Tow Vechicle - Buying new one soon - What do you tow with

[Dr. Peter]

Make sure the trailer is right. Drove 7 hours to Canberra for ACT Catamaran Championship. Threw a wheel about 50k from destination. Dangerous at worst and really inconvenient at best. My Maricat weighs considerably less than an Investigator shudder to think of what might have happened if I had been towing that boat.
Peter

[Yara50]

It is always a good idea to feel the hubs every now and then. A hot hub indicates bearing failure.

[RobertB]

Hi Folks,

I tow with an old 1986 Landcruiser, LPG/Petrol. This is a solid and heavy tow vehicle. It uses a bit of fuel, so I am glad that it is on Gas. Brisbane to the Town of 1770 has been the biggest trip. Towed no problems.

If I were to replace the car with another, I would look at an older volvo cross country. Mostly because the wife and I like to get off the bitumen and onto the dirt with our camper trailer when not sailing, and also because of what the car has to offer. I do like the fact that it automatucally switches to four wheel drive when the traction is needed and I do like the car generally.

They are not too thirsty and they are not too dear. Here's one for less than $10,000
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2002-Volvo-C ... 415d3c3d3c

Cheers, Robert

[TrueBlue]

My Maricat weighs considerably less than an Investigator shudder to think of what might have happened if I had been towing that boat.
Peter

Funny isn't it that as we get older we start thinking about stuff
When I think of some I have towed all over the country and what they weighed in at and so it goes on, I shudder now Yet in reality the troubles I had were minimal. Worst one I think of was a tandem 10x5 boxed trailer that was way, way, way, way over weight. Blew a rear offside tyre just East of Cobar and thankfully on otherside of road was a dirt truck park, it swayed like a B$%^ch and I held it but needed all the road and the truck park to stop

If I was only towing the boat as if going cruising I would not be concerned at all, but it does have a bit extra in it.
Hopefully all will be well, it's a challenge.

Anyway, back on subject.
I know that Craggles had/has a cross 8 Holden and he has always commented on how good that was when he was towing. I test drove one long ago before on the market and the drive system for AWD was rather amazing, could have 2 wheels in the air one front, one back and it just pulled out no problem.
I have heard the 8s could be a bit thirsty, don't know about the V6?

[Cooper]

I have been told by a few folks that whilst a V6 is more economical than a V8 normally, that when towing, they become almost as thirsty. No facts to base this on only word of mouth. But they were disappointed with the fact.

[TrueBlue]

I have been told by a few folks that whilst a V6 is more economical than a V8 normally, that when towing, they become almost as thirsty. No facts to base this on only word of mouth. But they were disappointed with the fact.

I'll let you know once this is all over.
I have always been a V8 man/boy but as they got to much to run I settled for this Ute with V6 all be it the larger than they have now, mine is 3.8, new ones are 3.6 and we all know there is no substitute for inches Mind you the newer once pack good punch but lack torque, but better on fuel.

[snoopebj]

Hi Larry
For towing the Investigator I recently bought a Nissan X-Trail as a retirement car with the towing capacity of 2000kg and good fuel economy in mind.
So far, it tows well on the flat ,however, like most smaller 4wd, you have to go through the gears on the hills - but still keeps up with traffic.
It has 2wd, auto 4wd, and locked 4wd settings - I have found as with others on the x-trail website the auto 4wd in drive(automatic) to be the most suitable.
Safety has got to be the main issue here and after replacing my old trailer wheels with zinc plated ones I discovered the discs and hubs were eaten away with only one brake working. The cost of new zinc plated hubs and discs were $650 installed but worth it for peace of mind.
I have done 11000ks with a lot of towing up and down the local hills with no worries. I will be travelling up and down the East coast as well so hope to see you down the track.
Good luck with your choice.
cheers

[LarryW]

Thank you all for your post. . Will probably be 3 or 4 weeks before I buy a car, It is nice to have input from guys that have been using the products.
With Appreciation.

[LarryW]

Yesterday was a long day. When I wrote the thank you post I was falling asleep. If not I would have made mention that the photos and links were also helpful, and that the additional info was also fantastic. I have often heard it said that when you are towing the 8 uses about the same petrol as a 6.

Larry

[LarryW]

The Admiral and I had a look at the Nissan X-Trail on Saturday. I never considered one until hearing from Snoop.
I sure was impressed. What a nice layout. and the cargo space is enough to actually carry some gear. Not ready to buy yet so did not take for test drive, but sure seemed to be the compromise that was made for my situation.
This is a retirement car, hopefully going to be used for a bit of travel, towing the boat up and down the coast. I'm going to do some research on it, because I don't want to jump the gun (I normally do) But spacious, comfortable and tows 2000 kg. Would love a Land Cruiser, but that is now delegated to a dream that will probably never happen.
Also considered a Honda CRV but that only tows 1200 which should be enough but hate to be at the top of the limit.

Larry