27 replies to this topic

[jamiemcd]

b_ellebaut, on 16 December 2010 - 05:53 AM, said:

I have looked at this. But consider it not that bad because i do it only ones a month.
BUT i have checked some others, and I might gofor the mitsubishi pajero. It has a towing limit of 3500 kg and looks nive both in and outside.

Oh, you'll only be a danger to all the other road users and pedestrians you pass once a month? That makes it all okay then!

On a more serious note, it takes a split-second to get into a snake and/or crash with such an outfit, and when the towcar is unsuitable you immediately get into a situation where the trailer is towing the car - not good.

The Pajero (Shogun for us Brits) is a 'proper' 4x4 rather than an SUV, so yes it comes into the towing classes of the likes of the LR Discovery, Toyota Land Cruiser etc. but you certainly won't be getting good fuel economy. If you're just going to do it once a month, why not think about getting a cheap 4x4 in good condition and use it for towing?

For info btw, towing limit doesn't cover safety. It is simply what the vehicle will happily pull on a flat level surface. Find a hill and find yourself struggling a little. If you're inexperienced at towing, aim for 85% of the kerbweight of the vehicle. If you're very experienced, you can go up to 100% but should never go above that point.

[b_ellebaut]

I tow stuff very often.
And
about being a risk. I informed myself a a polyester trailrt weighs 750-800 kg. A horse 850 kg MAX! So you get 1650 kg. And that is still below the mondeo and way below the kuga and stuff!

[jamiemcd]

b_ellebaut, on 16 December 2010 - 02:12 PM, said:

I tow stuff very often.
And
about being a risk. I informed myself a a polyester trailrt weighs 750-800 kg. A horse 850 kg MAX! So you get 1650 kg. And that is still below the mondeo and way below the kuga and stuff!

Approximate kerbweight of a Mondeo is 1567Kg according to Parkers, which will be close enough. 85% of this is ~1332Kg.
The Kuga is ~1613Kg Kerbweight.
You're above 100% on both counts.

As mentioned above, Max Towing Weight counts for nothing when there's an incline, and certainly counts for less than nothing when there's a problem such as a snaking trailer, tyre blowout or sharp avoidance manoeuvre, all of which have increased potential to send you, the horse and any other motorists or pedestrians that happen to be nearby to an early end.

If you're going to tow on public roads, do it properly. A VW Touareg with a lot of Lead in the boot can tow a Jumbo Jet slowly on a runway. Does that mean I'd use one to tow a Jumbo Jet down a motorway? No, of course not. Towing a horse box with a horse in it with a Mondeo or even a Kuga will knacker the car and put other people's lives at risk.

[b_ellebaut]

You got a point there and got me convinced.
Been checking out some real 4x4's and I'm going for a testdrive with a Nissan Navara, Isuzu Dmax and the one I will probably buy: defender. Price is reasonable which makes me be able to put a lot of options on it.

[gaskell71]

There is another choice the VW Torureg V10TDI Ideal for towing anything from a horsebox to your Boeing 747!

[harveyg77]

Having owned Land_Rovers, etc. I can tell you they are ok for towing, as are Pajero's. Some of you seem to be slating a 1600kg Kuga for beign able to tow 2100kg then going on to say get a Pajero (or whatever it was) as they weigh 2100kg and can tow 3500kg. This is just as dangerous as the Kuga if you tow its maximum weight. Granted if you tow 2000kg then the weight of the vehicle is greater than the trailer.

However I do think people are naively assuming that big 4x4s are the holy-grail for towing. They're not at all! I know quit e afew people with big 4x4s who've rolled them due to the top-heavy roly-poly handling. If they have trailer problems, the tow vehicles roll over at the slightest provocation.

Discovery td5s are horrendous, they've got a relatively short wheel-base and long rear overhang and no power.

Pick-ups are not always ideal for modern light wieght trailers as the pick-ups all use a leaf suspension if you've ever owned one (I have owned several) you'd know that they are extremely hard and jarring on the rear and this can damage trailers.

A lot of the big 4x4s don't have particularly food breaks, some having drum rear and/or just solid front discs. Look at the breaking results for a Pajero/Discovery compared with say a Mondeo.

I would suggest for moderate sensible towing the Kuga is going to be a decent vehicle. Itys got the 4x4 for low traction situations (assuming you don't buy the pointless 2wd one), has good brakes, handles well with good stability and a low centre of gravity and will be about the most economical. From experience I can say a Freelander tows extremely well indeed too. The only advantage a Pajero/Discovery has is a low ratio box, which is only really of use for manoeuvring. Any faster road work and it will run out of puff above about 20mph (in low box)!

There are some more modern large 4x4s which are better such as the Touareg, ML, but really these are ina different price range for runnign costs compared to a Kuga/Freelander.

[MaxD]

Everyone always manages to forget about the comfortable heavy weight Ssanyong Musso - not the Daewoo variant. It may be an older beast, but that means it's considerably cheaper - there is a 2001 model with 30k on the clock on Ebay for £2500. We own a 1997 2.9TD manual which uses a Mercedes sprinter engine. It's coming up to 190k on the clock which we've put on since 97. It will happily play in the mud and has no issue pulling a trailer at 90mph. At 95 it starts to wobble. Before you all flame me, the trailer was built from a Mini Cooper S chassis with dual braked axles and is the same width as the Musso.

What I'm saying, is the vehicle can easily pull a 2.5 tonne rib out of the sea when in 4 wheel low or drive on ice and through deep snow - not the British couple of inches, but a proper 2-3 foot deep snow of the Alps without a trailer. It also has the option for 4 wheel high and 2 wheel high for road driving. Like most of these vehicles, if you put your foot down, it will happily drink fuel and you can easily empty the tank within a week. It's a fun drive when you've got a good income! Driving sensibly, I can get around 450 miles to a tank which is better than my Mondeo mk1 at the moment.

We also have a 1986 Pajero (left hooker) for use in the South of France - this is one true work horse. It had no issues ripping a tree stump out of the ground, ploughing through snow that is over your bonnet. Top speed is about 70mph, down hill with the wind behind you, but you don't feel that there is a trailer attached (same trailer as mentioned already). It also has a winch on the front for those "just in case" moments.

I had to pull a Touareg out of a filthy stinking bog as got stuck whilst in Cornwall last year, so I can't recommend one of them!

I guess it all boils down to how deep your pockets are and what you need the vehicle to do.

[4x4]

One of the features of the Kuga is it's Trailer Assist program, which is part of the ESP package. If a compatible towbar and electrics are fitted, it plugs into the CAN bus and activates the stability program if the trailer starts to cause the Kuga to yaw. The EBS and ABS automatically applies and brakes the correct wheels and reduces power output until the trailer is back under control. If necessary the Kuga will come to a halt.
I'm not recommending that this overides any safe towing ratings, but if the rig is stabilised in this way, it's got to help improve safety.