Spec me a tow tug!

Shad said:
If all you're towing is a little MX5 then you don't need a huge great 4x4 or pickup. Grab a Volvo 850/V70 for £notalot as it will do the job nicely. My 850 estate did admirably towing my old CRX on a BJT Clubman.
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I agree completely. The last few years I've been towing a big BV105 box trailer around the country with an Octavia 1.8t 4x4. Fully loaded it was probably between 1.2 and 1.4tonnes (sometimes more) - and being over 7ft high it's a massive wind break behind the car. It did the job admirably. This year it'll be towing the racing car on a BJ minno max and I it will be even easier without so much wind resistance!
It doesn't seem worth buying a big 4x4 or pick up just to tow the race car on say 10 race weekends a year - as the rest of the time it's a big compromise.

If you get yourself a big estate with a decent engine it'll tow brilliantly, take all the spares and will be comfortable to drive the rest of the year.
It's nice having the 4x4 system on the octavia (mostly as it adds 100kg to the weight of the car) but it's by no means essential.

Do invest in a decent trailer however as that often makes a bigger difference than the tow vehicle. A good Brian James or Woodford should hold it's value well.
 
I do a lot of towing, big horse box, boat, cars and i dont agree that a big estate is anywhere near as good as a big 4x4.

Plus it just looks better when you pull up at the track in the big 4x4 :)

On the subject of trailers also consider Ifor Williams, very good. http://www.iwt.co.uk/
 
I'd be looking at a LWB Shogun.

My dad's got an old '96 3 litre V6 automatic, and that is wonderful for towing. Much better than the 2.5 turbo diesel (which is still used in it's basic form in the L200, albeit MUCH less reliable now they've tried to extract too much power from it!)

And, when you're not using it for towing, it's a very good car to drive on the road.
 
DiamondMark said:
I do a lot of towing, big horse box, boat, cars and i dont agree that a big estate is anywhere near as good as a big 4x4.

Plus it just looks better when you pull up at the track in the big 4x4 :)

On the subject of trailers also consider Ifor Williams, very good. http://www.iwt.co.uk/
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Oh, I'm not saying that the estate is as good as a big 4x4 for towing - that would be daft :) An estate will do the job well though, will be cheaper and could be better to live with the rest of the year, depending on what he does with it, certainly comparing to an L200.
The good thing about towing something like an Mx5 is that they are relatively low, so some of the advantage of a 4x4 (it's height) is lost compared to towing a horse box or box trailer.

I agree regarding Ifor Williams - the box trailer I had was an Ifor and it was faultless and towed fantastically. I've gone for a Brian James though as they've got quite a few more options to suit smaller racing cars and look just as well built as the IFW.
 
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Just thought id point out, I dunno how old you are but if you have a photo-card licence as opposed to the old paper one you may be limited on the maximum authorised mass you can tow, I.E I got my licence in 2006 and I wouldn't be able to drive a L200 with a trailer and a car on it unless I do an extra test.

EDIT

If you passed before 1997 your limited to 8.25 tonnes including the towing vehicle, trailer and the load of both. If you passed after its a 3.5 tonne limit.
 
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andicole0 said:
Mitsubishi L200.
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Don't do it.

This is by far the worst tow vehicle I've ever experienced (2006 model).

I've towed the same load with an older Ford Ranger many times, and it was fantastic (although, no pick-up is ideal for towing, really).

The L200, however was terribly unbalanced - the trailer almost had the back wheels off the ground several times (carrying a car), it also seemed to be lacking in grunt compared to the Ranger.

Perhaps a Crew Cab L200 may be a little better with a bit more weight toward the back-end, but I highly doubt it. The other thing to consider would be that my experience could be down to the tow bar - I've no idea if the item fitted was standard or what.

I wouldn't buy one, but make sure you try it actually towing first.

FWIW, my money would go on a Land Cruiser :cool:
 
MikeHiow said:
The L200, however was terribly unbalanced - the trailer almost had the back wheels off the ground several times (carrying a car), it also seemed to be lacking in grunt compared to the Ranger.
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What?

How can you claim the vehicle is unbalanced when obviously its the trailer that is lifting on the towball?
 
Jonnycoupe said:
What?

How can you claim the vehicle is unbalanced when obviously its the trailer that is lifting on the towball?
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As I read it, he was saying that the trailer unbalanced the car, which makes sense and would indicate maybe the OP should look at something else with more wieght over the rear of the car / in general. i.e. D2 TD5 :D :p
 
Jonnycoupe said:
What?

How can you claim the vehicle is unbalanced when obviously its the trailer that is lifting on the towball?
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I'm well aware of what is happening, and this is exactly my point seeing as a single cab Ford Ranger towing the same trailer and load did not suffer from these issues.
 
ubersonic said:
EDIT

If you passed before 1997 your limited to 8.25 tonnes including the towing vehicle, trailer and the load of both. If you passed after its a 3.5 tonne limit.
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Housey may be flattered that you think him so youthful but I've got my distinct suspicions he doesn't have to worry about that particular limit. ;)
 
Fiat Sedici/Suzuki SX4. The 1.9 JTD's won awards in the caravan and towing tests. You can pick em up for 5k now.

They do the job, nothing more/nothing less and are very reliable as they are made soley by Suzuki. Advanced 4WD system if you ever need it on top.

Mine is 5 years old and never missed a beat.
 
I used to use an old Shogun to tow cars, and that was pretty good.

Then I used a D2 TD5, and that was just much better.

You could barely feel the weight behind you.
 
I would go for a Land Cruiser, my girlfriend's parents have had two and they are incredibly reliable neither of them needing any work bar services and they tow well. One had almost 200k on it when they sold it and it had towed a large twin axle caravan for many of those miles as they go on long trips around Europe, it even managed to tow a lorry off the local dual carriageway.

I have used one to tow a large car trailer + car and it was very stable and the 3L diesel had no trouble with the weight.
 
MikeHiow said:
Don't do it.

This is by far the worst tow vehicle I've ever experienced (2006 model).

I've towed the same load with an older Ford Ranger many times, and it was fantastic (although, no pick-up is ideal for towing, really).

The L200, however was terribly unbalanced - the trailer almost had the back wheels off the ground several times (carrying a car), it also seemed to be lacking in grunt compared to the Ranger.

Perhaps a Crew Cab L200 may be a little better with a bit more weight toward the back-end, but I highly doubt it. The other thing to consider would be that my experience could be down to the tow bar - I've no idea if the item fitted was standard or what.

I wouldn't buy one, but make sure you try it actually towing first.

FWIW, my money would go on a Land Cruiser :cool:
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Never had any such problem with mine, it's been brilliant towing all over the south east. I can only imagine the load was too big for the trailer. We had to use a smaller trailer than usual to collect an old Sierra once and it was no where near as good as the larger trailer we usually use.

Andi.
 
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