What cheap tow car, for horsebox?
Discussion
It seems the World has ended, my wife has decided that our over-privileged (but wonderful) small child is getting a pony.
We currently have a 2005 CR-V 2.0i auto, a very mileagey 2000 Focus 1.6 manual, and a 2005 Civic auto. Since getting the Civic late last year the CR-V has only been used for winter use and the odd occasion when we have 5 people and / or something large to move, its 25MPG is just too poor to stomach unless absolutely necessary.
The CR-V isn't heavy duty enough for horsebox duties, so we are thinking about putting it on a mates forecourt and then looking for around £1k's worth of 4x4 tow car for occasional winter use and some short distance towing.
My thoughts are an older Disco, Range Rover Classic, Shogun, or perhaps a Cherokee?
What am I missing, and what are the obvious things to avoid? I had been thinking that petrol versions might be cheaper than diesels and potentially less troublesome?
Any suggestions or comments gratefully received.
Potentially pisses on my chips RE: getting an Elise or VX at the end of the summer
(
We currently have a 2005 CR-V 2.0i auto, a very mileagey 2000 Focus 1.6 manual, and a 2005 Civic auto. Since getting the Civic late last year the CR-V has only been used for winter use and the odd occasion when we have 5 people and / or something large to move, its 25MPG is just too poor to stomach unless absolutely necessary.
The CR-V isn't heavy duty enough for horsebox duties, so we are thinking about putting it on a mates forecourt and then looking for around £1k's worth of 4x4 tow car for occasional winter use and some short distance towing.
My thoughts are an older Disco, Range Rover Classic, Shogun, or perhaps a Cherokee?
What am I missing, and what are the obvious things to avoid? I had been thinking that petrol versions might be cheaper than diesels and potentially less troublesome?
Any suggestions or comments gratefully received.
Potentially pisses on my chips RE: getting an Elise or VX at the end of the summer
(We've run a double cab pick-up with a covered back for the last 12 years (not the same one lol). Keeps all the crappy horse smells out of the car.
Not brilliant fuel consumption (high 20's) but nice and weighty to tow horses, long wheel base so stable.
L200's are only as wide as a normal car, so no real parking issues, although quite long.
John
Not brilliant fuel consumption (high 20's) but nice and weighty to tow horses, long wheel base so stable.
L200's are only as wide as a normal car, so no real parking issues, although quite long.
John
Dont take this the wrong way, but a pony will cost a fortune.
Feed, Vets, Farrier, Tack, etc etc.
If you only have 1k and dont use a car cause it isnt great on mpg, make sure you go in with your eyes open.
They are a big commitment in both money and time!
As for the tow car - something Japanese.
Feed, Vets, Farrier, Tack, etc etc.
If you only have 1k and dont use a car cause it isnt great on mpg, make sure you go in with your eyes open.
They are a big commitment in both money and time!
As for the tow car - something Japanese.
Cheers, and thanks for the link. Trooper, Surf and L200 weren't cars that I initially thought of. I seem to recall that L200's seem to hold their money a bit too well.
Next question, are we better with an auto or manual for towing duties?
Am I wrong to be more concerned about diesels going wrong? Are the advantages over petrol sufficient to outweigh any concerns over reliability?
Next question, are we better with an auto or manual for towing duties?
Am I wrong to be more concerned about diesels going wrong? Are the advantages over petrol sufficient to outweigh any concerns over reliability?
FlashBastd said:
Cheers, and thanks for the link. Trooper, Surf and L200 weren't cars that I initially thought of. I seem to recall that L200's seem to hold their money a bit too well.
Next question, are we better with an auto or manual for towing duties?
Am I wrong to be more concerned about diesels going wrong? Are the advantages over petrol sufficient to outweigh any concerns over reliability?
TBH, for something that's only going to be doing 2,000 miles a year I'd be inclined to buy something American with a dirty great V8 in it. Good for towing, you see. Next question, are we better with an auto or manual for towing duties?
Am I wrong to be more concerned about diesels going wrong? Are the advantages over petrol sufficient to outweigh any concerns over reliability?
McHaggis said:
You do know the running costs of a horse really put a nice V8, ski holiday in Verbier and lots of riding lessons in perspective, don't you....
Yeah, unfortunately I do, or I think I do. MIL suggested it, and gave the impression she would pony up the cash, so I was staying well clear of the whole topic. Now wife & child have got very excited about it, MIL has gone cold, which means I need to fork out for it.I have been smoking around in this 180k Focus for the past 9 months in the hope of buying a plastic sports car at the end of the summer, which regrettably now seems somewhat less likely.
My money would be on a 300-TDI Discovery, should be just about do-able for that budget, but get it checked over by someone who knows about them before buying. Boot floors are a prime corrosion point...
They'll pull a decent sized box, and have a decent mass themselves which helps when pulling a heavy trailer.
They'll pull a decent sized box, and have a decent mass themselves which helps when pulling a heavy trailer.
If you want to come and look at horse boxes op i deal in the cheval liberte light weight horse trailers, personally i run an old 3.l isuzu trooper, not the fastest things on the road but will tow anything and are very cheap for what they are. Happy for you to come and have a look around/play, there are also a good range of single horse trailers out there that your crv would be more than capable of towing.
mat13 said:
If you want to come and look at horse boxes op i deal in the cheval liberte light weight horse trailers, personally i run an old 3.l isuzu trooper, not the fastest things on the road but will tow anything and are very cheap for what they are. Happy for you to come and have a look around/play, there are also a good range of single horse trailers out there that your crv would be more than capable of towing.
Thanks, I have been told by a couple of people, and in no uncertain terms that I should avoid single horse trailers due to stability and space issues, are these concerns not valid?We are pretty set on getting rid of the CR-V, if I could tow a light horsebox behind my Focus then that might be a consideration, but I think getting a bigger tow car would be more sensible.
FlashBastd said:
It seems the World has ended, my wife has decided that our over-privileged (but wonderful) small child is getting a pony.
We currently have a 2005 CR-V 2.0i auto, a very mileagey 2000 Focus 1.6 manual, and a 2005 Civic auto. Since getting the Civic late last year the CR-V has only been used for winter use and the odd occasion when we have 5 people and / or something large to move, its 25MPG is just too poor to stomach unless absolutely necessary.
The CR-V isn't heavy duty enough for horsebox duties, so we are thinking about putting it on a mates forecourt and then looking for around £1k's worth of 4x4 tow car for occasional winter use and some short distance towing.
My thoughts are an older Disco, Range Rover Classic, Shogun, or perhaps a Cherokee?
What am I missing, and what are the obvious things to avoid? I had been thinking that petrol versions might be cheaper than diesels and potentially less troublesome?
Any suggestions or comments gratefully received.
Potentially pisses on my chips RE: getting an Elise or VX at the end of the summer(
The Land Rover's have the best tow rating of all the 4x4's pretty much. The full time AWD is also a huge benefit if you are going on muddy roads, tracks and fields, most of the time you'll not have to worry. Whereas most of the Jap ones are only 2wd unless you select 4wd, which means you've got to be a bit more clued up to when to use it. Also the 4wd systems on most of those will not allow you to run in 4wd on the road (unless snowy).We currently have a 2005 CR-V 2.0i auto, a very mileagey 2000 Focus 1.6 manual, and a 2005 Civic auto. Since getting the Civic late last year the CR-V has only been used for winter use and the odd occasion when we have 5 people and / or something large to move, its 25MPG is just too poor to stomach unless absolutely necessary.
The CR-V isn't heavy duty enough for horsebox duties, so we are thinking about putting it on a mates forecourt and then looking for around £1k's worth of 4x4 tow car for occasional winter use and some short distance towing.
My thoughts are an older Disco, Range Rover Classic, Shogun, or perhaps a Cherokee?
What am I missing, and what are the obvious things to avoid? I had been thinking that petrol versions might be cheaper than diesels and potentially less troublesome?
Any suggestions or comments gratefully received.
Potentially pisses on my chips RE: getting an Elise or VX at the end of the summer
(Land Rover's are also cheap and easy to maintain and usually very robust (although suffer niggles). There's also a huge selection to chose from when buying.
D15CO D4VE said:
Everyone time Iv had a boat shifted they have turned up in a Discovery of some guise, that to me speaks volumes.
I'll agree with the above, my TD5 is a cracking tow car, no ball of fire but it managed to haul our classic Range Rover on a trailer with no fuss whatsoever Edited by D15CO D4VE on Sunday 29th July 23:41
Driven an older shogun without a trailer, it was awful,
My money would be in a Discovery personally
FlashBastd said:
Next question, are we better with an auto or manual for towing duties?
That's quite a personal choice really, no right or wrong as both can work fine. That said in the UK you get more manuals, esp diesels. Bigger petrol engines often have auto's.Auto's also usually blunt performance and have slightly lower mpg.
FlashBastd said:
Am I wrong to be more concerned about diesels going wrong? Are the advantages over petrol sufficient to outweigh any concerns over reliability?
Depends on the vehicle. A Tdi Disco is one of the most reliable engines you are likely to get. No electronics and very very simple to work on.When towing mpg can be vastly different between petrol and diesel, so you might want to number crunch a little.
300bhp/ton said:
The Land Rover's have the best tow rating of all the 4x4's pretty much. The full time AWD is also a huge benefit if you are going on muddy roads, tracks and fields, most of the time you'll not have to worry. Whereas most of the Jap ones are only 2wd unless you select 4wd, which means you've got to be a bit more clued up to when to use it. Also the 4wd systems on most of those will not allow you to run in 4wd on the road (unless snowy).
Land Rover's are also cheap and easy to maintain and usually very robust (although suffer niggles). There's also a huge selection to chose from when buying.
You can run Pajeros on the road in 4WD. Land Rover's are also cheap and easy to maintain and usually very robust (although suffer niggles). There's also a huge selection to chose from when buying.
If he only has 1k to spend, I wouldn't advise a LR of any type. I know you can get Discos for £1k, but they won't be very good IMO.
Something like a Jeep Grand Cherokee would do the job. Go for the 6Cyl. Very smooth, but will guzzle fuel at something like 15mpg. Up your budget to £1400 ish and you should get a LPG one
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