What tow car?

[GreigM]

Looking for a new tow car to drag the Caterham + tools + tyres around...usual requirements:

Must be able to tow 1800kg comfortably.
Estate/MPV body to get all the stuff in back (2 sets of 13" wheels, jerry cans, tools, helmet + overnight bag)
Budget around £15K - can stretch
Preferably <60K miles (more if its a very reliable)
Must be reliable
Preferably not too thirsty or hard on tax
Ideally 2008 onwards (newer better)

Been looking at S-Max (mostly for load space) but concerned it won't tow great. E60 520d also on the list but not sure if it will be quite big enough....thoughts.....?

[skyrover]

You wont get a better tow vehicle than a body on frame SUV/Pickup such as a Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover Classic or P38, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Hilux Surf, Nissan Patrol, Nissan Navara, Nissan Pathfinder, Mitsubishi L200, Ford Ranger, VW Amarok, Izuzu D-max Or any of the American pickup trucks/SUV's

A VW amarok will probably offer best ride comfort and fuel economy, but will be at the top end of your budget and the 2.0 engine might struggle compared to the larger competition.

I would be looking at the Toyota Hilux or Izuzu D-max

[Altrezia]

530D

[cptsideways]

Altrezia said:

530D

For what you are towing this,


Have used both 4.2TD Landcruisers & 530d's for many years of towing duties, for sub 2ton towing 530d every time over any 4x4 truck.

[skyrover]

Who wants to throw dirty tools, tyres and jerry can's in the back of their car?

[lockup]

Transit van. Job done.

[jamieduff1981]

skyrover said:

You wont get a better tow vehicle than a body on frame SUV/Pickup such as a Land Rover Defender, Land Rover Discovery, Range Rover Classic or P38, Toyota Hilux, Toyota Land Cruiser, Toyota Hilux Surf, Nissan Patrol, Nissan Navara, Nissan Pathfinder, Mitsubishi L200, Ford Ranger, VW Amarok, Izuzu D-max Or any of the American pickup trucks/SUV's

A VW amarok will probably offer best ride comfort and fuel economy, but will be at the top end of your budget and the 2.0 engine might struggle compared to the larger competition.

I would be looking at the Toyota Hilux or Izuzu D-max

That's all fine except I disagree about pickups having a good ride quality - every one I've been in has been awful unless heavily loaded. Nasty, poorly damped jittery things that get bent out of shape on the slightest of bumps. If it were something I was going to use without the laden trailer at all, it would be a full bodied SUV type thing instead.

[skyrover]

The very reason for the stiff ride is the hauling capability.

If you find the ride too stiff, fit softer springs and shocks

[GreigM]

skyrover said:

Who wants to throw dirty tools, tyres and jerry can's in the back of their car?

People who do track days.

Don't want a 4x4 or pickup - too large, one of the reasons the current tow car has to go...when its not being used for tow duties the size is a pain...hence the estate/MPV requirement.

Heading towards a 5-series...not sure I need a 530 though, the 520 with 177bhp would be adequate

[jamieduff1981]

Yes I understand why the ride is bad. It's not feasible to get damping rates right for such vehicles which are very light at the back end when empty and very heavy when laden. Same goes for vans too - they are equally awful to drive when empty.

Depends what you want to do with it. Realistically nobody is going to buy a tool like that to drag around their hobby car then start to modify it. If it's going to live in a barn with trailer hitched up and tools in the back all the time then fair enough. All I'm saying is that if it needs to serve as a vehicle for general use but can also tow then pickups are pretty nasty to drive for most of the time. There's good reason for that - they're supposed to be working vehicles carrying stuff. If it'll be empty most of the time then a Disco or LC or similar would be better.

[skyrover]

jamieduff1981 said:

Yes I understand why the ride is bad. It's not feasible to get damping rates right for such vehicles which are very light at the back end when empty and very heavy when laden. Same goes for vans too - they are equally awful to drive when empty.

That's what air-helper springs are for



Softly sprung until you add weight... than just inflate the bags

I agree though... and SUV might be a better all round prospect as the pick-up is generally more "task specific"

[cptsideways]

skyrover said:

The very reason for the stiff ride is the hauling capability.

If you find the ride too stiff, fit softer springs and shocks

That's rubbish, the best towcars out there eg a big Landcruiser do not have an appalling ride quality far far from it. The bad ride quality on pickups comes from long travel torsion bars up front needing to be over damped & cart springs at the back. Every pickup I have ever used (all of them) all have crap ride quality.


PS: All 5 series tourings have self levelling airbag suspension at the back, hence why they are the towcar of choice for many, plus a very decent tow rating of 2000-2300kg.

Edited by cptsideways on Friday 25th July 08:30

[Matt UK]

Spend £10k on a petrol V8 BMW X5, the rest in shell vouchers?

[GreigM]

Matt UK said:

Spend £10k on a petrol V8 BMW X5, the rest in shell vouchers?

I did think of throwing the cash at a Cayenne turbo, getting an LPG kit fitted and giggling all the way to the track, but if falls foul of my need for something the Mrs will drive occasionally, so it and the X5 are out!

[GreigM]

Just to update on the outcome. Bought a very tidy E61 525d LCI for an absolute song this afternoon (simply because it has a manual gearbox)....towed to track with it tonight and extremely pleased at how it tows.