nissan patrol 4.8 stl for towing a caravan/boat

Submitted: Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 15:51
ThreadID: 65775 Views:8626 Replies:8 FollowUps:10
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Hi there,
Consider buying Patrol 4.8. Can spent $45000. What other alternatives do I have ? Will be using as tow vehicle 3500kg/
capability for jaico 23ft caravan and 4wd - medium -to heavy.
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Reply By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 16:27

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 16:27
Good choice I reckon.Mine's the auto and it does not seem to have too much trouble with that weight.

Kind regards
AnswerID: 348016

Follow Up By: bellgu - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:41

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:41
Thanks Beatit,
How big is the weight of.. whatever you tow, and what sort of consumption do you get over long (1000km+). say Townsville to cape.
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Follow Up By: Member - Beatit (QLD) - Saturday, Feb 14, 2009 at 21:59

Saturday, Feb 14, 2009 at 21:59
Sorry for the delay I'm currently on hols in Cairns. I've towed my camper trailer approx 1500Kg for 14,000 K to the Kimberley and back via the Simpson to average 4.2 overall. Towed my Bushtracker to Peak Hill (over 1,000) to do a little better. The BT would have been between 2500 to 3000Kg.

Kind regards
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Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 16:57

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 16:57
you could probably buy a 2003 TD Cruiser for about that.
Have owned both a Patrol and a Cruiser and I wouldnt change back.

The Cruiser is a much more comfortable car to travel in.

My wife was sceptical till I took her for a ride in both over the same piece of rather rough road Once was enuf.
AnswerID: 348025

Follow Up By: bellgu - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 18:05

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 18:05
"Cruiser is a much more comfortable car to travel in" can you elaborate on that as I never travel long-distance on Cruiser
( lc100 or lc200?). ??
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 18:12

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 18:12
100 and i got 6kpl towing 2.8tonne Brisbane to Yamba in a hurry was up to 120 in places.





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Reply By: PatrolSTL04 - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:06

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:06
4wd medium to heavy....only one choice.
Brett...
AnswerID: 348028

Reply By: Best Off Road - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:10

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:10
Ripper tow vehicle. I've used the Old man's a few times. He bought it to tow a 21 foot Jayco and it did the job superbly. I'm not talking about tootling along at 80 km/h either.

I know from Melbourne to Sydney he sat it on 100. The steepest hill he hit he was still able to get up at 80. Magnificent blend of power and torque.

Just make sure you get one on LPG. They are the most economical tow vehicle around.

Disclaimer: LPG may be expensive and/or have limited availability in remote areas.

Jim.

AnswerID: 348030

Follow Up By: bellgu - Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:59

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 17:59
Checked prise of conversion : 4900 - 5500 Is it expensive or a norm? couple of LPG places sad there,s no kits for 2008 gu.?
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Follow Up By: Best Off Road - Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 09:21

Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 09:21
Price for a injected LPG in Melbourne is around $4500.

$4900 (I'm assuming you live in Townsville) sounds OK.

The Old Man's is the old style "mixer" system and he has had one backfire which blew the top off the airbox.

It's all about economics. Work out the cost to fit it, L/100 km on LPG versus diesel and factor in the cost of each fuel. Then compare the purchase price of, say, a 100 series TD. Add it all up and work out what works best for you. Take into account how long you plan to keep the vehicle.

I say compare the 100 series because I believe that is the only viable option with the required power and torque to do the job. IMHO either of the Patrol diesels are vastly underpowered to tow that size van adequately.

Others will differ. If you are happy to grind up hills at 40 km/h then a Patrol diesel will work.

The 4.8 on LPG towing a 21 foot van at 100 km/h will use 30 to 33 L/100km.

Cheers,

Jim.
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Reply By: D200Dug- Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 23:39

Saturday, Feb 07, 2009 at 23:39
Have a look at http://www.pt.qld.gov.au/auctions/carsales.htm

A toyota 2005 hjz105 deisel for $26K there are a lot of mods you could make with the other $19K :-)
AnswerID: 348079

Reply By: Barnesy - Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 03:59

Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 03:59
Before you buy have a look at the fuel consumption figures when towing with these big petrols. Compare it to a turbo diesel either a used 4.2 patrol or landcruiser (not the 3.0 patrol turbo diesel).

I can't remember off the top of my head but I'm pretty sure these petrol engines get around 30l/100km when towing heavy loads whereas a diesel will still get a reasonable 15- 20l/100km.

Barnesy
AnswerID: 348099

Reply By: jomahk - Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 14:52

Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 14:52
hello bellgu;
Im not into one vehicle against another; however , to tow a van that weight you could also look at the Jeep Grand Cherokee or Disco 3. In diesel format; they both probably have more pulling power than the patrol. For that price of course you would be looking at a pre owned unit.
AnswerID: 348160

Follow Up By: Member - Roscoe ET (QLD) - Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 21:00

Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 21:00
I agree with you jomahk you need a vehicle with loads of torque down in the rev range not up high like a petrol engine.

Compare the diesel Patrol against the Jeep and the Disco:

Patrol 4.8

180kw @ 4,800rpm
400nm torque @ 3,600 rpm

Disco 3

2.7l V6 common rail diesel
440nm of torque @ 1,900 rpm; 140kw

Jeep

3.0l V6 common rail diesel
510nm of torque @ 1600 - 2400 rpm
160kw @ 3500rpm

Much better fuel consumption out of both the Disco and Jeep and both will do a better job of towing a big van, big torque down low is a necessity, particularly when towing something with a few tonne of weight.

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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Monday, Feb 09, 2009 at 09:15

Monday, Feb 09, 2009 at 09:15
Hi Roscoe

The 4800 patrol has a wider powerband and better torque down low than most of those figures you quoted - its also only the latest version that have dropped torque to 400 all the early ones to 2006 I think had 420.

What makes them good though is that they don't have to wait to come "on turbo" - the 400nm torque is there down to 1000 rpm and they rev out to over 5000rpm.

They have no hope to match the diesels consumption figures though.
Robin Miller

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Follow Up By: Member - Roscoe ET (QLD) - Monday, Feb 09, 2009 at 13:49

Monday, Feb 09, 2009 at 13:49
Robin,

It's interesting that to 400nm is there at 1,000 revs in a petrol engine. According to the Nissan site it's not there until 3,600 rpm.

The Jeep has a Variable Geometry Turbo (Merc engine though) which basically means the turbo is working at idle so there is very little turbo lag.

However, since I put a sports system on the vehicle matched with a K&N air filter I've found that with this type of turbo if I start off by a light touch on the accelerator enough to get the vehicle moving then jump on it there is no lag the acceleration is instant.

As a matter of interest I've been using the new BP Ultimate Diesel fuel and it seems to have made a further improvement. I've only put a couple of tanks through the engine so far but according to the engine management system it seems to be consistently using .3 of a litre less per 100k @ 110k on the highway to Brisbane.

I did use the premium 98 petrol in the 4.7 V8 I previously had and I consistently got 100k more out of a tank.

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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Monday, Feb 09, 2009 at 15:08

Monday, Feb 09, 2009 at 15:08
Hi Roscoe

the 400nm at 1000 only refers to the 2001-2006 ones with 420nm not the lastest shown on site, its a very flat response but not that good.

Sounds like yours is working well with the new fuel - should get my uni-chip retuned with 98 fuel to actually or at less the readily available 95 as I could use the extra range.
Robin Miller

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Reply By: Member - Ingo57 (NSW) - Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 22:23

Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 22:23
Gday bellgu,

The 4.8 is a great tow vehicle, thirsty but also depends on how it is driven

cheers

AnswerID: 348245

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