what's the best tow / touring 4wd?

[Roctoy]

in about 3 weeks time i will be on the lookout for another 4wd.

i'm after a 4 door station wagon not a ute.
Must be able to tow a car trailer with my hilux on it (about 2 tonne incl trailer) cause i'm thinking of entering some comps next year
I want to continue travelling Australia in it, so i'd like air con.
It will never be modified for hard 4wding, just the usual touring stuff, probably wont ever get tyres bigger than 32' on it.
I have between $10,000 and $15,000 to spend.

I would really like an 80 series cruiser petrol but not sure if my budget allows for that.
Even a Troopy would be ok.

Not sure if a GQ (coil sprung) is a good option.

Can i get some other opinions on this and if any one knows of vehicles for sale can you let me know.

Cheers Chris

[Frenzal]

I'd be going for a long wheelbase GQ. They're brilliant for towing and touring and you'd get a pretty good one for less than $15,000. Whats more is that they're strong, reliable and relatively easy/cheap to work on. There are also plenty of them around.

(How's that for a good rap considering I don't even own one anymore!)

[-Scott-]

A Gen 2 Paj with the 2.8td could also do what you ask. Better ride and handling than the GQ on-road, and off-road tracks will need to be fairly severe before the GQ will lose it. They're pretty good for strength and reliability too.

Towing capacity could be an issue (think max is 2500kg) and I'm not sure what age/quality you'll get for your budget.

As the add used to say - please consider!

Cheers,

Scott

[Roctoy]

A Gen 2 Paj with the 2.8td could also do what you ask. Better ride and handling than the GQ on-road, and off-road tracks will need to be fairly severe before the GQ will lose it. They're pretty good for strength and reliability too.

Towing capacity could be an issue (think max is 2500kg) and I'm not sure what age/quality you'll get for your budget.

As the add used to say - please consider!

Cheers,

Scott

yeah, i think a Paj would be too light for towing my lux around.
Chris

[Daisy]

GQ turbo diesel wagon if you can.

TOM

[Roctoy]

the gq's are looking to be the cheapest.

BTW, what year did the 80 series' come out with the 4500L petrol 6?
i don't want one with a 3f motor in it?

Chris

[ozy1]

id go for the GQ diesel, i towed my MQ around with mine the other day for trials, it towed it no dramas, except on the hills, towing cap is around the 2500kg mark, and i worked out is had around the 2500kg mark on the back, went okay all the way up the putty road, even if i was in second,

but when towing, it definatly isnt a race, especially on the putty!

[1MadEngineer]

89-91 Range Rover Vogue

[Roctoy]

89-91 Range Rover Vogue

yeah, i thought of v8 rangies, but i'm looking at doing desert and Canning type trips in it and have to think about parts cost / availability and fuel consumption. The rangies definitely sound the best though.

Are they a 4.2L and what sort of dollars am i looking at for one? I do like the high seating position in the Range Rovers though, but how are they for storage space and leg room?
Chris

[PK]

I know that GQ's would probably be the go, but since I own one as a family car (and we do all our holidays in it towing a camper trailer - Fraser, Innamincka, Birdsville, Flinders Ranges etc) I would vote for a series 1 Disco or Rangie. (I also own a Wrangler - my toy, and my son has a sierra)
If you get on to a good one, you'll love it, get onto a lemon and you'll slash your wrists

[BigMav]

Sounds to me like your leaning towards a big petrol six, when towing your hilux you won't get very far on a tank and you definitely won't be able to make huge distances touring in places like the canning. Go for a turbo diesel six. Patrol of course. My old man has had a couple of cruisers and his first 80 was a 4.5L Petrol, went great but had no touring range and cost a lot to run, put it on gas and had trouble with water crossings, had that for six months before he got the shits with it and bought his current diesel 80 with all the usual touring mods. Awesome touring rig but worth quite a bit more money than a patrol of the same vintage, I think they first came out in 1990 or 91 from memory.

[-Scott-]

For remote touring it's gotta be a diesel.

For example: my brother recently travelled the Anne Beadell highway, from Coober Pedy to Laverton - approx 1400km. There's an Aboriginal Community approx 1000km from Coober Pedy (Neale Junction?) which is the only fuel stop on the track - they do not and will not sell petrol. How much unleaded will any of these big sixes use for 1400km of desert driving?

Cheers,

Scott

[tuff80]

Ok heres my opinion after towing a fully enclosed car trailer and show car all over the country for a few years with a few different tow cars,

80 series 4.5lt petrol and turbo diesel ,plenty of power and tow well power wise, but i found they tend to sway a little in the rear end with the trailer loaded, also seem to drop done in the rear a fair bit, 2>3 inches

I now tow with a 2000mdl dual cab Triton V6 4x4, this has plenty of power fo the job,, can be a little thirsty, but i found that the swaying has gone completely

From what i can work out it is mainly due to the rear ends ,, leaf springs in the triton seem to be better suited by far to towing than any of the coil sprung cars, i wouldnt now tow a heavy trailer with anything now thats not leaf sprung

[Tazz]

You would get an 80 with the 4.5 pety for around $15000.

I bought my 92 factory turbo diesel a couple of months ago for $15000, in xcellent condition, and the pety's were around at that price. Tows my other cruiser well.

[POS]

I don't think you can go far past a 3.9 Disco!!!

I have one and it tows the arse of the trailer and buggy! On the way back from Rover i was sitting on 145kmh quite easily! (not good for fuel compsumption and not good if i wanted to stop in a hurry ) but i was only doing this from time to time!

If your concern is Fuel then i think the TD5 would be right for you!

[Daisy]

like tuff80 said.. he has a point there..

leaf springs are very ideal for towing due to their ability to handle a towing load.

TOM

[RV80]

you dont want a twin cam 80 series for towing
thirsty as hell with out a car and trailer on the
back of them. they go hard but love to drink.

[MissDrew]

Daz got his 93 4.5lt petrol man GXL 80 for $15000 and it has, LF 240`s, 4 inch lift, 2 inch body lift, 6 new MTR 35`s, rear wheel carrier, 190lt aux fuel tank, cd player and that was about 4 months ago. So if you shop around and don`t be in a hurry you`ll get a good one.

I tow my lux with my 93 4.5lt auto GXL 80 and as long as the lux is postioned correctly on the trailer it tows great, I sat on about 130 140 coming back from Nissan Trials and it never moved. Was the same this year with cheezy`s mav on the back.

Yes it sags in the arse but I plan on putting air bags in the coils before I tow again with it.

As for fuel when towing the lux I get 27lts to 29lts per 100k`s and it don`t change from that wheather there is one person and no ac on, or 4 people, heaps of gear and the ac on. Haven`t worked it out yet but I think Daz will get better as his is man and ours is auto


As for touring in it, everybody knows 80`s are great for that.

[J Top]

Don't buy a Rover unless you want to put it on the trailer and tow it with the lux, as sometimes that will be the only way you will get home.
Go the GQ diesel,the Tortoise and the Hare.
Leaf springs ride firmer then coils,if you were to lower the ride quality of the coil vehicle by fitting heavy coils you could match the leaf spring towing ability.
Sway has a lot to do with overhang , the distance {leverage ratio} from
the towball to the diff.It also has a lot to do with trailer loading.
J Top

[Wooders]

F100? great for towing....chuck a camper on the back and heaps of room for multiple fuel tanks that you'd need

[ozy1]

if ya wanna do this right, get a housing loan, and buy yourself an F250, or an F350, will tow with ease, big turbo diesel, what more could you want!

Engine type 6 6.0l Power Stroke® Turbo Diesel 32-valve V8
Engine electronics Electronic
Displacement 363 CID
Horsepower (SAE net@rpm) 325@3,300
Torque (lb.-ft.@rpm) 570@2,000

Electronic Variable Response Turbocharging (EVRT™)

http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/superduty/

[-Scott-]

Leaf springs ride firmer then coils,if you were to lower the ride quality of the coil vehicle by fitting heavy coils you could match the leaf spring towing ability.
Sway has a lot to do with overhang , the distance {leverage ratio} from
the towball to the diff. It also has a lot to do with trailer loading.

Just repeating this for those who might have missed it - very important stuff to remember.

Scott

[Wooders]

Also if your towing a lot items like Poly airs or even full air systems can make life a lot better....best of both worlds then

[tuff80]

Leaf springs ride firmer then coils,if you were to lower the ride quality of the coil vehicle by fitting heavy coils you could match the leaf spring towing ability.
Sway has a lot to do with overhang , the distance {leverage ratio} from
the towball to the diff. It also has a lot to do with trailer loading.

Same trailer same load and same weight distribution(car only fits in 1 way and cant be moved forward or back) ,, And The leaf spring Triton out tows the 80 under these conditions

[-Scott-]

Leaf springs ride firmer then coils,if you were to lower the ride quality of the coil vehicle by fitting heavy coils you could match the leaf spring towing ability.
Sway has a lot to do with overhang , the distance {leverage ratio} from
the towball to the diff. It also has a lot to do with trailer loading.

Same trailer same load and same weight distribution(car only fits in 1 way and cant be moved forward or back) ,, And The leaf spring Triton out tows the 80 under these conditions

I have absolutely no doubt. I've also seen first hand (same track) the articulation available on the rear axle of a coil sprung 'Cruiser versus a leaf sprung Triton. The Triton had pitiful articulation. It had no sway bar, so the difference must be from incredibly stiff springs.

Double the spring rate on the 'Cruiser (and stiffen the dampers - inter- leaf friction etc.) and try again - which is what J Top was trying to say.

Cheers,

Scott

[Utemad]

if ya wanna do this right, get a housing loan, and buy yourself an F250, or an F350, will tow with ease, big turbo diesel, what more could you want!

Engine type 6 6.0l Power Stroke® Turbo Diesel 32-valve V8
Engine electronics Electronic
Displacement 363 CID
Horsepower (SAE net@rpm) 325@3,300
Torque (lb.-ft.@rpm) 570@2,000

Electronic Variable Response Turbocharging (EVRT™)

http://www.fordvehicles.com/trucks/superduty/

We won't see the 6.0 litre for a few years. We get the 7.3 litre. Makes a great tow vehicle. However it chews the fuel too and is crap around town for just about everything in dual cab form as it is 6.3 metres long and really wide. Would be cheaper to run a V8 Rover. They might break the budget anyway. An F250 XLT dual cab is about $76 000 RRP.

[spazbot]

funny you say that bout the 7.3l ftrucks my cousin get around the same millage as my olds 100 series whichs is a hell of alot less then the 20lper100 we get in the 4.5l petrol 80 on the highway

Go the dicso

[RUFF]

Can anyone give the Australian Legal towing capacities of the following Vehicles?

GQ-GU=
80Series=
Triton=
F-Trucks=
Range Rover,Discovery=


Chris Keep in mind that the average Hire car trailer weighs 950KG and your Hilux will be in excess of 1600kg. All hire car trailers are rated at a maximum of 2000kg Gross Capacity.

My car Trailer weighs 750kg and Adrians is around 500kg. Sams is 900kg.

[PK]

Disco Series 1 3500KG

[spazbot]

new model ftrucks 4500kg