Suitable tow vehicle

[Barrymoreman]

Currently have a Humber 6.5 ocean pro with Mercury 150 hp and wondering will a Mercedes E220d touring be suitable for launching and towing.
Any one have experience of SUV hybrid like RAV4 or something similar in 4x4 ?
I had a old SUV which did the job but isn’t running now
All suggestions very welcome

[spartacus]

I love a tow car question. You’ll have Discovery 4 and Nissan Navara in your short list before the night is out!

6.5m and 150hp will be a braked trailer. From what I can see a Mercedes E220d will haul 2100kg.

Boat from what I can determine is 580kg dry weight, and max plated transom up to 200kg for engine plus trailer of course. Mercedes is rear wheel drive too with 9-speed auto box. Read a few other threads whether tow is factory fit or retro. Factory fit has some sort of cooling built in, for extreme temperatures. https://www.caravantalk.co.uk/commun...d-as-a-towcar/

Just back after a week in the sun in Lefkada, Sivota Bay, Greece (no boat). I swear that hire car will never be the same. Very hilly, temperatures of up to 25 degrees. Can only imagine if you were hauling in the height of summer and watching the thermostat. They are very lucky in the respect Ionian Sea is not tidal.

So here’s the thing. Maximum nose hitch weight is 85kg. That’s not unusual. For most avant/estates (I’m making an assumption here) then it ranges from 80-85kg. Something to be aware of, as most will be rear coil springs.

Then the tricky question. Is it just hauling and launching on concrete slips? If algae laden green slips, then use a rope to launch and recover. If you need to venture onto sand, then beware. This is where 4WD will sort the wheat from the chaff.

You don’t necessarily need to go down SUV route if you feel Merc isn’t up to it. I’ve been driving Audi Quattros for years. Currently in A4 3.0TDI V6 Allroad. Pulls like an Amtrak.

[jonp]

I own a Isuzu Dmax, in fact it's my third and my daughter also owns one. It has a 3lt diesel which is relatively untuned compared to other 3lt diesel which produce more power and torque. It's that lack of high end performance that makes them so reliable, where something goes wrong with a higher performing engine, it's often catastrophic.

These have a reputation as a high km workhorse rather than the pretty pony. I can tow up to 3 tons but mostly tow around 1.5tons where I have no issues towing from the bottom of the country to the top on fishing trips which is 4500km each way. Never had an issue with any of them but Im still sticking with older non dpf models which are highly sort after. Reliable, economical and go almost anywhere. Mine gets used for remote living for several weeks at a time.

Ive owned Ford rangers, Mazda bt50's and Toyota landcrusiers which I won't go back to again since owning Isuzu unless I only plan to keep them under the warranty period. My grandparents who owned a farm in the UK had land rovers which seemed to always have some sort of issue.

[Barrymoreman]

Thank you for your very helpful and interesting reply.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Barrymoreman

Currently have a Humber 6.5 ocean pro with Mercury 150 hp and wondering will a Mercedes E220d touring be suitable for launching and towing.
Any one have experience of SUV hybrid like RAV4 or something similar in 4x4 ?
I had a old SUV which did the job but isn’t running now
All suggestions very welcome

Your 220 merc will tow that boat perfectly fine on the road but launching might be an issue depending where you launch. If you have a decent slipway it will launch & recover no problem but if its slippy or a beach launch it might be an issue. That said taking even the best 4x4 down a seaweed covered slip or a soft beach can end in disaster. I've seen folk struggle with a 4x4 & other folk manage fine with 2wd cars on the same slipway. How you go about it is a huge percentage of wether you get into bother or not. My daughter tows her sr5.4 with her 3 series bmw & manages fine on our local slipway but obviously wouldnt attempt a beach launch. She gets the benefit of the 50+mpg when not towing which is most of the time whereas if she had a 4x4 she'd be probably 20mpg less. Even the same car with 4x4 the bmwxdrive is significantly worse on fuel than the 2wd version & I still wouldnt take one on a beach. I've had plenty 4x4's & currently have a vw amarok & a landcruiser & I think in the last 5 years theres only once I couldnt have launched where we did without a good 4x4 & that was a beach launch at Drummore. Every other launch I could have managed with a 2wd car & used a long rope to keep the car off the slippy stuff.

[Steve509926]

Ok just to please spartacus my vote would go for a Navara!

[smallribber]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Ok just to please spartacus my vote would go for a Navara!

Mine will go for a Landy every time

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Ok just to please spartacus my vote would go for a Navara!

Seriously though, I've had 2 Navaras over the past 20 years. The first had done 191000 miles when I sold it and my current one has 112000 miles on it. Half of the mileage on each was towing, a mixture of trailer (1 tonne bricks, building materials etc) and caravan. Apart from the usual service & tyres, the only other thing I've had to do was replace the clutch on the first Navara.
Rock solid towing vehicle and pulls like a train. I've had to pull many a caravan off muddy pitches for others.
I've averaged 31mpg over the 112k which I think is very good. The trim levels on a Tekna are great, and for the money I don't think you will find a comparable SUV / 4x4
They are a big vehicle which takes some getting use to driving. Pre 2016 the turning circle is pathetic, a 3 point turn becomes a 7 point turn but for me that's the only downside.
A friend has a "22 Navara which I think is better than my older Navara. Smoother, quieter and drives more like a car. His is an auto and he still gets 30mpg.

[treerat]

I've had to change the Rav4 as its only a 1500kg tow capacity and also wanted something to replace the family car.

So I've gone old school - a Volvo XC60. 2t tow capacity, all wheel drive, handles like a family car on the road with family car comfort and feel yet tows great (hopefully) and should be ok on all but the worst slipways.

I found most of the trucks are now too big for the family element - superb for towing but I didn't want to stay with two cars.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Ok just to please spartacus my vote would go for a Navara!

Good lad.