Horsebox tower ?

[Joel93]

My girlfriend is doing her trailer licence where both 21 so insurance is exspensive , looked into 4x4 but running one on her 30mile commute is going to be hell, so would a big diesel pull a horse box with about 600kg of horse in it ? Only using for local events 20mile max, thinking Saab 9-3/9-5 2.2, mondeo 2.2, passat 1.9
Thanks in advance

[Doug86]

It depends on what trailer you will be pulling and the weight required.

Here are some links to have a read through:

Guide to Safe & Legal Towing = http://www.ntta.co.uk/law/
VOSA guide for horsebox and horse trailer owners = http://www.vosa.gov.uk/guide-for-horsebox-owners
Horse and Hound Towing Clinic = http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.p...

[Animal]

It's not the weight of the horse/trailer but the gross towing weight. A car isn't really going to cut it: you'll need a 4x4. You might get away with towing gently on the road but a car's clutch and brakes will take a hammering and if you park in a muddy field or if it rains you're stuck. Cars are also generally too light to handle the braking for a large trailer.

As a guide:

Toyota Landcruiser (starting at £3,000) - 2,800kg. My ex-GF had one of these to take her horse up and down the country and was OK with a small trailer.
Land Rover Discovery or Range Rover - 3,500kg (larger horse trailer).
BMW X5 - 2,300kg (not really enough if you're going to have anything other than a small, one-horse trailer).
Mercedes M-Class - 3,500kg.

You might also check out Mitsubishi Shoguns or Isuzu Troopers. An older diesel 4x4 should still manage 27-30mpg for daily commuting.

[richs2891]

Deffo will need a 4x4.
Mitsubishi shogun 3.2 did auto 3500kg
Kia Sorento 06 to 09 auto 3500kg
A lot of the newer pickups such as Navara / L200 / Ranger / Dmax are all good tow vehicles.

Look at what 4x4 people use to tow the twin axle caravans gives an good idea.

[LooneyTunes]

These days the general thinking seems to be 4x4 but I know many people who used to tow quite happily with 7/9 series Volvos. Need to be quite careful with choice of trailer to stay underweight though.