Good Tow Cars?

[Russman]

I've towed far in excess of legal and manufacturer's limits too, the point I am trying to make is now I'm older and smarter I certainly wouldn't be risking (for arguments sake) a 40k tow car, a 30k race car, and a 4k trailer being totally uninsured if I was to have a major accident, keeping in mind if you run into another car and hurt someone, no insurance there either.

Yep. Noted.

I agree but I'm not going out to buy a 4WD or F100 guzzler for the 6 times a year I use the trailer.

[PHaT MR30]

Auto FG Falcons are rated to 2300kg, the V8 is thirstier than the Turbo, plus the turbo has alot more torque down low. Cheaper option would be the N/A 6, which when run on 98 have a healthy 420nm

[grandmasterb]

Auto FG Falcons are rated to 2300kg, the V8 is thirstier than the Turbo, plus the turbo has alot more torque down low. Cheaper option would be the N/A 6, which when run on 98 have a healthy 420nm

I've been towing/carting a fair bit with my AU ute of late and cant fault it. It has the upgraded tow pack on it but it can be a little thirsty if there are any big climbs compared to when using the 2.8TD (rodeo) or the 4.0TD (cruiser)

I towed the car/jetski when we had the VY wagon and that wasn't bad and a mate has used a S2 VT wagon for about 5 years as his tow car and never missed a beat.

At the end of the day what ever it is we use to tow with and towing i make sure its secured down like a mofo, im only cruising and will never tow anything over its maximum weight allowance as its just asking for trouble IMO.

[hrd-hr30]

Yep. Noted.

I agree but I'm not going out to buy a 4WD or F100 guzzler for the 6 times a year I use the trailer.

but you went out and bought a trailer for the 6 times a year you use the racecar?

doesn't have to be a 4WD or F150 guzzler to be rated to tow 2000kg.

And my "guzzler" uses 12l/100km around town! Good luck getting that from a turbo Falcon!

[Russman]

but you went out and bought a trailer for the 6 times a year you use the racecar?

doesn't have to be a 4WD or F150 guzzler to be rated to tow 2000kg.

And my "guzzler" uses 12l/100km around town! Good luck getting that from a turbo Falcon!

Trailer only cost me about $500 in a 5 way share.

The way I figure it is if the auto falcon can be rated to 2300kg's on the same chassis then the only weakness is the driveline in the manual so should be as 'safe' as the auto even if it is illegal.

Looks like the turbo is the only option for at least a few months. Then boss engine in the XR8 is being retired for a 5ltr 307kw V8. Can't get a boss 290 at all now.

[BOZ22N]

Changed how many rear tyres Ben ?? The IRS on these is a JOKE. My mate had had 3 sets on the back in 50K

Only Commodore/ute that can really tow properly is the VZ Crewman crew cab which has a live rear axel and 2500kg towing capaity. Preferably with a V8.

I have a 6 cylinder one which is marginal/good for towing a car but is great otherwize.

Having said that. You will prob not have an issue cause you car/trailer is so light. The massive trailer and the zed on it where pushing 2000kg. It was a very long trip from QLD.

Thats what i have and love it, tows better than the 04 4WD TD rodeo i used to use.

V8 all the way.

[Tektrader69]

The VZ SS Crewman has a lower towing capacity than my VE SSZ Ute.

They reduced the tray load capacity on the SS V8 Crewman for some reason but it's tow rated to 2500kg. You could only get the load rating as well as the V8 by ordering a Crewman S and optioning the V8.

The Crewman and the Crewman S V6 are tow CAPACITY 2100kg and a load tray capacity of 1100kg. I would love a V8 on gas in my car instead of the V6 on gas but needed the tray load rating and they didnt have any V8's during the run out when I got mine.

The SS V8 tray load max weight is lower than the others but its tow capacity is 2500kg.

If you could find a good used Crewman Cross8. That would be the ideal tow car. 4WD, V8 and the high load rating, perfect.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Tektrader69

[BezerkR32]

those crewmans are renowned for hurting transmissions when your not towing.........id be making myself well aware of this issue before doing an interstate pull.

[BOZ22N]

those crewmans are renowned for hurting transmissions when your not towing.........id be making myself well aware of this issue before doing an interstate pull.

What do they do to them? i have never come across this before, diffs yes trans no?

[blackrex]

A mate of mine had a crewman that was used to tow weekly, pretty much every regular service interval (10,000k's) he had a new gearbox put into it. Apparently, the issue is caused by the load on the front propshaft misaligning the gearbox casing and causing the gears to go out of alignment.

[hrd-hr30]

Trailer only cost me about $500 in a 5 way share.

The way I figure it is if the auto falcon can be rated to 2300kg's on the same chassis then the only weakness is the driveline in the manual so should be as 'safe' as the auto even if it is illegal.

The way you see it is wrong. The Auto chassis is rated to tow 1600kg standard, 2300kg with the optional towing pack which includes things like a load levelling kit to help make the chassis safely handle the extra weight. Even then the auto has a puny 160kg maximum towball download, manual's chassis is even lower at a pathetic 120kg!

Get an auto with the optional towing pack - there is a reason Ford engineers bothered designing it!

Edited February 3, 2010 by hrd-hr30

[warps]

These this seem to be getting good reviews, if you can get past the anti korea bias.

Kia Sorrento

Huyndai Santa Fe

Both powered by the new 145kW, 450Nm TDi engine developed by the Germans, and have 2,500kg towing capacity. They'll use less fuel than a Turbo Falcon could even manage (in fact are rated at about 7.5l/100km, which is obviously optimistic, but they still return good economy). Modern Turbodiesels aren't as slow as you might think, either. I have no trouble keeping up with traffic in my 2.5 Pathfinder. Of course I won't be blowing away SS commodores, but they have no trouble in traffic, and top gear acceleration on the freeway is fantastic.

[Russman]

These this seem to be getting good reviews, if you can get past the anti korea bias.

Kia Sorrento

Huyndai Santa Fe

Both powered by the new 145kW, 450Nm TDi engine developed by the Germans, and have 2,500kg towing capacity. They'll use less fuel than a Turbo Falcon could even manage (in fact are rated at about 7.5l/100km, which is obviously optimistic, but they still return good economy). Modern Turbodiesels aren't as slow as you might think, either. I have no trouble keeping up with traffic in my 2.5 Pathfinder. Of course I won't be blowing away SS commodores, but they have no trouble in traffic, and top gear acceleration on the freeway is fantastic.

My mate borrowed his dads sorento last year to tow my car to superlap (from wodonga-sydney) and it was frieken awesom. It now has a chipped ECU so it would be even better. Best tow car I've been in. I know the modern diesels are good but it's still the devils fuel Plus I'm 25 with no kids. I don't want to be an old man yet. What would I do with so many seats?

i have considered the Navara. Maybe in a few years a 4dr 4wd diesel ute would be good.

[Tektrader69]

those crewmans are renowned for hurting transmissions when your not towing.........id be making myself well aware of this issue before doing an interstate pull.

I did a bit of a dig after your comment. I couldnt find any mention of auto failures, only diff issues. The 170kw V6 has got the old plugger 4 speed auto on it. It pretty robust.

I actually have been under my car a fair bit when I put the tow bar on and refitted the LPG tank. There is a HUGE counterweight bolted to the diff for god knows what reason. I expect that was done to damp any vibrations from the diff, cause of earlier diff noise issues. Mine was built in the last month of manufacture so I expect all of these fixes are already on my car.

[grandmasterb]

I did a bit of a dig after your comment. I couldnt find any mention of auto failures, only diff issues. The 170kw V6 has got the old plugger 4 speed auto on it. It pretty robust.

I actually have been under my car a fair bit when I put the tow bar on and refitted the LPG tank. There is a HUGE counterweight bolted to the diff for god knows what reason. I expect that was done to damp any vibrations from the diff, cause of earlier diff noise issues. Mine was built in the last month of manufacture so I expect all of these fixes are already on my car.

If they guy is having a box replaced every 10,000ks then id say its the way he's driving. We have 2 SS crewman's as work vehicles and other than being thirty on fuel they've never missed a beat. We tow a trailer full of stock (heavier than a car) and have the try full with no dramas what so ever. The only other downside and i've noticed it with all the holden utes i've driven is that they are high in the arse end and can be a pain to see.

Hell my original tow cop was a 82 hilux on 33 running a 202 and i've struggled to find anything better than it when it comes to bang for buck.

[bri73y]

I've got a WJ 05 Jeep Overlander and it's a great tow vehicle. One of the most comfortable set of seats you'll find for those long hauls up and down the east coast. It's 190kw/440nm and tows my R32 with ease. The only place it could do with more power is Mt Victoria heading out to Bathurst, every else perfect. I've been towing with it for 4 years and it's my wife's daily driver. In 147000kms we've had not even the slightest hiccup. Highly reccomend the Jeep!

To be honest it's about to go up for sale as I've just bought a VW Touareg V6 TDI for the missus. Don't know what it's worth yet but if anyone is interested in a Jeep, feel free to pm me.

[Marlin]

Another +1 for Jeep.

My 2007 WH is an oustanding tow car, and still does 0-100klm/h in less than 10 seconds with 2 tonnes on it's back And no, I don't give a shit about the Jeep haters who don't know better, it's great, but if I was to do a lot of long distance towing I'd opt for the diesel instead of my Hemi version (though I'd miss the V8 note).

[PHaT MR30]

Plus its blingin' perfect for pickin up grannies lol!

[badhairdave]

love the plates

[poolheaters]

My vote is for the cheap, cheerful & reliable Ford Territory.