Discussion
Looking for a Vehicle that I can use every day. that I can get 30+ MPG (when not towing), and also Tow a trailer and 1 Ton race car.
Was thinking of a transit connect, 1400KG LWB 90PS, as more usable everyday than a regular transit, plus gives better mileage.
Had mixed reports on the web on what it could tow.
The Idea is to get rid of everything, and just have 1 Vehicle and Trailer.
All ready arrange for Truck to be scrapped, plus no have space for a Trailer.
Also worked out it's not cost effective to try and do things on a budget, If I buy a Good Brain James trailer, and a good tow Vehicle, I'm not going to spend time working on support stuff, plus hopefully got to worry about break downs, also will be able to resell if needed with minimal losses. also this will allow me to concentrate on the Racer and racing.
ETA. only need 30+ MPG when not towing, as I do about 15k a year normal driving, hence if only having 1 car, its need to be ok on the fuel.
Was thinking of a transit connect, 1400KG LWB 90PS, as more usable everyday than a regular transit, plus gives better mileage.
Had mixed reports on the web on what it could tow.
The Idea is to get rid of everything, and just have 1 Vehicle and Trailer.
All ready arrange for Truck to be scrapped, plus no have space for a Trailer.
Also worked out it's not cost effective to try and do things on a budget, If I buy a Good Brain James trailer, and a good tow Vehicle, I'm not going to spend time working on support stuff, plus hopefully got to worry about break downs, also will be able to resell if needed with minimal losses. also this will allow me to concentrate on the Racer and racing.
ETA. only need 30+ MPG when not towing, as I do about 15k a year normal driving, hence if only having 1 car, its need to be ok on the fuel.
Edited by TVRleigh_BBWR on Monday 29th March 10:31
TVRleigh_BBWR said:
Looking for a Vehicle that I can use every day. that I can get 30+ MPG, and also Tow a trailer and 1 Ton race car.
Was thinking of a transit connect, 1400KG LWB 90PS, as more usable everyday than a regular transit, plus gives better millage.
Had mixed reports on the web on what it could tow.
The Idea is to get rid of everything, and just have 1 Vehicle and Trailer.
All ready arange for Truck to be scrapped, plus no have space for a Trialer.
Also worked out it's not cost efective to try and do things on a budget, If I buy a Good Brain James trailer, and a good tow Vechile, I'm not going to spend time working on support stuff, plus hopefull got to worry about break downs, also will be able to resell if needed with minimal losses. also this will allow me to concentrate on the Racer and racing.
if on a budget 3.1 Trooper (not the later 3.0 twin cam) you will find a good one for less than £2k they are bullet proof Plus cheap spares from Milner offroad.Was thinking of a transit connect, 1400KG LWB 90PS, as more usable everyday than a regular transit, plus gives better millage.
Had mixed reports on the web on what it could tow.
The Idea is to get rid of everything, and just have 1 Vehicle and Trailer.
All ready arange for Truck to be scrapped, plus no have space for a Trialer.
Also worked out it's not cost efective to try and do things on a budget, If I buy a Good Brain James trailer, and a good tow Vechile, I'm not going to spend time working on support stuff, plus hopefull got to worry about break downs, also will be able to resell if needed with minimal losses. also this will allow me to concentrate on the Racer and racing.
Landrover defender if your budget is higher, More money to buy but they do not depreciate. you do spend time under the bonnet though!
Not sure a transit connect has the GVW capacity and it is FWD so crap for towing.
You want something Big and 4x4 for towing. most good 4x4's will return 28mpg or thereabouts.
Mitsubishi L200, Nissan navarra, Ford ranger all available pretty cheaply these days and comfortable enough to use everyday. 28-30 MPG.
other option is an old RAC / AA VW T$ or T5 but they tend to be expensive because of surfer dudes. You can kit out as a camper though.
N
I used to use a Nissan Navara double cab with a truckman top on the back. Perfect vehicle for what you suggest as you can stick all sorts of crap in the back without worrying about carpets etc. Tows superbly, you won't know the trailer is on the back. Power steering, aircon, leccy windows.... I thought it was great
teamHOLDENracing said:
I used to use a Nissan Navara double cab with a truckman top on the back. Perfect vehicle for what you suggest as you can stick all sorts of crap in the back without worrying about carpets etc. Tows superbly, you won't know the trailer is on the back. Power steering, aircon, leccy windows.... I thought it was great
Was only thinking of a Crew cab pickup on the way to work, as some times it's handy to have 4 seats.Off to Auto trader to look at prices.
Mitsubishi are probably the best 4x4 cab and the best built.
The Diesel will give you the mileage and they aint expensive.
In my experience the Nissan interior is made of chocolate and I had a turbo go too.
VW toareg is available cheaply now for real luxury (Bently Interior)...probably the best all rounder I've ever owned.
Quite thirsty though. 20-28mpg. will tow 3 tonne like it isn't there!
Also Audi A6 Allroad. V6 tdi 24-35mpg. air suspension, leather etc. Start at £6k
24-28 too. Tows 2.5tonne.
T5 VW van. getting pricey now but a great all-rounder. £2.5Tonne
Andy
The Diesel will give you the mileage and they aint expensive.
In my experience the Nissan interior is made of chocolate and I had a turbo go too.
VW toareg is available cheaply now for real luxury (Bently Interior)...probably the best all rounder I've ever owned.
Quite thirsty though. 20-28mpg. will tow 3 tonne like it isn't there!
Also Audi A6 Allroad. V6 tdi 24-35mpg. air suspension, leather etc. Start at £6k
24-28 too. Tows 2.5tonne.
T5 VW van. getting pricey now but a great all-rounder. £2.5Tonne
Andy
Edited by Guillotine on Monday 29th March 16:46
Discovery Series II 7 seater ?
Mine's a V8 but a TD5 would do the trick.
For an Anglesey race weekend we took the 2nd row of seats out but left the fold down occasional seats in , and managed to haul the following...
1 Twin wheel trailer with Tuscan on the back (and 48 stella in the drivers seat
).
In the car we had..
Driver plus two mates (i was comfortably the lightest at 17st )
Set 4 of wets plus spare slick.
3 man tent
Toolbox
Portaloo
Bloody big and heavy race marquee.
3 x 20l Jerry cans of fuel.
Clothes, food,some spares.
Camping mattresses etc
Yes it was a squeeze and the unfortunate in the back could only be heard and not necessarily seen, for most of the trip.
And i managed to change (and sleep) in the back of the Lanny for the weekend, by fitting black shower curtains behind the front seats and trusting the blacked rear windows to preserve some modesty.
The portaloo idea did'nt work too well - trying to have a tom, with the top of your head protruding out of the rear sunroof , is rather undignified - not helped by the comedians who find it funny to rock the bloody car every time they suspect you're using the "facilities".
That said, the Disco worked pretty well ,and i left it in the "no middle but two occasional seat" format for months afterwards.
Mine's a V8 but a TD5 would do the trick.
For an Anglesey race weekend we took the 2nd row of seats out but left the fold down occasional seats in , and managed to haul the following...
1 Twin wheel trailer with Tuscan on the back (and 48 stella in the drivers seat
).In the car we had..
Driver plus two mates (i was comfortably the lightest at 17st )
Set 4 of wets plus spare slick.
3 man tent
Toolbox
Portaloo
Bloody big and heavy race marquee.
3 x 20l Jerry cans of fuel.
Clothes, food,some spares.
Camping mattresses etc
Yes it was a squeeze and the unfortunate in the back could only be heard and not necessarily seen, for most of the trip.
And i managed to change (and sleep) in the back of the Lanny for the weekend, by fitting black shower curtains behind the front seats and trusting the blacked rear windows to preserve some modesty.
The portaloo idea did'nt work too well - trying to have a tom, with the top of your head protruding out of the rear sunroof , is rather undignified - not helped by the comedians who find it funny to rock the bloody car every time they suspect you're using the "facilities".
That said, the Disco worked pretty well ,and i left it in the "no middle but two occasional seat" format for months afterwards.
jagracer said:
If you don't need a van then go for a largish car that's not 4X4 just make sure it's plated for the weight you want. My uncle uses a Citroen C5, it's large comfortable and up to the job plus it'll do 44mpg not towing and 30mpg with the trailer and 1 ton car behind.
Problem with that is Gross train weight.cars average about 1400kg max towing weight for a reasonable car.
Car 900-1000kg
Trailer 400-500kg
fuel ??
Tools??
spare wheels??
All the above adds up to a hefty fine when you get pulled.
With all the new european towing laws it is becoming a much more common occurance to get pinched either on your way in or out of a circuit. food for thought.
Physics also plays a key role in my book. I never pull anything with a greater body mass than the item doing the pulling!
N
I've got a Mondeo estate TDCI (130bhp). Goes well round the doors, getting near enough 40mpg. Also it weighs in at 1600kg, Max GVW is 2200kg and plated to tow 1800kg. You can pick them up for cheap enough too - just make sure the suspension is OK as it can be a nightmare to work on!!!
Hope that helps...
Hope that helps...
ctsdave said:
and plated to tow 1800kg.
Just a quick point there, if its plated to tow 1800kg, that means your trailer can only be plated to a maximuim gross weight of 1800kg or less.Even if the trailer unladen is only 500kg and the car 900kg giving a total of 1400kg vosa/plod now look at the gross weight of the trailer not the actual weight ( unless of course its over the plated gross weight !!!)
If the plated gross weight of the trailer is more than the tow car is plated to tow your in trouble, even if the trailer is empty ???
There is also the maximum gross train weight to consider ( max tow vehicle gross plus max trailer gross) which can have implications on licence categories etc...
Typical with vosa/dvla/plod its a nightmare to find out the info.....
Graham said:
ctsdave said:
and plated to tow 1800kg.
Just a quick point there, if its plated to tow 1800kg, that means your trailer can only be plated to a maximuim gross weight of 1800kg or less.Even if the trailer unladen is only 500kg and the car 900kg giving a total of 1400kg vosa/plod now look at the gross weight of the trailer not the actual weight ( unless of course its over the plated gross weight !!!)
If the plated gross weight of the trailer is more than the tow car is plated to tow your in trouble, even if the trailer is empty ???
There is also the maximum gross train weight to consider ( max tow vehicle gross plus max trailer gross) which can have implications on licence categories etc...
Typical with vosa/dvla/plod its a nightmare to find out the info.....
Graham said:
so why have people been charged ( including the local trailer maufacturer) for towing an empty trailer with a gvw over the plated weight of the tow car then????? for exactly that reason??
Got any evidence of this? I am in contact with VOSA on a regular basis and have asked this question on more than one occasion and have always been told it doesn't matter what the plated weight of the trailer is providing you don't exceed the GVW. One of our trailers is plated at 3000kg and we regularly tow it with my Land Cruiser (max towing capacity of 2800kg) and a C5 (max towing capacity of 1800kg). The trailer weighs 800kg so we have to be a bit careful when loading it using the C5.
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