Tow Car?

[mid life crisis]

i use a old el falcon wagon on gas and ive towed my 18 ft boat and race car all over the place with it . i have had patrols to big for a dailey and not used enough for a dedicated tow car.

the old falcon wagon does a mighty job of it and there cheap as chips lol

[grimreaper]

i tow my r32 gtst with my fathers navara ( 2.5l tdi with the auto ) and it tows the car and trailer fine plus there is room for 4 people and any think else in the back

[mad082]

the x-trail may have a tow rating of 2000kg, but that doesn't mean it will do it nicely. that is basically what the chassis, etc will take. says nothing about how it will tow. i did a quick search on it yesterday and found a lot of posts saying that nissan was a bit too generous with the tow rating for the x-trail.

also you didn't say what engine x-trail you were going to get. if it's the petrol then you will struggle to sit on 100kmh (if you can even get to 100kmh). to put it into perspective, the petrol x-trail puts out about 15% more power and torque than a SSS pulsar, but weighs about 40% more (1100kg vs 1500kg).

i've towed cars in commodores and falcons and they pull fine. we picked up a mates silvia in a vt commodore wagon. sat on 110kmh easily. picked up another car in a vy commodore and with 5 people in the car it sat on 110kmh on the highway fine as well. i've towed a bit over 1000kg behind a GT forrester and it did it ok, but it was small stuff (steel) that didn't even come much above the top of the trailer so there was no aero drag caused from it, unlike a car which acts like a sail and slows you down even more.

[frozenwaffles]

hmmm this is all really bugging me.

so my max budget is $15k.

i was looking at a petrol x-trail...similar to this one:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

i could look at a teritory or something like that.

i dont want a 'big' car if thats posible, i certainly dont want a ute or anything that resembles some kind of trades person, and i hate falcons or anything that looks like one

i do appreciate all your assitance on this guys!

[FineLine]

V6 pathfinder.

[GTR-N1]

http://www.carsales.com.au/Tig/UI/PagePopu...mp;tabID=803862

It won't get pushed around, if the brakes fade on the trailer. Haggle this thing down to $15K

[paulR32gtr]

I don't think the Territory brakes are up to the task. One of my girlfriends friends bought one for towing her horse float and was having big problems with brake fade so sold it, other friends were looking at the same thing and were advised against it.

Understand your situation - I went through the same thing but luckily don't need to drive too much so was able to settle for something rugged and haven't looked back. Being commercial white I can also take advantage of the odd sneaky loading zone lol!

Some other food for thought - you can pickup a Pathfinder Ti vg30 for $3-4k these days.

[mad082]

I don't think the Territory brakes are up to the task. One of my girlfriends friends bought one for towing her horse float and was having big problems with brake fade so sold it, other friends were looking at the same thing and were advised against it.

Understand your situation - I went through the same thing but luckily don't need to drive too much so was able to settle for something rugged and haven't looked back. Being commercial white I can also take advantage of the odd sneaky loading zone lol!

Some other food for thought - you can pickup a Pathfinder Ti vg30 for $3-4k these days.

wouldn't be hard to get a better set of brake pads for it to help with the brake fade.

fronzenwaffles, by ruling out utes and the aussie 6's and 'big cars' you are rulling out all of the best options for towing with. you are simply choosing the best of the worst options by going a soft roader. they are simply a small hatchback with a set of 4wd tyres on them really.

if you really don't want to go a ute or a family car then you are best off going a diesel patrol or landcruiser wagon. ideally they are the best option anyway. they aren't the best option for daily driving in traffic though. you really have to really look at your priorities and go from there. do you want a good tow car, a good everyday car or something in between? you won't really find something that does all 3, and the option that is the best option for the inbetween is, unfortunately for you, a commodore or falcon. but there is also the option of a stagea to consider. personally i hate the look of the stagea, and would take a commodore or falcon wagon over one, that's why i never really said much about it before (even though you mentioned it in your first post). plus the fact that the running cost when towing will be much higher thanks to having to run on 98. plus the aussie cars and reasonably nice to drive. i've owned a few and my next daily will be one.

the other option is, cut your budget in half. get something like a commodore or falcon for about 5k, and then spend the other 10k on something to use as a daily. then you can just use the commodore when you want to tow. only down side is that then you are paying 2 regos, etc.

[frozenwaffles]

ok so you really think the stagea is an option? i do like them and i would know how to service it since it shares lots of parts with the R33. so far from what i understand the stagea would have enough balls (if not more than the x-trail) to tow.

[Galois]

Would it cope with the high load over a period of time when towing? If a v8 falcodore would I'd go that way just for the sound

[frozenwaffles]

my tow car is only going to tow once a month max, more like once every 3 months...

[Duncan]

meh...I'd still take a stagea every time

99% daily driver, capable but not perfect for the 1% towing. Easy to work on and cheap to modify if you are so inclined. Mine has been fine chasis wise, I've been towing with it for years. Only thing I still need to do is heavier rear springs.

[frozenwaffles]

hmmm good to know, given that im only doing such a small amount of towing, im still leaning to the x-trail. it just looks to be way more fun to drive than the stag.

[evil_weevil]

ba/bf falcon on lpg

[bubba]

hmmm good to know, given that im only doing such a small amount of towing, im still leaning to the x-trail. it just looks to be way more fun to drive than the stag.

LOL

xtrail more fun than a stagea??

[frozenwaffles]

LOL

xtrail more fun than a stagea??

Well yes actually. I think it's going to open up a whole new world of activities for me

Plus I will own a track car, I don't want a fuel guzzling boat. If I didn't own the skyline then maybe the stagia would appeal, but honestly I'm over driving the line on the streets. Very excited about building a real track car!

[Deano 1]

Yer i was thinking the same thing ^^ how is that poss?

[mad082]

ok so you really think the stagea is an option? i do like them and i would know how to service it since it shares lots of parts with the R33. so far from what i understand the stagea would have enough balls (if not more than the x-trail) to tow.

stagea has a buttload more power than an x-trail. torque wise (which is what matters when towing), the stagea has about 30% more torque. the reason being that the x-trail has a non turbo, 2.5L 4 cylinder, and the stagea has a 2.5L turbo 6.

i found a car with the same power figures as an x-trail. a VRX lancer. would you think of towing a car with a VRX lancer? no. why? because it doesn't have the power. so then to think of towing with a car that has the same power but weighs a few hundred kg more is just silly.

Well yes actually. I think it's going to open up a whole new world of activities for me

Plus I will own a track car, I don't want a fuel guzzling boat. If I didn't own the skyline then maybe the stagia would appeal, but honestly I'm over driving the line on the streets. Very excited about building a real track car!

the x-trail weighs pretty much as much as a stagea. you would find fuel economy similar on day to day driving, although once you started to give it the beans then the stagea would drink a bit more. having said that, things like tyres for the x-trail will be a fair bit more than the stagea.

[GTR-N1]

xtrail more fun than a stagea??

are we talking about the rear luggage compartment (where the mattress goes) now?

[Deano 1]

are we talking about the rear luggage compartment (where the mattress goes) now?

ahh im starting to understand... but i still there, there is more than enough room in the stag.... haha