Jump to content
SAU Community

Can't Decide What Tow Vehicle To Buy

jrocket

By jrocket,
in General Automotive Discussion

 Share

Recommended Posts

jrocket Proficient

jrocket

Posted
Posted

Hey all. I am hoping to buy a car to start racing in the not to distant future and i dont want it to be registered so i will have to tow it to track days etc. My problem is i dont know what sort of vehicle i should be looking at for towing a car trailer, race car, tools, spare wheels etc.

I am aiming to get a ute of some description so that i can put a motorbike comfortably on the back as well.

So just to clarify all that, I need a ute that can: tow a car trailer and car every now and then, fit a motorbike on the back nicely, have pleanty of power while towing, and only cost round $10k - $15k or so.

I have been looking online at various utes that might be suitable for my application. Here are the ones i have been thinking of.

- Holden Rodeo 3.2ltr petrol, space cab or crew cab. (Nice and cheap and looks like a good buy)

- Toyota hilux 4cyl 3ltr Diesel, 4wd, four door,

- Toyota hilux 2.8ltr turbo Diesel 4wd, four door

- Toyota Landcruser 4.2ltr diesel. (This is a bit high for what i want, might make loading a motorbike onto the back, a bit hard)

- Mitsubishi Triton 6cyl 3ltr petrol, 4wd, four door.

- Nissan Navara 4cyl 3.2ltr petrol, dual cab.

- Nissan Navara 6cyl 3ltr petrol, dual cab.

- Holden VS/WB/HZ V8 ute.

- Ford 6cyl 4.2ltr ute

- Ford 6cyl 4.0 ltr ute.

Hmm yeah i been looking at quite a few ones. I kinda want something that has good towing power but wont be a huge pig on fuel. I also intend on using the vehicle as my every day car when not used for towing etc.

What is your opinion?

Thanks :)

Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/185173-cant-decide-what-tow-vehicle-to-buy/
Share on other sites
SECURITY Grand Master

SECURITY

Posted
Posted

im shopping for a 3L diesel hilux at the moment. the RZ series are the ones to be looking at with 108kw. the rest are rubbish at around 80kw.

that would be the best on fuel. 4cyl, 2wd/4wd mode, looks good, wont bitch.

a friend of mine gets around 600km to a 60L tank which is pretty decent for what it is.

Baconer Grand Master

Baconer

Posted
Posted

Id stay away from the Rodeo, my mums 2004 model has been having constant problems with oil leaking. Has spent about 3k on getting it fixed but something else breaks a week later. Other than that though she tows horse floats often and its a good car for that, crappy on petrol though, she drives highway kms everyday to work and gets something ridiculous like 400km from a full tank (around 65-70L)

jrocket Proficient

jrocket

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Hey thanks for the info. Hey SECURITY, what year is that RZ model hilux 3ltr. I didn't realize that there was different 3ltr models.

I will have to also check out to make sure that the towing vehicle is heavy enough for towing what i want.

I might start having a closer look at the hilux then.

Cheers.

Simmo1985 Community Regular

Simmo1985

Posted
Posted

My vote would be for a Toyota Hilux.. I have never owned any of the cars you have listed, but Hilux's obviously have established an amazing reputation for their reliability.

This link proves my reasoning, if you haven't seen this there's a few more tests done on them haha.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O_NdFAoEQbE

An absolute work horse. If you get a 4WD one you can have some fun on the weekends with it too.

SECURITY Grand Master

SECURITY

Posted
Posted
Hey thanks for the info. Hey SECURITY, what year is that RZ model hilux 3ltr. I didn't realize that there was different 3ltr models.

I will have to also check out to make sure that the towing vehicle is heavy enough for towing what i want.

I might start having a closer look at the hilux then.

Cheers.

the ones ive been looking at are 99 model, 3L diesels with around 150,000 to 200,000km's on them. thats fine for a diesel.

My vote would be for a Toyota Hilux.. I have never owned any of the cars you have listed, but Hilux's obviously have established an amazing reputation for their reliability.

This link proves my reasoning, if you haven't seen this there's a few more tests done on them haha.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=O_NdFAoEQbE

An absolute work horse. If you get a 4WD one you can have some fun on the weekends with it too.

till i watched this movie i wasnt 100% sure if i wanted the 4x4 or the smaller extra cab version.

im now 100% sure im getting the sr5 :laugh:

thanks!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing


  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • GTSBoy
      33 GTR Broken front wheel knuckle

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      That's probably OK. That's a face to face compression joint between two surfaces with the clamping load provided by those bolts. So.... it's unlikely that the bolts will end up feeling that load in shear, unless the clamping surfaces are not large enough, bolts not got enough tension on them, etc etc to prevent the two faces from moving wrt each other. Which... I would hope the designers have considered, seeing as it's probably one of the most important things the upright has to do apart from resist collapsing in its own right. But yes, it would definitely be worth asking them what their safety factor on that part of the design was. I tend to think that the casting, being a casting, is not necessarily the strongest bit of material in the world. It's about an inch square, and when you think about the loads that are being put into it, you have to wonder what safety factor the Nissan boys (and every other OEM engineer who has designed all the millions of other uprights that look essentially the same) used to account for defective casting, aging, severe impacts on the wheel, etc etc. 
    • R32 TT
      33 GTR Broken front wheel knuckle

      By R32 TT · Posted

      Those bolts would be orders of magnitude stronger that cast aluminium though.  And its mainly clamping force, not shear they are dealing with?
    • MBS206
      33 GTR Broken front wheel knuckle

      By MBS206 · Posted

      Except all that twisting force that is breaking a cast piece, appears to be going through 4 bolts in the picture Johnny posted of the BryPar one...
    • GTSBoy
      R34 auto to manual conversion help

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      The smart approach is to use the gearbox loom from the manual car. Makes it a lot easier - just plugs into the switches on the box and plugs into the main loom up near the fusebox. Then you only need to deal with bypassing the inhibit switch. The other approach requires you to use the wiring diagram to identify those wires by colour and location, perhaps even indulging in a little multimeter action to trace them end to end to make sure, and then.... you will have the answers you need. The R34 wiring diagram is available on-line (no, I do not have a link to it myself - I would have to do a search if I wasn't able to go to the copy I have at home).
    • Manur33
      R34 auto to manual conversion help

      By Manur33 · Posted

      Hi, i’m converted my r34 4dr auto to manual but need help with gearbox wiring. There are bunch of wires no idea which one for speedo drive, neutral, reverse can anyone help me. IMG_6860.mov
×
×
  • Create New...