Good Tow Cars?

[evil_weevil]

If I were to get a V8 ute or HSV to tow with...id be too tempted to mod that...and next thing Id need a car to tow that

With my car, being a lighter mx5, Im thinking of a V6 berlina - hopefully a wagon - cause that would have to be the daily soon anyway as my mrs 323 is getting on the bluebird cant tow now

I just cant justify having a big 4WD as a tow car, nowhere to park it, too expensive to run as a daily.

plus for me, the mx5 would only be towed to wakie mainly

[Merli]

The love for Patrols is.............. overwhelming

[FineLine]

I've towed all my working life and there is only one.... patrol. Not quite as refined as a tojo but oh so much more reliable and durable.

6 patrols and 2 tojo's in 30 odd years makes it an easy decision for me. They both tow well but get your wallet out to repair gearbox's and transfer cases in the tojo. All I could ever spend on the patty's was new brake pads, tyres, and a zorst every cuppla years, Freakin bomb proof.

[JAS-25T]

The love for Patrols is.............. overwhelming

Go on....Buy something else, I dare ya

[Psymon]

I've seen quite a few td42 patrols come through work with 500k+ on their original motors. That's gotta say something. And its not uncommon to see an old cocky with a cab chassis with a tonne of shit on the back and another couple of tonne in the trailer behind them getting around, so a car and gear shouldn't be too much of a struggle!

[Merli]

I think I'd still rather a Jeep GC

[bloodzkull]

I've seen quite a few td42 patrols come through work with 500k+ on their original motors. That's gotta say something. And its not uncommon to see an old cocky with a cab chassis with a tonne of shit on the back and another couple of tonne in the trailer behind them getting around, so a car and gear shouldn't be too much of a struggle!

i'd be leaning towards the patrol over the tojo as well. seen a lot with 500k+ on them as well, although my old 60 series diesel had 700,000km on it, still running well.

[bozodos]

in all seriousness, my mum used to tow 2 arab horses in a heavy duty float + saddles, bridles etc in a GQ RB30S patrol with stiffer springs to stop the rear of the car from sagging down too much with the horses on. Was brilliant apart from going up hills lol. I can't think of anything better to tow with apart from a 4.2 diesel Patrol (turbo!). You're not going to get good fuel economy (ie our 4.2 turbo diesel is only a little less thirsty than my R32, bank on around 16L/100km, but at least it has a sub tank!)

Not sure if you care for offroading or not, but Landcruiser/Patrol are WAY ahead of the Prado/Pajero for off road capability, I've been with fleet buyers testing them all out and the Pajero especially seems to end up getting dust in the glovebox and in through the doors after some serious off road action. The Landcruiser costs a lot more than the equivalent Patrol, but is also bigger. I've driven a fair few and the GQ turns better than a GU and I prefer the feel of the clutch, but the GU is light years ahead in terms of creature comforts and ease of driving on long trips; cruise control is soooo much better!

A31 Cefiro's are good for towing too (at least other skylines) lol.

I've also had a mate put a towbar on his HR31 to tow another car, went alright

tbh clubsports are for the gays, get a Patrol, esp a 4.2 turbo diesel.

BTW, our RB30S GQ has gone over 500 000km with no major repairs apart from new clutch, carby, extractors and welsh plugs, thats in 17 years of serious 4wd'ing and towing. It's also the reason I bought a Skyline vs a Toyota

import.

one other thing, if you're stuck in some country town in the middle of nowhere, chances are the local mechanic will know how to work with a nissan or toyota, vs some american shite!

Edited May 28, 2009 by bozodos

[Duncan]

definately an x5 is the tow car for you andrew. I'll stick with my little lolvo (if it ever comes back frmo the mechanic)

no-one would want to inflict an aussie built tow car on themselves, even if you do only need to drive it once a month

[Sinful]

I have fallen in love with my Tow car..The HSV Clubsport R8!

Did the job well and is a really nice car..Only problem is nowhere really to put all the car stuff i.e jack, spare tyres, tools...But worked around it

It's for sale if anyone is interested??

For Sale : HSV Clubsport R8

[Swiper the Fox]

I think I'd still rather a Jeep GC

Mopar make a bolt on supercharger kit for the 4.7litre v8

[FineLine]

Mopar make a bolt on supercharger kit for the 4.7litre v8

They also make a motza out of spare parts for the unreliable pieces of shit.

I did 480 kay on the little 3 litre patrol towing every day of its life and living on the redline at the same time.

I did 740 K on the rd 28 driving it excactly the same.

current patty is a 4.8 litre petrol job that redefines torque. Nothing slows the fokka down. Couldnt live with the fuel bill at first so I put an ecu and a full extraction exhaust system on the bitch and its all good now.

Be very very wary of the 4 cylinder 3 litre turbo diesel. It was the biggest mistake nissan ever made. Any of the 6 cylinder variants are good to go including the TD28 that everybody shitcanned. I loved that little engine. it fought well above its weight and went the full 15 rounds.

[prescott06]

If you we're after a newer tow car I'd seriously look at the Isuzu ute.

We have a 2009 D-max with the 3L turbo diesel manual. It costs us about $50 in fuel to get to Wakie and back from the Northern Beaches. In an 80 series petrol cruiser it costs us that to get to and from oran park. It tows really well, you hardly notice 2000kg of car and trailer. Comfy inside (back seat isnt great though) and plenty of space in the tray.

[phunky_monkey]

So much hating on other people's choice of tow car...why are people so unkind?

[Boss-zilla]

ok Im adding in on the Patrol, best I have ever towed with. Mate's Patroll has towed countless cars over the last few years with an old (=heavy) trailer. Went to Syd the back way from vic (throught the hills) car drove better with all the gear in it and car on the back than with out it. Only stoped once for fuel (good old sub tanks).

I cringe when i see people towing horse's/cars etc with a holden/ford or similar car as it would be on or over its tow limit no matter what the car dealer's say.

The Dmax (previous model Radeo) is one to look at for less $$ than a patrol, keeps on winning awards by miles over everything else.

[badhairdave]

Slow day for bitching i guess.

[hrd-hr30]

Something to be aware of if you are thinking of towing with Commodore/Falcon is the maximum tow capacity the factory quotes on them is with their towing packs, some of which included about 20 items! The legal tow rating without that pack is substantially lower and not adequate for towing a car & trailer combo. So just whacking a rated towbar on the back of a 2nd hand Commodore is not the best idea. Find out what was in that model's tow pack.

[sav man]

We use a ML55 AMG. It's towed my sisters stupid big horses round the state (all all the shit that goes with it) for years. And now she's moved to nsw it tows varoius cars round, after towing the horses you don't even notice a car on the back. But it dosn't go real far off road. Dad's done over 220,000km in it now.

[fatz]

I think I'd still rather a Jeep GC

clearly you dont have any friends who own a jeep( which is a good thing)... allthought they do awsome wet grass 4wd skidz before exploding

i say you buy one then in 3 years i can laugh at you and this thread

Edited May 29, 2009 by fatz

[Merli]

Mopar make a bolt on supercharger kit for the 4.7litre v8

Where are the pics of your GC????

Duncy: Would love an X5, but there's no way I'm paying that much for a tow car.