What tow car?

[MAD80]

Hey guys, Ive got a mate thinking of buying a 4wd. His main use will be towing a race car (approx 1800kg combined car and trailer).

Looking for suggestions on make/model petrol(gas) or diesel, man or auto.

He's got a budget or about 10 grand.

Currently using a au falcon sedan, and it can get a bit scary! (probly illegal too!!)

Cheers

[mhgill]

GQ Patrol
80 Series
F100

[thehanko]

i know the ba - auto falcons had a tow limit of 2300 kilos would have thought an au would be similar.

i towed those weights with a ba and bf without issue, however a bigger heavier car does tow those weights more comfortably as the trailer movments dont effect the heavier car as much.

I assume he currently has trailer brakes fitted? ideally electric ones so he can pull the trailer into line if it starts to get jittery? and be legal of course.

we have used patrols 4.2 diesel turbo, old solid axle hilux, new navarras, new rodeos and lots of falcons, petrol and gas commodores.

flacons tow well and fast - but drink a bit.
rodeos were a pain in the but with diffs and turbos and various other things crapping them selves - would steer away from common rail diesels as they work so hard to make the power.
old hilux wont tow 1.9 tonne legally.
commos were dissapointing both petty and gas.

I now have a patrol for towing, good torque, tough and dont work to hard, but also arent fast.

if fuel costs werent an issue i would probably toe in the falcon ute still, but when i was in a rush it would use 30L per hundred without blinking. it used much less if you tow slower, but then why bother having more power??? if you dont use it.

the troll cant really push 20L per 100 if it tries.

for me manual trol (cheaper than an 80) but turbo it, or a ba falcon auto (not manual). both can be had for 10k.

[booflux]

The AU also has the 2300Kg towing capacity, so it wouldnt currently be illegal.

IMO for the money you would be hard pressed finding something much better, a GQ Patrol may use less fuel but when not towing the Falcon would be a better drive car. At the weights mentioned the Falcon shouldnt have a drama maybe check out the suspension etc and make sue everything is in good nick.

[gonfellon]

land rovers or range rovers have high tow rating

[chimpboy]

Discovery or Range Rover, as said they are good for (I think) 3.5 tons of legal towing.

[thehanko]

land rovers or range rovers have high toe rating

is a high toe rating something to do with how many toes you break when you kick the bastard for breaking down on the side of the hwy?

[gonfellon]

lol just the silly ones that where jandles but ha toe and tow i noses what i was meanings lol

[tweak'e]

Currently using a au falcon sedan, and it can get a bit scary!

sounds like something wrong with your trailer setup.
how is it "scary" ?
what sort of trailer?

we pull 2-3ton with a D22 navara. slowish on the hills but it does it with no dramas.

[nicbeer]

early prado is worth a mention also

[Eddy]

Currently using a au falcon sedan, and it can get a bit scary!

as said, if the heavy tow pack is already fitted to the falc, he'll be struggling to find better, other than the wagon version. (leaf sprung rear)

I regularly tow similar loads in my EA wagon, and have no problems. couple weeks back I towed a 2.2 tonne tractor, with slasher, about 250kms at mostly 95 kph, but got to 110 on a couple nice open areas

IMO it is more likely to be a loading issue.

Start by checking the tyre pressures. On a previous career path, I was frequently amazed ... nay ; astounded at the number of people who came into the shop and said "my trailer/caravan is crap to tow blah blah ... "

first thing is check tyre pressures. 99 times out of 100 there'd be discrepancies of 5-10 psi, and often more.

On a tandem trailer, the rear tyres should be a touch tighter than the fronts, and side to side should be as close as possible. a difference of 5 psi can have the trailer zigging and zagging .... maybe even looking like it wants to overtake ...

Then of course there is the trailer. some trailers simply are not trailers ... more like portable ramps ...
One of the local trailer hire places here has a 14'x6'6" trai ... portable ramp, which is a real terror to tow;- axles out of alignment, flexy A frame ...

[frp88]

land rovers or range rovers have high toe rating

is a high toe rating something to do with how many toes you break when you kick the bastard for breaking down on the side of the hwy?

Shit that is funny

[Guy]

Trol ... will want to drink if you push it, will pull it easy under all weather conditions have seen a falcon\trailer combo literally blown off the road by a B-double going in the opposite directin and got a bit close the patrol I was in in front was buffeted a bit but was OK pulling a slab sided 8x5 box with a 6 foot box on top .. the falcon had no chance pulling a similar size trailer (experinaced driver etc )

[oldmate]

Assuming the trailer is set up right than the issue is likely the fact that at 1800kg the trailer is as heavy, if not heavier than the tow vehicle.

get a gq or 80 simply for the weight.

[coxy321]

I've done most of my car towing in a S2 AU Wagon - never had a drama at all. Was quite good on both LPG and petrol too, although petrol offered a bit more torque. I've also done plenty of work in MK and GQ wagons (both diesel) which behaved very well and were quite efficient.

[80's_delirious]

if the trailer is not balanced well with the car on it it will be scary to tow. A little too much weight on the font or a little too much on the rear can make a huge difference.
I recently towed my 80series on a trailer with a 3t truck, I wasnt too comfortable with how it was towing to start with, I wouldnt go over 80km/hr. Stopped and shifted the car 2 inches on the trailer and it made a huge difference it was happy at 120km/hr no problems.

[chimpboy]

if the heavy tow pack is already fitted to the falc, he'll be struggling to find better, other than the wagon version. (leaf sprung rear)

While I rushed to add a suggestion, I agree with the above - the falcons are great for towing and he may just need to work out what's going wrong.

[chunks]

The AU also has the 2300Kg towing capacity, so it wouldnt currently be illegal.

IMO for the money you would be hard pressed finding something much better, a GQ Patrol may use less fuel but when not towing the Falcon would be a better drive car. At the weights mentioned the Falcon shouldnt have a drama maybe check out the suspension etc and make sue everything is in good nick.

I agree, Falcons make awesome tow cars.

[coxy321]

Shocking clour, but something like THIS would be great. Tow in comfort! The factory fitted HD towpack's from Ford also have a decent sized transmission cooler too, and if you're super lucky, you might even be able to find an AU V8 wagon.

OR, if you're in a hurry, something like THIS might be better suited. Might be worth a bit in a few years given the rarity of later model V8 wagons.

[nerida67]

hey you guys saying falcon wagons are good tow cars ,
obviously havent towed with a 4x4 yet ????
theres no way this side of the black stump id SAFELY tow over 2 tonne succesfully or for long periods of time with a falcon or commodore
not now not EVER
ive towed over 2 tonne with my old mq sd33 (still do)and my gq 4.2 efi auto and both cars do it quite well and have done it for long distances and for a long time (even had 3 tonne on the back and still no problems)
have heard of people pulling such wieght with falcons and/or commodore but they dont seem to hold onto vechicles for long periods,so long term affects of such are not known
with these loads full chassis car only
dunno if i was taught wrong when i was a young strapper here but,
i was always told that the tow vechicle must wieght the same if not more than the load on the trailer (including trailer)
with the 4.2 gq loads or hills are no problem
if the gq 4.2 arent your flavour an 80 series turbo diesel landcrap have lots of low down GRUNT

[tweak'e]

i don't think they are saying they are a great tow car but i will do the job. if they are having big towing problems, the problem is not with the vehicle.
granted a heavy 4x4 would make a better tow vehicle but it may not fix their problem.

[beinthemud]

camel

[NICK]

i personally would get an early 90's chev silverado. you can pick up a pretty good one for 12-15 grand, it would tow a shit load better than a falcon.

[Eddy]

hey you guys saying falcon wagons are good tow cars ,
obviously havent towed with a 4x4 yet ????

WRONG!! I would suggest you study my driving records before you make such a blind sweeping statement.

theres no way this side of the black stump id SAFELY tow over 2 tonne succesfully or for long periods of time with a falcon or commodore
not now not EVER

obviously a good choice ... for you

have heard of people pulling such wieght with falcons and/or commodore but they dont seem to hold onto vechicles for long periods,so long term affects of such are not known
with these loads full chassis car only

Had my EA for over 4 years now ... holding up well.

dunno if i was taught wrong when i was a young strapper here but,
i was always told that the tow vechicle must wieght the same if not more than the load on the trailer (including trailer)
with the 4.2 gq loads or hills are no problem

better redo your sums on what you claim to be towing then.

ive towed over 2 tonne with my old mq sd33

I also have towed a 2.4 tonne load with a SD33, and then towed that very same load back with my old XA wagon. I know which I'd sooner use, and It ain't made in japan!!



I have been towing heavy loads for over 30 years, and do have some idea of what I am on about. I have towed with 4x4s ... big and small, I have towed with light trucks, heavy trucks, and bloody HUGE trucks. In that time, I have been able to make a few observations, have gained a little experience and have been able to judge what tows good and what doesn't.

I have found that the falcons are the best towing vehicle in their price/weight/configuration range. They also do as good or a better job than most full size 4x4s.
Now if ALL you want to do with the vehicle is tow a 3 tonne trailer, then; no, the falc is not the vehicle for the job, and nor for that matter is a Patrol/L/Cruiser/Land rover etc. Here we need to be looking at something in the light-medium truck range.
But for the purposes specified in the original question, he is better off checking everything else, and making sure it's working properly before wasting money on a vehicle that he will curse every other day of the week.

[coxy321]

hey you guys saying falcon wagons are good tow cars ,
obviously havent towed with a 4x4 yet ????

Did you read my first post?

EDIT: Dont some of the newer utes (Navara/Rodeo) have a 3.5T braked towing capacity?

[Eddy]

hey you guys saying falcon wagons are good tow cars ,
obviously havent towed with a 4x4 yet ????

Did you read my first post?

lol ... Maaaaate! ... he read very little if anything!

[nerida67]

so eddy,
u go to the front of the class !!!!
by redo my sums wat do u mean there ????
so a xa falcon wagon weighs wat 1700 kg wet ?,and u pull a 2.2tonne tractor with it ???
SO the car would wiegh less than the trailer,would that be safe ???
ive an xc v8 here and id safely put more wieght on the mq patrol anyday,whether its made in japan or not
but u are right in some curcumstances,alot of the time trailers are not set up right,hence why the handle like bags of sh*t
BUT a very large % of trailer issues are from inexperienced or under informed people
but im not one of those ,as i like your self have towed large loads for a long time so i do know wat im talkin about,subject to wat some people mite assume
im certainly not one of the so called LEGEND trailer people that mite tow a 6x4 box trailer to the tip once a year

[coxy321]

You do realise there's different limits for braked/unbraked trailers, yes?? You haven't mentioned that once.

[nerida67]

yes u are right
there are differences between braked and unbraked tailers
in qld its 750kg maximum unbreaked
the local fuzz are booking people all the time with those 1000 litre water tanks on unbreaked trailers(6x4s ect)

[bakerboy]

the local fuzz are booking people all the time with those 1000 litre water tanks on unbreaked trailers(6x4s ect)

is that an empty or full water tank

as mentioned, keep the ford, and use any coin he was going to spend to either upgrade the tranny cooler (tranny's dont like the heat thus only found out and about late at night) or stick some HD suspension gear in the ass end (pm bogged the madi gras float captain if you want more details)