Tow Car for @ 4k

[Frenchda]

Good evening all,
I need to tow a car (@1000kgs) and have a few questions for the PH font's of all knowledge.

1. What trailer - MR2
2. What Car? Will also become my daily run around, not overly concerned about MPG and not ruling out 4 x 4 and does not need to provide much fun.

Any suggestions?

[300bhp/ton]

Frenchda said:

Good evening all,
I need to tow a car (@1000kgs) and have a few questions for the PH font's of all knowledge.

1. What trailer - MR2
2. What Car? Will also become my daily run around, not overly concerned about MPG and not ruling out 4 x 4 and does not need to provide much fun.

Any suggestions?

1. Does your licence cover you tow this weight?
2. Is 1000kg the total weight, or just what you are putting on the trailer?
3. Will you be towing long distance and/or using the tow vehicle for long distance?
4. Will you need to tow on grass (field/paddock) or anywhere else off road?
5. Does the tow car need to be able to haul gear or people?


Bigger heavier vehicles generally make better tow cars. Land Rover Disco or a Jeep of some kind might not be a bad idea or a Subaru. AWD can be an advantage too at time.

[Frenchda]

300bhp/ton said:

Frenchda said:

Good evening all,
I need to tow a car (@1000kgs) and have a few questions for the PH font's of all knowledge.

1. What trailer - MR2
2. What Car? Will also become my daily run around, not overly concerned about MPG and not ruling out 4 x 4 and does not need to provide much fun.

Any suggestions?

1. Does your licence cover you tow this weight?
2. Is 1000kg the total weight, or just what you are putting on the trailer?
3. Will you be towing long distance and/or using the tow vehicle for long distance?
4. Will you need to tow on grass (field/paddock) or anywhere else off road?
5. Does the tow car need to be able to haul gear or people?


Bigger heavier vehicles generally make better tow cars. Land Rover Disco or a Jeep of some kind might not be a bad idea or a Subaru. AWD can be an advantage too at time.

Thanks for the response I will expand:

1. Does your licence cover you tow this weight? Over 40 so think so?

2. Is 1000kg the total weight, or just what you are putting on the trailer?
No 1000kg car + Trailer

3. Will you be towing long distance and/or using the tow vehicle for long distance?
Tracks all over UK 8-10 times year. When not towing car will be used for @ 250 miles per week.

4. Will you need to tow on grass (field/paddock) or anywhere else off road? Really not sure but I expect paddocks (Crap answer I know but just trying to get some base idea's at the moment.

5. Does the tow car need to be able to haul gear or people? A mixture of both but I suspect fairly loaded when towing but not heavy.

Thank you.

[Egg Chaser]

http://pistonheads.com/sales/2000171.htm

[rallycross]

For my mr2 racing car I used a volvo v70 t5 estate and then an omega 2.5 v6 estate, the omega was better. Towed with brian james 4 wheel trailer's.

BMW 5 series 6 cyl diesel would be the best option if you are also going to use it when not towing.

[GreigM]

I bought a Mazda 6 Estate 2.0 diesel for the same purpose - tows like a dream as the engine is quite torquey, but you'd need to check the weights. Also drives well, decent equipment, cavernous boot, very comfortable and refined - would get a 55 plate for your money.

Other option I looked at was a Subaru Forester - great towcar but ugly and not as nice a drive as the Mazda.

[paoloh]

Legacy Estate

[samdale]

GreigM said:

I bought a Mazda 6 Estate 2.0 diesel for the same purpose - tows like a dream as the engine is quite torquey, but you'd need to check the weights. Also drives well, decent equipment, cavernous boot, very comfortable and refined - would get a 55 plate for your money.

Other option I looked at was a Subaru Forester - great towcar but ugly and not as nice a drive as the Mazda.

+1 for the mazda 6. Dad regularly tows a big c.7.5m caravan with his no sweat and thats well over a tonne

[300bhp/ton]

Frenchda said:

300bhp/ton said:

Frenchda said:

Good evening all,
I need to tow a car (@1000kgs) and have a few questions for the PH font's of all knowledge.

1. What trailer - MR2
2. What Car? Will also become my daily run around, not overly concerned about MPG and not ruling out 4 x 4 and does not need to provide much fun.

Any suggestions?

1. Does your licence cover you tow this weight?
2. Is 1000kg the total weight, or just what you are putting on the trailer?
3. Will you be towing long distance and/or using the tow vehicle for long distance?
4. Will you need to tow on grass (field/paddock) or anywhere else off road?
5. Does the tow car need to be able to haul gear or people?


Bigger heavier vehicles generally make better tow cars. Land Rover Disco or a Jeep of some kind might not be a bad idea or a Subaru. AWD can be an advantage too at time.

Thanks for the response I will expand:

1. Does your licence cover you tow this weight? Over 40 so think so?

2. Is 1000kg the total weight, or just what you are putting on the trailer?
No 1000kg car + Trailer

3. Will you be towing long distance and/or using the tow vehicle for long distance?
Tracks all over UK 8-10 times year. When not towing car will be used for @ 250 miles per week.

4. Will you need to tow on grass (field/paddock) or anywhere else off road? Really not sure but I expect paddocks (Crap answer I know but just trying to get some base idea's at the moment.

5. Does the tow car need to be able to haul gear or people? A mixture of both but I suspect fairly loaded when towing but not heavy.

Thank you.

Ifor Willimas do a good range of trailers. But depends on budget for the trailer, some are pricey.

Make sure you get one big enough for your needs though, some have tyre racks too which can be handy.

Sure there are other makes, Google will probably help out though.

As for a vehicle. Well a lot of cars can tow well. Auto's are often nice, but not essential.

A bigger heavier vehicle will as a rule me more stable and the extra height of a 4x4 can be nice too. Also if you think there is a remote chance of needing to tow on slippery surfaces I'd be looking for a 4x4 or AWD at least.

If not, then any/most large'ish saloons and estates would be up for it.

Myself, think I'd be looking at a Td5 or V8 Disco II or a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

[andymach23]

The car at 1000Kg plus the trailer could be pushing close to 1500Kg. I tow a boat at about 1000kg and the twin axle braked trailer is 500kg.

Alot of large cars have a towing capacity of 1600kg. Some have sightly more or less capacity depending on the exact model, engine size etc. Some Mondeos are rated to 1800Kg and the larger E39 5 series are rated to 2000Kg. RWD can also be useful for towing.

I've read on the web that it is recommended to tow at up to 85% of the max rating for the car. I tow my boat with a TD5 Discovery rated to 3500Kg. The extra capacity gives peace of mind and helped me out of some trickey situations in the past.

[Frenchda]

Thanks everyone. Looks like a Forester, ugly but I have always quite liked them

[eltax91]

Disco II TD5 all day long