What do you tow your boat with?

[blackrandomapple]

Looking to buy a new vehicle for towing my boat, It weighs approx 1600kg

Been looking at Navara's and Vivaro's so far.

Im not loaded so looking at 5-6k

Will be used mainly on the motorway too so good mpg is a must?

 

[sarabande]

OK, boat mass 1600kg, trailer about 500kg, so you do need a decent truck, rated to - say - 2500kg.

The Nissan and Toyotas are very popular here on the moor. Ford not so much. Vauxhalls not at all.

You should be able to pick up a good diesel Hilux for that money.

Low mileage, professional owners, therefore serviced, 32000 miles.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Hi...5?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item41782ebe09

 

[blackrandomapple]

Actually its 1600kg complete with trailer (Bayliner 185)

 

[johnwest]

And for launching and recovery rear wheel drive or a 4x4.

j

 

[cryan]

The new Ford truck is a beast but will be out your price range( and mine) for a few years. I have recently been looking at trucks too but found them far more expensive that the equivalent SUV. Pick ups, whilst cheaper new, seem to retain their values better. I have been looking at the Mitsubishi Shogun Sport which looks like an L200 but seems cheaper. Vans have surprisingly low towing capacities. Another I've heard recommended is the big Kia (Sorrento?)

 

[aquaplane]

Some big people carriers are rated to 2Te so you could use one of those.
I would check that the all up weight is correct by weighing the trailer+boat first.
Put Ford Galaxy into there:
http://www.uktow.com/towing capacity.asp

I would think it may be a less painfull everyday car than a 4x4 too.

 

[Corribee Boy]

Actually, not all vans have low towing capacities - Dylan (KTL) rents a transit - which is easily capable of towing that load - when he needs one. Of course, it's not so useful if you have rough or slippery ground to cope with!

Of course, it depends if you're towing often, and if you need another vehicle anyway.

 

[Keith-i]

How often do you need to tow it and what are the slipways you use like? I tow my rib twice a year and launch on a concrete slip. It weighs close on 1600 too and whilst I normally use my old jalopy Jeep, I've done it a couple of times with my fwd Audi A3 and had no problems at all. I think people overrate the need for 4wd sometimes.

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

Why not a Land Rover Discovery? cheap to buy and reliable; it can tow anything.

 

[aquaplane]

I think people overrate the need for 4wd sometimes.

4wd is handy on a slippy and/or steep slipway if there isn't a tractor for an assisted launch but I generally agree with you.

Where a 4x4 comes in is the towing capacity not the traction.

To go up to 3.5Te you have to have a 4x4 afaik.

Not many cars can tow above 1500Kg legaly and if you push it to 2000Kg the choice is even more limited.

Also it's much easier to tow my 1500Kg trail sailer with the Discovery than it was with the Pug 406 where it was on the limit weight wise.

 

[Lakesailor]

I think people overrate the need for 4wd sometimes.

This is at Ferry nab. That is a good, clean slipway with no current. By the time he'd got the boat out he'd cooked the clutch. A 4X4 with a low ratio box is good. Ones with auto are also good for slipway use.

If you are on a tidal slipway with a slippery and loose surface, the wind has picked up and a current is running across the slip. That's a bad time to find your car won't pull the boat out.

The smoka above the bonnet and drifting behind the car is from his clutch

This picture shows the warden taking over because the Volvo wouldn't pull the yacht out of the lake

 

[Avocet]

Nissan X-Trail might be worth a look. One of the best tow cars I've ever had. Most have a rated towing capacity of 2000kg. Only thing I'd say is that they don't have low ratio gears, so setting off up a slipway with the boat on the back might give the clutch a hard time.

 

[bikerbill]

The tow cars I have are a Volvo S70 and a Range Rover. There has been the odd occasion when I've assisted in retrieving boats at the marina when their front wheel drive cars make troughs in the ground

 

[davidpbo]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think the Subaru estate and Forester have low ratio mpg not too bad. Kia Sorrento is another one. I drive a Nissan Pathfinder, 3000kgs towing capacity. Mpg not brill <30mpg I think.

I would rather use a van or people carrier if I could but boat too heavy.

 

[William_H]

Not much help to you but I have a Ford TerritorySUV style 2WD auto with 4l engine. 2600kg rated max tow. Certainly no problem with my 1300kg boat and trailer.
i have laso pulled it out with a 2L camry auto and 4WD Mitsubishi L300. Plus a variety of larger auto sedans over the years. The bigger cars of course need to tow an oil refinery behind them as they guzzle petrol. olewill

 

[blackrandomapple]

Thanks for A awesome response, I currently use a citreon berlingo 2.0hdi, Pulls it like a train, Launching and retreaving is fine too just have to make sure you pull it on when the tide is coming in, wet slip ways is not good.

I live 100miles from the sea so a new vehicle is a must.....

Looking around, I think it will be a Navara or a Vivaro!

 

[onesea]

Do it properly Landrover 110. I had Disco if it went over 60 with heavy traffic towing 1.8t of caravan it was not happy..

The only thing unhappy on the 110 at 75 ish is the fuel gauge you CAN see it move... keep it to 60 or tuck in behind a coach and its not so bad.

Without towing it does around 30 as long as you stay below 70, towing sensibly I think its 25 but... me sensible? worst score was 18, but that was not going slowly...

 

[ghostlymoron]

Do it properly Landrover 110. I had Disco if it went over 60 with heavy traffic towing 1.8t of caravan it was not happy..

The only thing unhappy on the 110 at 75 ish is the fuel gauge you CAN see it move... keep it to 60 or tuck in behind a coach and its not so bad.

Without towing it does around 30 as long as you stay below 70, towing sensibly I think its 25 but... me sensible? worst score was 18, but that was not going slowly...

I'm surprised that towing increases your fuel consumption by so little! When I tow a caravan with my Merc, the fuel consumption goes from 53mpg to 30 mpg.

 

[ProDave]

Correct me if I am wrong but I think the Subaru estate and Forester have low ratio mpg not too bad. Kia Sorrento is another one. I drive a Nissan Pathfinder, 3000kgs towing capacity. Mpg not brill <30mpg I think.

I would rather use a van or people carrier if I could but boat too heavy.

I tow mine with a Forester 2.0X (the base model) but that has a manufacturers towing limit of 1500Kg. Enough for my little boat and it tows like a train up to 60 (never tried it any higher, but plenty of power available if I wanted to)

You would have to go up to a more "posh" model to get a higher towing limit.

I like the non turbo Subaru's, as the engines don't self destruct if the timing belt snaps.

Permanent 4WD and dual range transfer box so a good tow car, but none of the niceties like diff lock that you get on a proper off roader.

But above all, I like the Subaru's, because you get 4WD and dual range transfer box, for the same price as any other "ordinary" car. To me it's a no brainer, why would I ever choose a car without 4WD if it wasn't cheaper?

 

[davidpbo]

Permanent 4WD and dual range transfer box so a good tow car, but none of the niceties like diff lock that you get on a proper off roader.

But above all, I like the Subaru's, because you get 4WD and dual range transfer box, for the same price as any other "ordinary" car. To me it's a no brainer, why would I ever choose a car without 4WD if it wasn't cheaper?

I don't like the fact that for my vehicle (Nissan Pathfinder) Diff lock is automatically engaged in low ratio as I want to be able to use low ratio to save the clutch yet still have full maneuverability. Diff lock (centre and axles) really limits that and risks transmission damage on a firm surface. My old Trooper I could have modified it so I could have used low ratio without 4WD (not often necessary once off the slip) but never did.