99 Frontera SE towing 1.5t

Submitted: Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005 at 21:57
ThreadID: 24273 Views:2773 Replies:6 FollowUps:1
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Hi guys and gals, just discovered this great site. I`m an avid fisherman looking to replace my tired 1992 V8 fairmont tow vehicle.

I`m looking for anyone with info on how the fronteras in auto handle towing. Looking at one currently with 65000kms.

The boat is 1.5t mainly short distances (10kms) and the occasional trip to and from the NSW central coast to sydney and yearly trip to south west rocks. (6hrs) Used to tow her (the boat) with a 2.5L lifted grande vitara in manual, which did it nicely! Ex co car...

Is the auto going to expire? I plan on fitting a cooler should i purchase the car.
Do they stop good?

Thanks in advance
Daniel
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Reply By: Member -Dodger - Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005 at 23:35

Tuesday, Jun 28, 2005 at 23:35
DON'T!
I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.

Cheers Dodg.

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AnswerID: 117991

Reply By: Brian B (QLD) - Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 at 09:38

Wednesday, Jun 29, 2005 at 09:38
Daniel,

CLICK HERE and you will be taken to the Isuzu website where you will see the current specs for the car. While it is not currently imported into Australia it is sold new as a Rodeo in the USA and enjoys good sales figures I believe.

Have had mine since new in 2000 and it hasn't missed a beat. 3.2 litre engine develops around 150 KW of power so it has a lot of grunt. Have had some suspension mods done to mine as they sit too low to the ground in stock form and are hindered by the positioning of the fuel tank in front of the rear axle. This is done to comply with anti collision laws in the USA. Ours is a four speed auto and it is sweet.

As far as towing goes, the website will give you the exact capacities but we regularly tow a 16 foot Haines Hunter half cabin boat with an 85 HP outboard and also we tow our camper trailer everywhere and it copes very well. Had the heavy duty Hayman Reese towing setup installed and a transmission cooler. Camper trailer has electric brakes and boat is on an unbraked trailer. Only advice I can give here is to keep your towing weight within the specs of the vehicle's towing capacity and you will be OK.

There are a few of us on this forum that have them and I don't think any of the current guys have too many problems so hopefully you will hear from them. Negatives are that currently both the Frontera and Jackaroo are not sold in Australia although I suspect that will change in the future, and as I said the ground clearance. Aftermarket accessories are available although not as prolific as for Nissans and Toyotas but you can still get things like bullbars etc. We have been around Australia once in it and done places like the Simpson Desert and we regularly have it on Fraser and Moreton Islands. The suspension lift I did and the fitment of some BFGoodrich All Terrain tyres has made a huge diffference to the car.

Whatever you end up with - enjoy.
AnswerID: 118010

Reply By: Member - rengatt (VIC) - Friday, Jul 01, 2005 at 10:24

Friday, Jul 01, 2005 at 10:24
as per the previous post, the Frontera has the grunt to tow well, we often tow our our 15 ft boat over long distances without problem.

The only issue that we have is that due to the placement of the winch post on the trailer access to the cargo area is limited when the boat is hooked on. This is due to the swinging door. Allowing the kids or the boss to get items from the back can cause annoying dents and scratches.

Ours is auto as well, the only complaint I can find is that when you set the cruise control the auto will search for gears, this is overcome by activating the power switch.

Handles off road reasonably well although the low slung fuel tank does cause the occasional hang up and tends to doze in sand. Lift kit is an option but the amount of off road you will be doing is the determining factor.

A roof box or tray is a necessity as they don't have great amount of cargo space to carry goodies if going on a trip without a trailer.

There have been some rumours circulating that ISUZU will be importing the Rodeo (what the Frontera really is) in the future so this may alleviate the perceived parts avaliabiltiy issue.

rengatt

AnswerID: 118380

Reply By: PMD - Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 at 14:06

Tuesday, Jul 12, 2005 at 14:06
For all it's worth, I have had a 2002 manual S since new, and have done several trips from Sydney to places like Yamba, Port Stephens, Jervis Bay as well as regular trips to the local boat ramp, towing a 17 ft half cabin which would weigh around the 1000kg mark, and it has towed that quite effortlessly and has pulled it quite readily, despite having an unbraked trailer. I also fitted a set of Polyairs to the rear coils and they improved rear end sag and skitter out of sight.
I have read several posts regarding problems with automatics and you could do a search to look them up, and I have had my fair share of problems with the manual gearbox also, which are now happily sorted.
That aside, it has been a good car in the 3 years that I have owned it but the time has come to sell it and get into a new Prado shortly.

Good luck.
AnswerID: 119962

Follow Up By: Member - Paul S (Gold Coast) - Saturday, Jul 16, 2005 at 05:37

Saturday, Jul 16, 2005 at 05:37
G'day PMD
Can you give me a little more info on fitting the Polyairs please?
I've got a 2002 SE Auto and, for the sake of the main thread here, it tows both my caravan and the boat (separately of course) just terrific. But I'm interested in the Polyairs.
I don't have a rear end sag problem (either with me or the car) but your comment about "skitter" interests me.
The one thing I find a tad offputting about the Frontera is that it can be a bit of a handful on corrugated dirt (not towing, just driving) and can move around a fair bit particularly in a corner. I've been known to call it skittering and am wondering whether you're referring to the same thing and if that's what the Polyairs improved. I'd appreciate your comments.
Cheers.
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FollowupID: 375695

Reply By: PMD - Monday, Jul 18, 2005 at 08:44

Monday, Jul 18, 2005 at 08:44
Paul,

I live in the Royal National Park here in southern Sydney, and the road is particularly winding and there are a number of corners that have corrugations in them, and prior to fitting the Polyairs, the rear end was stepping out on some of these, and sometimes with oncoming traffic, it was quite disconcerting.
Fitting the Polyairs took a lot of this skitter out of it, but in the few months I have had them in, I haven't had the opportunity to test them on any dirt roads, so I can't comment on what difference they may make for you.
They are quite easy to fit, make sure you soak them a while in warm soapy water first, i'm sure you know the benefits of good lubrication.

cheers,
AnswerID: 120887

Reply By: hottuna - Monday, Jul 18, 2005 at 09:52

Monday, Jul 18, 2005 at 09:52
Thanks for all your views people. Got the car and shes a pearler.

Tows the easy. one thing i didn`t ask, is do any of you have have an oil cooler fitted to the auto, (mine is auto)...

thanks again

ps where do we get poly airs from around sydney.

DAN
AnswerID: 120896

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