Jump to content
SAU Community

Good Tow Cars?

Merli
 Share

Recommended Posts

Gts-t Grand Master

Gts-t

Posted
Posted

Nice essay in the interests column :)

Ideally I'd like to rent someone's 4wd and trailer when I need it 4-6 times a year. I'm in brisbane and am happy to pay.

Seems silly to buy another car and trailer when I only need it that much.

Throwing trade plates on and driving to the track is getting too risky

  • Replies 1.5k
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

fatz
fatz

Q7 update just clocked 290k  lots of heavy towing clearly jinxed myself just torched 1500 on power steering lines Going to have to keep it for another 200k after that investme

fatz
fatz

I am the minister for q7 Aold mine with 340k for 5500  bought a patrol and the regret is real

Duncan
Duncan

30% grade audi tips over onto it's roof and catches fire defender maintains 25km/h

Posted Images

noone Experienced

noone

Posted
Posted

So whats the best bang for buck tow car. Old patrol or landcruiser?

JEEP cheap to buy wg/wj tows 3500kg in diesel spec and can be had pretty cheap mercedes driveline and autobox

Impossible to sell on but cheap and reasonably reliable even the petrol v8 is rated to tow like 2950kg and they can be had dirt cheap not so reliable or cheap to run but still reasonable for a big 4WD

260DET Experienced

260DET

Posted
Posted

Nice essay in the interests column :)

Ideally I'd like to rent someone's 4wd and trailer when I need it 4-6 times a year. I'm in brisbane and am happy to pay.

Seems silly to buy another car and trailer when I only need it that much.

Throwing trade plates on and driving to the track is getting too risky

Yeh, I had that dream too :)

Tonba Rising Star

Tonba

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have been thinking of getting a VX II SS holden.

Cheap ($9 - 12k), ride well, got all the creature comforts (leather, sunroof, power everything, cruise), sounds good, and being a V8 they tow really well. Just wont have the economy of a small turbo diesel (3ltr 4cyl), but will have ALOT more torque.





Edited by Tonba
hrd-hr30 Grand Master

hrd-hr30

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have been thinking of getting a VX II SS holden.

Cheap ($9 - 12k), ride well, got all the creature comforts (leather, sunroof, power everything, cruise), sounds good, and being a V8 they tow really well. Just wont have the economy of a small turbo diesel (3ltr 4cyl), but will have ALOT more torque.

Towing really well has very little to do with the engine. It is more about what the chassis/platform is capable of. Much like the example of a Commodore on the last page, a VX SS is rated to:

Commodore VX / VY, SS / SV8, V6 / V8 Auto (excl Ute & VY Factory LPG Wagon)

Vehicle Manufacturers Maximum Legal Towing Mass 2100kg #

#1 Load level hitch req'd over 750kg

#8 Max 80km/h over 1600kg

#9 Owner's handbook MUST be referred to for additional vehicle fittings req'd for towing

Commodore VX / VY, SS / SV8 V8 Man (excl Ute)

Vehicle Manufacturers Maximum Legal Towing Mass 1600kg #

#1 Load level hitch req'd over 750kg

#9 Owner's handbook MUST be referred to for additional vehicle fittings req'd for towing

The auto is the only one that can legally tow a useful amount to start with. And a good tow car wouldn't limit you to 80km/h or require a load levelling hitch for anything over 750kg. They are marginal tow cars, at best.

Edited by hrd-hr30
Tonba Rising Star

Tonba

Posted
Posted

Just putting some more thought into it. As a reasonably priced car that can tow, that you can also drive everyday in comfort and have a 'squirt', not to mention make long trips in... I still think a holden or something would make a good tow car.
Sure, if your towing EVERYDAY I wouldn't get one, but for up to 12 trackdays a year, for sure. That's only like 3-5% of your driving per year. Im not sure If I want a noisy 4x4 for the other 95% of my driving...
Just some more food for thought.


  • 3 weeks later...
hrd-hr30 Grand Master

hrd-hr30

Posted
Posted (edited)

Not sure if this has come up before but pretty good read and might be useful for a few people.

http://www.candm.com.au/review/tow-vehicle/which-will-be-crowned-best-tow-vehicle

Not a bad read.

Bit strange about the older Fairmont though. Comments like "‘bottoming out’ on undulating surfaces", "It was not as happy towing as the other cars", and "The van wasn’t pushing the car, but it was rocking back and forth", and rated one of the worst for towing stability, don't really align with it being ranked 4th overall for Best Tow vehicle! Can't understand that...

Edited by hrd-hr30
hrd-hr30 Grand Master

hrd-hr30

Posted
Posted

I did read the whole thing. That's what confued me!

Here's just a few more blatantly confusing examples:

-In the body of the article Pajero is No1 Tow Car and then in the list below, Landcruiser becomes No1 tow car.

-They raved about the Pajero in the body of the article "is more of a driver’s car and was so punchy. The Pajero was fun to drive and it was a lot more responsive. We were so impressed with this vehicle, the way it handled, its towing capabilities, and the comfort. The whole package was such a delight to drive..." but then it only rates 3rd in the list (well, actually 4th) for "Drive cars with occassional towing".

- Fairmont is behind 2 4WDs as a "Shopping Car". With no explanation whatsoever. I can't imagine how a Prado or Pajero are better for runing to the shops than a Falcon.

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

    • MissMintyR33
      R33 persistent issues. P/steering and lag/misfire

      By MissMintyR33 · Posted

      I thought that might be the case, thats what I'll start saving for. Thanks for the info 
    • jtha7
      Strange issue RB25DET wont start

      By jtha7 · Posted

      Ps i found the below forum and it seems to be the same scenario Im dealing with. Going to check my ECU coolant temp wire tomorrow    From NICOclub forum: s1 RB25det flooding at start up Thu Apr 11, 2013 7:23 am I am completely lost on this. Car ran perfectly fine when I parked it at the end of the year. I took the engine out and painted the engine bay, and put a fuel cell with an inline walbro 255 instead of the in tank unit I had last year. After reinstalling everything, the engine floods when the fuel pump primes. if i pull the fuel pump fuse it'll start, and as soon as I put the fuse back in it starts running ridiculously rich. I checked the tps voltage, and its fine. Cleaned the maf as it had some dust from sitting on a shelf all winter, fuel pressure is correct while running, but wont fire until there is less than 5psi in the lines. The fuel lines are run correctly. I have found a few threads with the same problem but no actual explanation of what fixed it, the threads just ended. Any help would be appreciated. Rb25det s1 walbro255 fuel pump nismo fpr holset hx35 turbo fmic 3" exhaust freddy intake manifold q45tb q45 maf   Re: s1 RB25det flooding at start up Fri Apr 12, 2013 5:07 am No, I didn't. I found the problem though. There was a break in one of the ecu coolant temp sensor wires. Once it was repaired it fired right up with no problems. I would have never thought a non working coolant temp sensor would have caused such an issue.
    • jtha7
      Strange issue RB25DET wont start

      By jtha7 · Posted

      Hi sorry late reply I didnt get a chance to take any pics (my mechanics on the other side of the city) but the plugs were fouled from being too rich. I noticed the MAF wasn't genuine, so I replaced it with a genuine green label unit. I also swapped in a different ignitor, but the issue remains. I've narrowed it down a bit now: - If I unplug and reconnect the fuel lines and install fresh spark plugs, the car starts right up and runs perfectly. Took it around the block with no issues - As soon as I shut it off and try to restart, it won't start again - Fuel pressure while cranking is steady around 40 psi, injectors have good spray, return line is clear, and the FPR vacuum is working. It just seems like it's getting flooded after the first start I unplugged coolant sensors to see if its related to ECU flooding but that didnt make a difference. Im thinking its related to this because this issue only started happening after fixing coolant leaks and replacing the bottom part of the stock manifolds coolant pipe. My mechanic took off the inlet to get to get to do these repairs. My mechanics actually just an old mate who's retired now so ill be taking it to a different mechanic who i know has exp with RBs to see if they find anything. If you have any ideas please send em lll give it a try. Ive tried other things like swapping the injectors, fuel rail, different fuel pressure regs, different ignitor, spark plugs, comp test and MAF but the same issue persists.
    • GTSBoy
      Freddy Plenum vs Genuine options RB25

      By GTSBoy · Posted

      My return flow is custom and puts the return behind the reo, instead of at the bottom. All my core is in the air flow, rather than losing some of it up behind the reo. I realise that the core really acts more as a spiky heatsink than as a constant rate heat exchanger, and that therefore size is important.... but mine fits everything I needed and wanted without having to cut anything, and that's worth something too. And there won't be a hot patch of core up behind the reo after every hit, releasing heat back into the intake air.
    • Murray_Calavera
      R33 persistent issues. P/steering and lag/misfire

      By Murray_Calavera · Posted

      There is a really fun solution to this problem, buy a Haltech (or ECU of your choice) and put the MAF in the bin.  I'm assuming your going to want more power in future, so you'll need to get the ECU at some stage. I'd put the new MAF money towards the new ECU. 
×
×
  • Create New...