Towing Car Recommendations

[Jim@sea]

I keep reading of people buying or recommending "Discoveries" to tow a boat.
However I found 20 years ago that the Discovery I had wasent up to it, so I bought a 4.2 Diesel Nissan Patrol. As part of my business I would have to frequently tow a 3.5 Ton Trailer. Which is probably the weight of a 25ft boat on a trailer.
What impressed me about the Patrol over the Discovery is that on a 160 mile towing trip which I did twice a week I was back an hour earlier, I could just put it on the motorway at 60 and sit there, and there was one particular hill the other side of Huddersfield where the Disco would be down to third gear.
In this country the most you are "legally" allowed to tow is 3.5 ton. The Discovery is designed to tow 3.5 ton. The Patrol is designed to tow 5 ton but in the UK they have to put a 3.5 ton restriction plate on it.
And they are so reliable, they go from Mot to Mot without even a bulb change. My present Patrol is a 3.0. 170 BHP and when my 22ft boat is on the back you can forget it is there and at 60mph it does 25mpg.
The only disadvantage to Patrols is that they are getting rarer. The other day on the Autotrader web site there was only 31 for sale "Nationwide" but there were hundreds and hundreds of discoveries for sale.
Anyway just thought I would give people another option if they were going to buy a tow car.

 

[landlockedpirate]

The Disco's of 20 years ago are very different to the more modern cars. 20 years ago your choice was a 200tdi or a 2.0l petrol, neither were very good in a 2000kg 4x4-as you found out.

Try a TD5 or even better a TDV6, serious load lugging kit.

Taken about 10 years ago, TD5 towing a totally illegal 4500kg for over 3000 miles to Menorca and Back, never missed a beat. The Nissan did OK too, but even with only 3000kg it was down to less than 10mph on some hills.

 

[moonraker 36]

had 3 range rovers all v8-petrols good tow car **** reliabilty.
now use a 4.0l 6cylinder petrol jeep grand cherokee pulls and drives better than the rangi.

 

[Mr Googler]

I recently bought an 05 isuzu rodeo. This thing can pull your house down plus it is very good on fuel. The 3.0 diesel is awesome and super reliable.

I was a landrover man through and through but have been super impressed with the Isuzu. We towed 2.75 ton 200 miles without breaking a sweat. I would steer clear of the nissan navara. Looks great but loads of driveline issues i.e. clutches etc. Shame as the Patrol is and was so good.

 

[AndieMac]

There has been some good wins with the late model Jap. utes/pickups, mainly in the power/economy area.
As others have said the 3.0 litre diesel in any of the configurations (Nissan, Ford/Mazda, Isuzu/GMH,Toyota) is absolutely stunning, with the grunt of a charging rhino.
The earlier series Navara had gearbox issues and the current series has isolated examples of engine timing chain problems.
The manufacturers have made all the current series (manual version) Ute/pickups with a taller first gear, aiming them at a more general market, besides farmers and tradesmen, causing clutch burn out for those towing heavy trailers.
If you are serious about towing heavy gear in these manual vehicles, you need to think heavy duty, after market clutches, and avoid high-range take-offs on inclines.
The Nissan Patrol (late 4.2L or 3.0L) with a heavy duty clutch and load stabilizes IMO is the weapon of choice for brutal tow work and moderate comfort.

 

[rubberduck]

EBY run several Range Rover sports which they use to tow heavy (very sometimes) all over the place.

 

[aquapower]

I have a Landcruiser with a 3.0 diesel which tows well, however if you need more power then go for the 4.5 landcruiser v8 diesel, theres no stopping that.
Had a patrol many years ago, think it was a 3.3 diesel and have to say at the time it was an excellent piece of kit, just not as refined as a modern 4x4

 

[BartW]

The earlier series Navara had gearbox issues and the current series has isolated examples of engine timing chain problems.
The manufacturers have made all the current series (manual version) Ute/pickups with a taller first gear, aiming them at a more general market, besides farmers and tradesmen, causing clutch burn out for those towing heavy trailers.

I can add that the Navara is a car with very hard suspension, we had one in the company, unusable for general long distance driving, only for farmers or so.

for the serious towing work (3,5T) for me the only good choices are Landcruiser, Rangerover or my Mercedes GL, with which I am very pleased,
with air suspension, and automatic gear (7way) this is a very nice car to drive, also for general usage and long distance.

the technical limit on towing vehicles apart from the country typical registration is the towing hook,
the ball hook can max pull 3,5 Tons.
(I am always surprised how such a small piece of steel can pulll this dynamic 3,5T ?)

there are some US made pickups (RAM, Ford, ...) with a RING hook, some of them can pull 5 or 7 ton, (also depending on typical country certification)
but no personal experience myself and we europeans would rather call these trucks.

 

[PaulGooch]

Land Rovers are cack. The late model Nissan Navara has some serious engine issues, low mileage models are failing at an alarming rate. It does keep the local car thieves busy though, stealing them for the engines.

I'd put my money into a Landcruiser.

 

[rafiki_]

I towed with Discos for years, and they never missed a beat. Much better than their reputation.

have just bought a 2 year old TD V6 for trailer testing. Would not consider anything else. Best cpmpromise of towing ability and comfort.

 

[DavidJ]

I've towed a Sealine S23 behind a 3litre Vauxhall Montery (badged Izuzu Trouper) and a 2.8 Mitsubishi Pajero (Shogun) Both excellent but I found the Pajero gearing to be better spaced for towing.
Still got the Pajero which is now 9 trouble free years with 130k on the clock.

 

[jparham]

Upgrade to a mid '90s Patrol from Japan. Called a 'Safari' over there, the spec is higher than you can get here in the UK. I bought an imported '93 Safari Kingsroad. This has a 4.2 turbo-diesel. Basically the same engine as your 4.2 diesel, with factory fitted turbo. Two sets of AC units and heaters, plus a beer cooler in the back! And absolutely no rust - thekiller here in the UK. Oh, and it's 24 volt for better starting in real cold weather.
Around £5K in Japan, £1K to the UK on a RORO. Plus 8% duty, plus 17.5% VAT.
Huge amount of car for a small amount of dosh.
Depends on how much you are towing, but you can mod the standard auto box to lock up in any gear. Add an extra ATF oil cooler.
As said above, miss the Patrols/Navaras with 3 litre turbodiesels. Loads on the web about this - tend to throw a piston.
Parts and spares haven't been a problem yet....

If you want a pukka UK car, go for a Landcruiser VX 4.2 turbodiesel - but parts are much more expensive than Patrols.
My 'posh truck' (above)has around 90K miles and feels like it is just run in.
My 'dog truck' ('90 Patrol - Cyprus import) I bought new. 170K miles and will still go anywhere (been to Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, France, Ireland etc)

 

[AndieMac]

I can add that the Navara is a car with very hard suspension, we had one in the company, unusable for general long distance driving, only for farmers or so.

for the serious towing work (3,5T) for me the only good choices are Landcruiser, Rangerover or my Mercedes GL, with which I am very pleased,
with air suspension, and automatic gear (7way) this is a very nice car to drive, also for general usage and long distance.

The Jap. 4x4's are never going to ride like the British or German vehicles, in fact more like a billy cart, but to compare the new cost (for us anyway) for European gear, there is such a dramatic price difference, only the very wealthy can consider Range Rover or Merc.

The ageing (affordable?) Discos and Range Rovers suffer from expensive electronic system failures, from their luxurious interiors to the multiple engine - drive-train sensors etc.

The earliest 3.0L Nissan engine (GU 1 Patrol - approx. 2000) was problematic until they increased the sump/oil capacity. Everthing has been fine ever since, and with the Patrol's extremely solid drive train, makes it a good option when a demanding call is made.

The very popular Landcruiser, has had problems in the drive-train and suspension, when put to work in a heavy environment.
The mid 1990's 4.2L diesel suffered from crankshaft failure due to heavy carbon deposits, right through to excessive oil burning in the newest V8 diesel, due to inferior piston rings.
The new 200 series has greatly improved the past suspension issues also.

The Western Australian mining companies appear to favour the Patrol, as fleet owners, due to their robust status and long term cost effectiveness.

That said, the average recreational/towing vehicle owner is hardly going to test the boundaries of vehicle endurance with these larger machines, just like we do/don't with our boats.

 

[nickd]

Isuzu Rodeo

Hi all
I have just purchased my third Rodeo Denver, simply because I cannot find anything better.
They have all been totally reliable and they just tow all day up hill and down dale without effort - normally end up overtaking the q of caravans going up the hill. If you need the extra seats then the back seats in this Double Cab have by far the best legroom over comparable motors. I also like having the pickup part as this is totally seperate from the main cab accomodation which means you can throw all of your wet gear in there and it simply drains out of the back without misting up the main cabin
Cheers