to tow heavier weight, again I found it easy to drive and my o/h said its brilliant for towing.
We have just bought our own Mercedes ML as a compromise between a tow vehicle so I can take my test and be more independent and a work car for me/ smarter family car and I have to say I absolutely LOVE it. Its going to be excellent to tow with but is also lovely to drive (bigger than the x trail) but would recommend one any day.
 
Right, so. Your IW 510 weighs in at 1000kg. Let's say your 16.1 weighs 600kg (that's what mine weighs) and your 15.2 550kg. So you will need absolute minimum 2150kg. Most Xtrails can tow 2000kg so beware of buying something that's not up to the job.
 
Sorry to hear your 1999 Fourtrak's died ... what's it died of? (I'm interested as my tow vehicle is also a 1999 Fourtrak).

They made Fourtraks for a few years after 1999 so worth you looking on dealer sites and ebay to see if you can grab a later model. (They went up to X I think so V, W, X, Y, that's four more years). Good luck. I sometimes wonder what I will replace mine with when it dies as there's nothing else out there that I can see that is compact enough to fit on our driveway but meaty enough to tow what we want to tow.

PS don't guess your horse's weight. My 16.1 is 680kg.
 
Discovery 3 and an Ifor Williams 511 only with one horse, but you wouldn't even now you were towing. Had a Discovery 2 before that and it was really good aswell
 
Nissan Titan. V8 5.6l gas guzzler.

In the UK we had various Range Rovers (including an LPG) and a 110 Defender for a big old Lambourne trailer. The 110 was excellent even if it did have windy windows, seriously primitive.
 
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Suechoccy said:
Sorry to hear your 1999 Fourtrak's died ... what's it died of? (I'm interested as my tow vehicle is also a 1999 Fourtrak).
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The engine is fab, bullet proof it has been described as but the body has really not stood the test of time and is now becoming too difficult to keep up with regarding repair etc. The last straw was the rear axle which we have since learned is apparently a common problem. A friend of ours said he had to replace it on his.

Leviathan said:
Titled does not specify what your towing.


So I use a Terrano
2.7 lt

And and Pontiac 4.9 lt
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lastchancer said:
Another Terrano fan, I'm on my second and love it - very easy to maneuver into parking spaces, it gets a lot of attention from boy racers too :)
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I stated in my post what I was towing. I will also be looking into the Terrano now, thanks for the recommendation! :) my only hesitation is they aren't heavy enough to stick to the road with a loaded trailer behind.
 
Sorry my mistake take a look at the honest John

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/

whats good


Unbreakable, simple, old-fashioned 4x4 with high/low range, etc.

Vastly improved in July 1996, especially 2.7 litre diesel which gained intercooler and 25 more bhp. (This is the same engine as most contemporary London taxis.)

Two wheelbases. 5-door LWB versions can have 7 seats.

Carried on when Ford pulled the plug on the Maverick.

Option of 3.0 litre engine, itself with auto option from early 2002.


whats bad

Tall and narrow, so you have to be careful on corners and better not pile stuff on the roof. (well I don't anyway no problem here) mine handles reasonably tight corners fine and at speed.

Jerky on-road ride - partly due to suspension, partly to driveline. I don't find it

Spanish build quality not 100% up to the mark, especially trim items. I don't think of this as a negative the trim is fine in my book

3.0DI SVE auto wasn't cheap at £25,295. not a problem now

Low 3 out of 9 point death rate from accidents in this model. I feel safe in mine??????

Came 3rd = from bottom in 2005 JD Power/What Car Survey of 23,000 cars reg Sep 2002 to Aug 2003 with satisfaction score of 71.2%. ??? that's 2002 survey not now 10 years later well 11.
 
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I tow with a Nissan Navara but it probably isn't the best if your parking is tight!

Enfys- thanks to you the DH wants a titan next. Don't think you can buy them here though.
 
I have a Toyota Hilux and son has a Ford Ranger, both tow well but are probably too big for you. We previously had a Shotgun Sport Sport which also towed well and had a great boot space however the turning circle was truly horrendous so bear that in mind with what you've said about your parking space - the same applies to older L200 models. I've heard good reports on both the SWB Landcruiser and Shogun though the Shogun had a very small boot for tack etc.
 
Kat said:
I tow with a Nissan Navara but it probably isn't the best if your parking is tight!

Enfys- thanks to you the DH wants a titan next. Don't think you can buy them here though.
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Kat, here you are :D
May2013064_zps8202c082.jpg


They are expensive enough to fill here, I have no idea of fuel prices in the UK but I imagine it would be frightening. It is a nice little truck though, with the extended cab it is just like a car with decent legroom really, and it IS only little compared to some of the Duallys.
 
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