Best Tow Car!

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by jambo

Love it Murray!! Hope you had a better summer than me?

No mate .. weather was absolute shit but we 'made do' with fresh sea food , a great variety of Gin and Drams good health to you Sir

Best bits were being 12 feet off a rock face to recover a lobster pot in a force 6 on shore wind. Any of you RIB nuggets will know that aint for the faint hearted .. what with back wash... and we probably only did it cos we knew we could

[Dan Gurney]

Originally Posted by Xk59D

Dan, i know for a fact my 6.8 fully loaded was 1910kg to be exact on a 2 wheel trailer. The 6.8 is a much bigger boat (width too) so hard to believe you were given correct info.

Indeed, I wasn't suggesting the info was correct, i am just always reminded of it when people start talking about the weight of their RCs.

We went and looked at a 585 down in Plymouth too which was on a 2ton trailer.

Also true that we don't 'need' the lugging capabilities of the Nav, we've just got used to it now.

[Xk59D]

Ach it does't matter now Dan and poor info maybe cost RC a sale with you, their loss.

However, for future reference i took mine to a weight bridge with sbs 1800el with circa 140l of fuel and it was 1910kg, hence i now have a bigger trailer under it.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by bedajim

Bugger I get 18-19 pushing the 3.2 Auto Ranger 21-22 towing like Miss Daisy

To be fair to the Amarok if you tow at 60 religiously then 20 mpg is achievable. It is a thirsty beast though. Also towed with a ranger that was actually a better tow truck IMO the 3 litre lump made it much less work.

[Xk59D]

I didn't realise the amorak were such small engines. Only recently have they put 3.0 in them, nice big bus though and mega cheap compared to touareg. If you folks have the 2 litre it makes sense the poor mpg towing. 3.5 ton limit. Glad vw have put big engine in them when so many are going other way.

[Phil M]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

I read recently that there was some dubiety about the Amarok fitting the dual purpose vehicle rules due to its weight, thereby meaning its speed limits were the same as a large van, ie 50 on A class roads etc ...didnt hear the outcome though

I looked into this and as long as it doesn't top 2040kg it is still classed as dual purpose with normal speed limits. The current one is about 1800kg max so i doubt it will gain 200 kg extra. The torque on the 220hp is a very respectable 550N.m which puts it on par performance wise with a new 3l V6 disco. I'm glad they are replacing the 2l as we just didn't like the new navara.

Phil M

[beerbelly]

you don't want a Navara sir they snap in half . I have had a touareg and once id had the valve block in the gearbox changed (they all do that sir)it was a cracking truck I had it during that very nasty winter we had about 5-6 year ago and where I live the roads were covered in 3 inches of solid ice for over six weeks .the intelligent 4 wheel drive system served us well and we never got stuck or even had any bum clenching slides ect it was very good 3.0tdi remapped had plenty of power and torque but was bad on fuel .I have a 07 ranger now that is well it does what its supposed to its not bad on fuel its comfy (but it a little dull and boring) but it was cheap.i work in the motor trade so am unaffected by the Landrover hype and see them for what they are just like hardly Davison just a money making machine

[kubcat]

I have a 2003 Range Rover TD6, a 1997 Discovery 300tdi, a 1996 Jeep Cherokee, a 1970 Jeep DJ5 and also sometimes use my fathers 2003 Landcruiser 100 series V8 petrol.

The Disco is rated at 4000kgs and is perfect as long as the draw bar weight isn't too high and you don't mind going real slow with the bigger trailers. Traction is amazing even though it has no electronics whatsoever.

The Cherokee is rated at 3200kgs and tows pretty well except at speed when its light weight causes it to get thrown around. Traction is also limited. It's light weight and responsive engine don't help.

The 70's Jeep is useless for towing anything with a bit of weight.

The Landcruiser is pretty good but has traction issues on wet grass with heavier trailers. Probably not what most is do, bit I need to do it often. Also the fuel consumption is massive.

The Range Rover is almost perfect. Enough power, plenty of traction and enough weight to feel very stable. Only problem is that I can't get a pintle hook attached to it so can't tow some of my trailers.

As for reliability, maintenance and repair costs, they are all pretty good. I am fastidious about servicing though and doing it myself makes it affordable.

[mick]

Originally Posted by kubcat

I have a 2003 Range Rover TD6, a 1997 Discovery 300tdi, a 1996 Jeep Cherokee, a 1970 Jeep DJ5 and also sometimes use my fathers 2003 Landcruiser 100 series V8 petrol.

The Disco is rated at 4000kgs and is perfect as long as the draw bar weight isn't too high and you don't mind going real slow with the bigger trailers. Traction is amazing even though it has no electronics whatsoever.

The Cherokee is rated at 3200kgs and tows pretty well except at speed when its light weight causes it to get thrown around. Traction is also limited. It's light weight and responsive engine don't help.

The 70's Jeep is useless for towing anything with a bit of weight.

The Landcruiser is pretty good but has traction issues on wet grass with heavier trailers. Probably not what most is do, bit I need to do it often. Also the fuel consumption is massive.

The Range Rover is almost perfect. Enough power, plenty of traction and enough weight to feel very stable. Only problem is that I can't get a pintle hook attached to it so can't tow some of my trailers.

As for reliability, maintenance and repair costs, they are all pretty good. I am fastidious about servicing though and doing it myself makes it affordable.

Get one made up like the guys over here for the Discos etc

[mick]

Originally Posted by mick

get one made up like the guys over here for the discos etc

[kubcat]

Mick, it looks like there is an additional tow bar added.

Mr Range Rover is not a sport, so different to the discovery but I guess the concept may work.

Don't know how legal it would be here but will do some homework.

Thanks.

[mick]

Originally Posted by kubcat

Mick, it looks like there is an additional tow bar added.

Mr Range Rover is not a sport, so different to the discovery but I guess the concept may work.

Don't know how legal it would be here but will do some homework.

Thanks.

Have a look on here http://www.disco4.com/forum/index.ph...eba8c6670a7fb0
Look up user name RLD he is the chap that made it and is the top fabricator

Might be worth asking

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by Phil M

I looked into this and as long as it doesn't top 2040kg it is still classed as dual purpose with normal speed limits. The current one is about 1800kg max so i doubt it will gain 200 kg extra.

Better speak to this boy then


Dual purpose vehicles speed limit change - FightBack Forums

As quoted .............. "According to the VW brochure, the lightest Amarok is 2058kg unladen weight, too heavy to be a Dual Purpose Vehicle"

Like I said .. I didnt hear or see an outcome ...

[sailrib]

Have had several tow vehicles. One in particular in Europe for three seasons has been the Mercedes Viano with a 2.2 CDI. It was a pleasure to drive with a 5.8 & 5.4 rib behind it and a couple of add on's. Driven many thousands of kilometers in it. In one particular trip Uk-Estonia-Gibraltar-Czech-Croatia-Holland-Palma-Weymouth (in that order). Not exactly the sexist car but got the job done and never had a problem.



Also had a Volvo XC-90 gas, it was ok but I also had a XC-70 diesel and that was much better. It handled better and much better mileage, just need to be mindful of the tranny (auto).

In the States they do not mess around. One particular rig I was given once to pull my very heavy 6.5m rib was a Dodge Ram 3500 with a manual 6.7L turbo diesel with 650 lb.ft. of torque. I literally could not even tell the rib was behind me, it would cruise at 135kph with no throttle then I would remember I had a trailer behind me.



Same truck with 12m rib:

[sailrib]

Originally Posted by pow2gran

Well bought a 2014 Touareg SE V6 earlier in the year. Just used it to go to Spain and was really impressed with the drive. Did 2250 miles towing with the rib and back at 24mpg. Real easy driving, comfortably towing at 70mph, trailer weight around 1400kg. Also towed with the cover on.


Does anyone know of a better tow car?

Just wanted to add:

I never thought much of this car but I just looked at the spec's for the '14 Touareg with 3.0L diesel engine and it's quite impressive and good looking to boot. If reliability is good then I say this is a keeper.

Tow capacity is 7,700 pounds (3,500 kilo) with the 3.0-liter V-6 TDI with torque output of 407 lb-ft and good mpg. I never knew it was this capable.

That's hard to beat for a car that still looks good in the city. I wonder if it's more reliable than the Disco and resale value comparison?

I did have one year a 2008 Audi Allroad A6 with a 3.0 TDI engine (309bhp) that had 479lb ft of torque. Beautiful car to drive, speeds to 225+kph were not a problem in Germany and towed really well with a light boat load. The car height was adjustable with a push of a button.

It was a joy to drive but I might prefer the Touareg for larger interior and price. Mpg was not great in the Audi but then I have a heavy foot when driving this car. All smiles.