Good Tow Cars?

[fatz]

yea the prado can do 16 no dramas if you drive like a pussy towing

i care not for driving like a pussy

i rev it hard up the hill and it never drops below 110kmh

my old gu patrol on gas would be down to 70 doing the same hills ( but that was a 4.5 single camer)

i think a 4.8 gu with a gt3540 on it on gas would go alright but they have very uncomfortable seats and if your 6'5 like me they are very small

[FineLine]

yea the prado can do 16 no dramas if you drive like a pussy towing

i care not for driving like a pussy

i rev it hard up the hill and it never drops below 110kmh

my old gu patrol on gas would be down to 70 doing the same hills ( but that was a 4.5 single camer)

i think a 4.8 gu with a gt3540 on it on gas would go alright but they have very uncomfortable seats and if your 6'5 like me they are very small

I'm only 6'1 fatz but yeah, they aint the greatest seat.

No gas tho. Just a full exhaust system with extractors and a tuned aftermarket ecy running 95 octane fuel.

[EJD001]

Going to wakefield this weekend... was going to be using my father in laws patrol thats on gas... he now has a fishing trip.

So... spoke to work.. might be getting a new RX350 to tow with.. WIN!! Fuel bill tho.. is a massive fail... haha

[Sir Lord Van Von Vader'ham]

I picked up a 93 Land rover discovery with the 3.5L 8 in in it off my dads mate for real cheap. now i now why, 20L per 100 when its got nothing in it... going to wakie this wend, not to keen to see the fuel bill.

[aleks]

Dodge Ram STR10

BMW X5M

Audi Q7 TTD

Hah I wish....

I've been thinking about a short wheel base pajero as a daily/4wd that can tow, has anyone towed with one either 3.5 or 3.8ltr?

[blackrex]

A mate of mines wife had one of those Disco's as her company car, used the same amount of fuel when being daily driven (she also tended to do about 300~400k's a day) so she was very happy to have a fuel card from work. They also used it to tow her horse float, and then it went out to around 30l/100k on the freeway, and more on rural roads.

With the SWB Pajero, do not tow with them, the lack of wheelbase (applies to any other SWB vehicle) makes then very susceptible to snaking and instability. My uncle had one that he used to tow a caravan from Perth to Melbourne, when he got here, the first thing he did was sell the car and get a LWB Pajero. Every time a side wind or a truck went past, the trailer started to wag the car. I have also used a SWB Landcruiser (Bundera) to tow my STi, and that too was very unstable, especially under braking.

A rule of thumb that I have been told by the guy that I bought my current trailer from is that the distance between the front wheels and tow ball on the tow car should be longer than the distance between the tow hitch and the centre line of the front and rear wheel sets on the trailer, this makes the car have a lower polar moment than the trailer, and it can then stabilise the trailers motion.

[evil_weevil]

1600kg tow pack would be fine for my VX and mx5?

[badhairdave]

a bit iffy

car weight 1000ish

Trailer 5-600 if it's a good lightish one

fuel, tools, spares etc will put you over.

Edited July 13, 2010 by badhairdave

[Marlin]

Dodge Ram STR10

BMW X5M

Audi Q7 TTD

Hah I wish....

I've been thinking about a short wheel base pajero as a daily/4wd that can tow, has anyone towed with one either 3.5 or 3.8ltr?

I have in fact owned TWO of these SWB "GLS" shorties.

One was a 3.0, the next a 3.5. They tow very well considering they're short. In fact, either engine is great, the 3.5 obviously a bit more grunty.

I towed both cars and boats extensively well over 2 tonnes, never a drama.

Watch them for oil use though. If they smoke at all, they're rooted. And they are also famous for noisy lifters, more an annoyance than anything.

Great value for well under 10k even for a 3.5 these days.

Great on the beach too

(edit: any vehicle can and will be a pig of a tow car if the towball weights are not set up correctly)

Edited July 13, 2010 by Marlin

[nismoman]

1600kg tow pack would be fine for my VX and mx5?

If there's a larger capacity/load option then take it. Otherwise it is on the limit. Might be ok, but if the better option is there for a couple of extra bucks, then...

[nismoman]

I picked up a 93 Land rover discovery with the 3.5L 8 in in it off my dads mate for real cheap. now i now why, 20L per 100 when its got nothing in it... going to wakie this wend, not to keen to see the fuel bill.

The Disco's are dirt cheap but the old 3.5 ltr V8 is an ancient engine with horrible fuel economy. My Dad's 1984 Range Rover used to have one (albeit carbuereted version) used to average between 18-19ltrs per 100km's so not much has changed. Fuel injection has helped, but I'm sure the weight of the models after 1984 has increased as well hurting fuel economy.

LPG conversion could be a solution for you as they are still giving out government assistance right?

I hear the Turbo Diesel models are the pick for the Disco's. If I had to find a cheap replacement for my company landcruiser then I'd probably look at a TDi version Disco.

[handbrake]

good thread.

hope people dont mind it being resurected again.

pretty sure I will get a patrol. there seems to be plenty of people on here with ample knowledge on the Patrol so wanted to ask some questions (sorry Marlin, cant go for a Jeep, my dad had three and I have bad memories of the damn things despite him loving them)

As far as patrols go it sounds like the 3.0 engine is a no go. I know nothing about patrols and 4WD in general so need some guidance. As far as towing goes I need to tow 2.5 tonne - car/trailer/fuel/wheels etc.

I take it there are 4.2 NA and turbo Diesel variants. should I opt for the NA and buy a aftermarket turbo kit or should I go for the OEM 4.2 TD? The Mercury guys will beable to do the work for me.

1. which model/series is the best for me? I need to keep total cost under 20k but this will be my daily so dont want a chewed out dinosaur interior. happy to spend some money on mods but want total purchase and mods to 20k (knowing me this might blow out).
2. I want an auto because I am lazy. any suspension/transmission concerns on any models/ any money to factor in fro the car in this area post purchase?
3. prices obviously vary greatly with milage so after advice about what is too many k's on the clock for the various engine/models

thanks

Mark

Edited January 24, 2011 by handbrake

[Marlin]

Yeah steer clear of the 3.0 litre "kettle". Wouldn't pull the skin off a rice custard those things.

Keep some cash aside to rebuild the suspension on any under $20k Pootrol, just in an effort to bring it up to something thats actually ok to drive.

I'm no fan of aftermarket turbo kits if there's a factory option available.

And keep in mind they like to chew up 5th gear if you tow distances too.

[DCIEVE]

The old man has an immaculate f150 dual cab he's considering selling if anyone needs to tow 3t+ without breaking a sweat.

[Sir Lord Van Von Vader'ham]

what year model? and how much?

[evil_weevil]

an update with mine,

towed to QLD in nov and averaged around 13L per 100 in the V6 berlina

off to wakie this weekend

not too bad, but a friend has bought a 07 navara stx and I do want that now!!!

[blackrex]

I'll sell you my ST-R D22 if you want...

[hrd-hr30]

good thread.

hope people dont mind it being resurected again.

pretty sure I will get a patrol. there seems to be plenty of people on here with ample knowledge on the Patrol so wanted to ask some questions (sorry Marlin, cant go for a Jeep, my dad had three and I have bad memories of the damn things despite him loving them)

As far as patrols go it sounds like the 3.0 engine is a no go. I know nothing about patrols and 4WD in general so need some guidance. As far as towing goes I need to tow 2.5 tonne - car/trailer/fuel/wheels etc.

I take it there are 4.2 NA and turbo Diesel variants. should I opt for the NA and buy a aftermarket turbo kit or should I go for the OEM 4.2 TD? The Mercury guys will beable to do the work for me.

1. which model/series is the best for me? I need to keep total cost under 20k but this will be my daily so dont want a chewed out dinosaur interior. happy to spend some money on mods but want total purchase and mods to 20k (knowing me this might blow out).
2. I want an auto because I am lazy. any suspension/transmission concerns on any models/ any money to factor in fro the car in this area post purchase?
3. prices obviously vary greatly with milage so after advice about what is too many k's on the clock for the various engine/models

thanks

Mark

Auots only available in 3.0 and petrols. 4.2 was manual only, except for earlier NA variants in the old boxy GQ Patrol, which by the sounds of it, you don't want. There were some early NA 4.2 GU Patrols. No idea if any of them had autos, but it would be a rare find if they did exist! I think all GU 4.2s were turbo from 2000 on, and got an intercooler from 2002 but that doesn't mean they go better. All factory turbo 4.2s are horrendously slow! Don't listen to Marlin, the 3.0 has more grunt (power and torque) than the 4.2 TD, and the weak 5th gear was only an issue in some particular years which I can't remember off the top of my head. But you want auto, so that's not a problem. Auto is the best match for the 3.0 as well. Personally, I'd avoid 2000-2003 3.0's. Early ones had some oil control issues. In late 03 Nissan fixed the engine issues, but I'd still recommend blocking the EGR on any 3.0. Towing with the auto - its a good idea to fit a manual switch for the torque convertor lock-up. They have a decent sized trans cooler standard.

There's also the under-rated RD28 engine. 2.8 6cyl TD. I don't know alot about their gearbox options though. I think they got a smaller box which may not be as strong.

do some research on Patrol4x4.com/forum - lots of info there. Don't listen too much to the blown-out-of-proportion ZD30 "grenade" stories. Post 2003 are as reliable as any other modern turbo diesel.

When I upgrade from my GQ (4.2 with DTS turbo kit), which I probably should have done instead of turboing it and spending thousands on replacing the entire suspension and steering last year... it will be to a 2005+ GU update with ZD30 auto.

[fatz]

you could snaga a gu 4.8 FOR 15K (lots of autos)

throw 5k of turbo and lpg

300rwkw should be easy and cheap

RIP AWESOME SKID AS WELL

[fatz]

turbo this muva lick and get freaky

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Nissan-Patrol-GU-4-8ltr-ST-Auto-/140503850020?pt=AU_Cars&hash=item20b6ae9c24