2.7t boat and up

[Noelm]

I kind of reckon, regardless of what the vehicle can legally tow, there is nothing beats weight and power in the tow vehicle, my mate had a Discovery and we used to tow a big 23' Haines, and even though it may have been legal, it was a very painfull nerve wracking experience, the car was just too small, towed the boat once to Port Stephens from Wollongong, he traded the Landrover in as soon as he got home, got a petrol Patrol and still has it to this day. What it amounts to, anything will pul a boat around, but when something goes wrong is when the good tow vehicles get sorted from the "others".

[robothefisho]

Whatever vehicle you get would benefit a huge amount from stiff rear springs. I know on all cars, the suspension made a huge difference to towing safety/comfort/handling whatever you want to describe it as. Anything with a rear live axle will tow quite well. I know if i bought an old 4wd to tow a heavy load with i'd just fit heavy duty rear springs, would be the best $150 bucks you could spend.

[PADDLES]

i agree with both robbo and noel here. the stiff springs will make it a bit less driver friendly on a bumpy road when you're unloaded (it'll tend to skip around a little at the rear much like an unloaded ute), but when towing they are worth their weight in little black spiders.

i personally prefer weight, braking power and physical size. basically a physically bigger car (wide and long and heavy) has less of the effect of the tail wagging the dog.

[honda900]

Righto,

I have a 4.7lt 2001 jeep, 3.5t rating, tows the boat easily. easy on fuel and easy to park and get around in. full time four wheel drive, never had any issue getting out of any ramp.

Engine has plenty of grunt down low and cruises on the highway, getting around 11lts P/km (Brissy to sydney) around the city in traffic gets around 14km pltr.

Boat weighs about 2.2 tonne or so..

Bought it with 30000, and now has done 120000, still running perfectly. Only had 2 issues with it, window winders, and headlights yellowing, thats it.

Regards
HOnda.

[rosco1974]

thanks for the info honda..
.have spoken to kevlacat again the 2400 offshore comes in just under the 2.9 t fully loaded and the 2400weekender model is the one that weighs in at 3.2t fully loaded..the 1 i am looking at is the offshore model so would say it would be around the 2.7t with half fuel on board...which would be plenty for the trips i do.so seems either the jeep or the landrover would do the job

[Mr__Bean]

Only had 2 issues with it, window winders, and headlights yellowing, thats it.

Regards
HOnda.

On that topic, I had no idea how easy that is to fix, I had to get a safety inspection on a VT commodore and the guy set me staright about yellowed headlights.

A simple rub with fine wet and dry to remove the yellowing plastic, progressively getting finer on the wet and dry grade to get the scratches out.

Buffed up with some basic cut and polish and bingo, all fixed in about an hour.

- Darren

[honda900]

thanks for the info honda..
.have spoken to kevlacat again the 2400 offshore comes in just under the 2.9 t fully loaded and the 2400weekender model is the one that weighs in at 3.2t fully loaded..the 1 i am looking at is the offshore model so would say it would be around the 2.7t with half fuel on board...which would be plenty for the trips i do.so seems either the jeep or the landrover would do the job

No probs Rosco, the car is good the engine willing, it seems to be well put together.


Mr_bean,

I had a go at cleaning up the lights in the same manner, 6 months later back to bad. aussie dollar is good ATM so bought some new ones from the states, whole assemble, wiring and even bulbs for 150.00 ea delivered in 4 days..


Regards
Honda.

[White Pointer]

G'day,

Be carefull about where you get your information from.

I have a 2002 Land Rover Discovery TD5 Auto that I love but with my 2T BMT on the back it really struggles. The problems are:

The car alone is very heavy and that gives the 2.5Lt engine a fair amount of work to do. It's OK cruising and braking but acceleration and overtaking are hard work.

The standard tow coupling is (properly) set so the ball is mid-point on the axle hub of the Rover but this is too low for most trailers so the ball load is reduced and the load transfer is on the front trailer axle.

The simple solution is to buy a new towbar insert and this shifts load distribution but you won't be able to open the back door of the car. A real pain!

I bought a Rodeo to be my boat tractor and I love it for that.

For your short trips the Rover will be fine but I think anything more it just doesn't work well.

Regards,

White Pointer

[Scaredy Cat]

I am surprised at some of the answers when legal tow capacities are taken into account. I do agree that there are many vehicles that are capable of the job.
I am happy to stand corrected if wrong and may not have the fig 100% correct.
I thought the Petrol Manual Patrol is the only Patrol in the range that is rated at 3.5T (may only be the TI model), The current 3L TD Manual is rated at 3.2T with the auto downgraded to aprox 2.8T. I also understand that pre 2007 models have a different tow capacity that is less than the current model. The 4.2L was pre 2007.
The L/C pre 100S (2000) was also not rated above 3T.
It wont matter how short your trip to the ramp is, if authorities are having one of their blitzes and you are over the legal tow capacity you will cope the fine, similarly if you are involved in an accident you may not be covered by insurance.

[Chris1984]

Mate if your just looking for a cheap tow car i would be seriously considering a mid 90's 80 series petrol landcruiser wagon, you can pick a really good one up between 5 and 10 grand. Very comfy and go forever.

[PADDLES]

i agree chris, an 80 series petrol cruiser would be an awesome towing machine and be ridiculously cheap to buy and maintain. it'll hoover down heaps of juice but if you're not using it as a commuter vehicle then it doesn't matter.

[craigie]

Rosco,

I have an uncle who has been tinkering with Jeeps from back in the early 70's.
I dare say one of the most knowledgeble people on Jeeps in Australia !!
He has owned & Towed a few big boats, including his current boat a 6400/7200 Kevlacat with nothing else but jeeps!!!
His name is Gary Hammond (owner of Hammond Jeeps, Now known as Hammond 4 wheel drive). I don't see him that often and he would be unlikely to visit this forum, but could be worth giving him a ring at "Tyres & More" at Capalaba. He has certainly towed big boats with various models and could steer you in the right direction.

Regards
Craig.

[rosco1974]

the 90's model cruisers only tow 2.5t its only when the go to the 100 series they go to 3.5t so an 80's series wont tow the cat legally..can pick up a landrover between 3-6 k for a tow car or similar prices for the jeep..they dont have to be pretty just do what i want it to do tow the cat
cheers rosco

[ozscott]

The Disco is extremely strong in the chassis. Their short wheel base lets them down a bit as the weight ramps up and over 2.5 tonns, but they do it. A set of firestone or polyair bags in the rear is a thing of beauty with them. As for weight, they are as heavy or heavier than a GQ depending on which model and year, and same torque at the same revs (in V8 form) as the GQ petrol and more power. The GQ is a good rig, but I am just putting the LR into context.

Cheers

[rosco1974]

thanks craigie,,i live in capalaba so might just pop in and say g'day , ask a few questions
cheers rosco