best 4x4 for towing trailer and horses

[playboaterkev]

hi mate has two big horses and is looking for a 4x4 for towing dose not want to buy a new one so looking for 2nd hand what is the best thing for the job?

cheers hope this is in the right place to ask

[Range Rover Blues]

Personally, I love my Range Rover Classic LSE for towing, if you can live with the fuel consumption.

It will tow up to 2 tonnes with ease (auto box) and will happily shift 3.5 tonnes though for steep hills you need to learn to use the transfer box with that sort of weight.  It can take 150kg noseweight happily when most 4x4 struggle to take 100kg. 

This is true of most Disco 1 and RRC whether TDi or V8, auto or manual to be honest but the auto makes towing a lot less effort! and the LSE is 8 inches longer which makes it more stable at speed, the LSE also had the 4,275cc engine :twisted:

Budget will be the big factor, then running costs and I guess thinking about all the uses it will get put to.

If it's not going off-road then a Defender will probably be too much for what it offers, they hold their money well and aren't as well appointed inside.

DiscoII TD5 make a good tow car if you have a bit more money and can be chipped to make them pretty awesome.  Service costs are significant as they are for the P38 Range Rover (which you might pick up for similar money).  I've been told the BMW Deisel engine fitted to the P38 is torquey & econmomical but not very nippy.  Tows well but uninspiring to drive.

Either P38 or DiscoII have good V8 engines if you can live with the fuel costs, later engines are more economical but LPG is really the way to go with them.  Watch out for high mileage V8s with cooling system problems!

Newer LR products (post 2001) also attract higher road tax, whereas a RRC is currently £190 a year!

Offset that with the availability of parts for older LR products now the LR has changed hands and the new owners don't care about anything that left Sollihull more than a couple of years ago.

Whateveer your mate fancies there are plenty about to choose from so look around.

[zebidee]

We use an Isuzu Trooper LWB for towing our horsebox - I wanted a Defender but SWMBO wanted a vehicle which didn't look like a tractor.

Very capable beast - also max tow weight of up to 3500kg, so towing two (or even three) large horses is well within its limitations.

Troopers aren't made any more so you're unlikely to get one new. Only thing about it is that it doesn't have a central differential so suffers from transmission wind-up ... so 4WD shouldn't be used on dry roads but is fine off-road (e.g. at a horse show).

Z~

[ben-dent]

i would also like to recomend the RRC or the Disco, and as RRB says, the P38 and Disco11 are fairly good, but also consider the Jap vehicles such as the Isuzu Trooper LWB, Mitsubishi Pajero/Shogun LWB or the Toyota Hilux Surf,

they are all good and happy tow vehicles,

[bigant]

series 3 lwb with a Perkins 4203 in :)

[dxmedia]

Trooper here. Will tow all day long and as solid as a rock with IFS, far more stable on the road than anything with a live axle up front.

[deli hustler]

Toyota Landcruiser or Nissan Patrol both will out tow most other vehicles on the road, but what ever you check the maximum tow weight of the tow bar first

[william127]

200tdi defender 127- tows like a tractor, dead stable because of the length, gets up to the legal limit quite happily towing a car trailer with a rangie on the back and low range makes shunting a doddle :)
and with a 16 foot trailer on  its about 45 foot long so looks brilliant going round 1 way systems :lol:

[Lord Shagg-Pyle]

I've towed an Ifor Williams 510 with two big neds in it, with my Disco. A good balance. I've tried the same trailer with a 90 and found it a bit skittish.

[TechnoTurkey]

I'd agree that the longer the wheelbase the better.

My SWB Paj is not a patch on the old Range Rover, a 110 or 127 should be even more stable but might be a bit agricultural for the tastes of your friend.

[zebidee]

I've towed an Ifor Williams 510 with two big neds in it, with my Disco. A good balance. I've tried the same trailer with a 90 and found it a bit skittish.

IIRC a 90 only has a max weight of 3000kg so may have been closer to the max which could have been why it was skittish.

Big horse ~= 750-800kg
IW 510 = 1000kg

Between 2500 & 2600kg with the trailer + horses - still within the capability of a 90 but closer - add in 4 adults at 70kg each and you're up at 2780kg to 2880kg. Tack and other gubbins could easily take a vehicle over the max weight.

[vicskyline]

we are always towing horse trailers in our defender 90 , but gotta say my old disco 300tdi XS was lovely at towing!  :D

[bastynitch]

we are always towing horse trailers in our defender 90 , but gotta say my old disco 300tdi XS was lovely at towing!  :D

vic, it is an ifor williams two horse trailer, you pull usually with two big horses in and it seems quite stable--mind you when i take my big baby horse out he can be a bit unpredictable--so its not so stable at times!!
you do an excellent job towing them though   ;) :clap:

my diesel frontera is not too bad, it drags abit up rockingham hill though  lol

[Ginny]

Having towed horse trailers with a variety of vehicles over the years I liked the Disco's but not enough room  :roll:
Our old Pajero (2.5) was ok but not enough oomph for 2 hefty "neds", the current Paj (3.5) is a dream to tow with apart from the fuel consumption     Also liked towing with a RR V8 but  :cry:at the fuel we used!!

[adafish]

been there done that...went from a 2 pony wooden trailer, then a bateson derby, a sinclair with living, now gone down the HORSEBOX route..with living for 4 and carry 3 horses

[laser_jock99]

The Landcruiser 4.2TD comes highly recomened by a chap I know who uses one in his 'boat moving' business.

[freeagent]

Landcruiser 4.2TD auto is the king of towing vehicles..

but any Defender/Disco/Patrol would do the job...

[Smego]

Landcruiser or Nissan patrol over LR's any day, both (UK spec) will have rear diff locks as standard, helpful for pulling weight of muddy fields, better than traction control anyday!!

[Range Rover Blues]

Horseboxes tend to be the most stable of trailer anyway, wide at the bottom and the axles near the back.  That also makes them easier to manouvre.

[Range Rover Blues]

Trooper here. Will tow all day long and as solid as a rock with IFS, far more stable on the road than anything with a live axle up front.

 :-k
Hmmm, I doubt that TBH I really do.  Trouble is most LR belonging to members are modified for off-road performance and articulation, which you can hardly argue is better with IFS, but a stock LR (particularly with EAS) makes a very stable towcar with far better handling near the limit because it doesn't suffer dynamic camber changes.

The big downside to a beam axle is of course the unsprung weight.


Anyhoo, back tot he original question, there is plenty of choice for a decent towcar, so decide ow much you want to spend and go take a look at some.

[flash42]

IIRC a 90 only has a max weight of 3000kg so may have been closer to the max which could have been why it was skittish.

Wrong




Tech Details on

http://www.hartwell.co.uk/asp/index.asp?regno=AJ09BXS&lnk=102

[vicskyline]

we are always towing horse trailers in our defender 90 , but gotta say my old disco 300tdi XS was lovely at towing!  :D

vic, it is an ifor williams two horse trailer, you pull usually with two big horses in and it seems quite stable--mind you when i take my big baby horse out he can be a bit unpredictable--so its not so stable at times!!
you do an excellent job towing them though   ;) :clap:

my diesel frontera is not too bad, it drags abit up rockingham hill though  lol

Yer but then you call us to tow your trailer and the frontera back up the hill!!  :lol: :lol: :lol:(Only Joking)

[Terranosaurus]

Another one into the mix

Terrano II - LWB is probably more suited to towing but I've used my lifted SWB to tow my other halfs horses around with no problems at all. Plated to tow 2.8T so enough for what you're talking about though not as much as some of the above, but if you go for an intercooled diesel model (mk2 onwards with bonnet scoop) you can have TD5 power for 200TDi money, mega reliable engine will go to the moon and back - they fitted them to london taxi's too.

[lambert]

not horses but a 3500kg twin deck sheep trailer fully loaded up a 1in3 incline on the back of my disco with not a bit of fuss due to being able to use low box without tightening the drivetrain. discovery 200tdi, bonza!