Vehicle Choice for heavy towing
Submitted: Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:12
ThreadID:
68661
Views:
3410
Replies:
9
FollowUps:
5
This Thread has been Archived
Mooze
First off, Hi all, great
forum you've got here!
We're about to order a new trailer, which once filled will have a weight of approx 3400kgs. Meaning we need to replace our Navara with something a bit stronger. We will be doing at least 30,000km a year (ACT - VIC -QLD - WA - NSW and all abouts), mostly onroad (getting to and from locations), however we want the option of when we ditch the trailer heading off road for a bit of peace and quiet (somewhere the laptops, mobiles and internet don't work).
Currently looking mainly at a troopie, reasons being affordability, maintenance and easy access to parts if things go wrong. However down side is we are planning a family in the not distant future, and not sure how we'd go with baby
seat in the front.
Any thoughts on other possible vehicles (we don't have more than 30k to spend, hence no gxl).
Also can anyone recommend a good basic mechanics course around
canberra,
melbourne or
sydney for chicks? If something basic goes wrong I want to be able to fix it (husband is not that great with cars)
Thanks
Mooze
Reply By: Peter_n_Margaret - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:27
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:27
Troopy would be a reat choice Mooze.
Here is a link to some other comparison data that might be useful too.
Beadell tours - Vehicle specs.
Just double
check the specs for your final choice first.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome
AnswerID:
363974
Follow Up By: Member - Tony V (NSW) - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:31
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:31
Good info, I noticed that it only includes new vehicles, Mooze was after a 2nd hand unit max $30k.
FollowupID:
631646
Follow Up By: Peter_n_Margaret - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:35
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:35
BTW, There are some very good TAFE courses that you should
check out for basic mechanics.
When something busts, it doesn't matter if you are a bloke or a 'chick', you need to do the same stuff to fix it!
Cheers,
Peter
FollowupID:
631647
Reply By: Member - Tony V (NSW) - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:28
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:28
Mooze,
30K limit....
I take it you want the newest model possible.
1. GU 4.2 TD.
2. 100 series if you can't get diesel (4.5 petrol on LPG)
3. Troopy you mentioned,
Outside of that here is only Defenders and Disco's with the 3.5 tonne towing rate.
The LC 200 has thrown some good 100's onto the market at a reasonable price.
Good luck
AnswerID:
363975
Follow Up By: Rossc0 - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 11:09
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 11:09
And f series trucks can tow 3.5tonne.
If you have $30k budget look for a good 1981-1985 F350 4x4.
These can be had for about $10-$12k running lpg and 351 Cleveland engine. The other $20k will buy a lot of fuel.
Will tow 3.5tonne all day without any great change in fuel economy from unladen.
Extremely simple to maintain, nothing much to go wrong and if it does then easily fixed.
Cheers
Ross
FollowupID:
631653
Reply By: Member - Kevin J (Sunshine Coa - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:32
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:32
When you say 'trailer' do you mean a caravan and do you have a particular van in mind as that weight seems very high for what you say you intend doing.
Just checking to make sure you are looking at the right combination for your needs. This will also have a bearing on the make/model of vehicle you could look at.
Most TAFE colleges have courses which could meet your needs.
Kevin J
AnswerID:
363976
Reply By: Willem - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:33
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:33
Mooze
What type of trailer weighs 3400kg? Are you carting gold around :-)
Cheers
AnswerID:
363977
Reply By: Member - Joe F (WA) - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:40
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:40
G'day Mooze
You pose some very vexing questions and no doubt you will get many biased answers as to what you should or should not buy for a "strong" towing vehicle.
Might I suggest, you and your husband join a "Family" four wheel drive club. These family clubs all have a great cross~section of people from all walks of life and the drive a huge diversity of vehicles.
The nice part of all these family oriented clubs is that the members all willingly give their opinion and time freely about their particular vehicle and experiences, you can also learn all the basics of vehicle and equipment maintenance and repairs, you will make new friends and have a ball at the same time.
Regards : Joe
AnswerID:
363978
Reply By: Mooze - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:41
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 10:41
Thanks guys
It's a modified horse trailer - takes 50 double plastic kayaks for our business. So trailer weight is approx 1800 and kayaks + required safety gear + paddles is approx 1500 when wet. add 100kg of assorted other gear (tables, chairs, marquee).
We'll be taking this on the road for around 8 months of the year with brief stops at
home if we're passing through.
Will
check out the tafe courses.
Thanks!
AnswerID:
363980
Reply By: Member - Kevin J (Sunshine Coa - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 11:19
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 11:19
Ok Mooze,
Sounds to me as though you might be
well advised to up the ante and look at something different.
F250 and F350 might be a bit expensive but an nr250 Isusu Twin Cab or similar might be the way to go. Not much less economical to run and if you don't need 4wd this could suffiice.
May give you an option for extra space too.
Kevin J
AnswerID:
363984
Follow Up By: Mooze - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 16:31
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 16:31
Thanks for that Kevin. We're after the 4wd so that we can go exploring a bit. We only need to be in towns for certain weekends, so we have time to kill a bit in between. Will still
check them out though - may be cheaper to hire a 4wd when we need/want one.
FollowupID:
631698
Reply By: mowing - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 15:45
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 15:45
Hi Mooze, What about a "RV" in the troopy. Has the 5 seats and a heap of room behind the second row of seats. For $30K you will be looking at a high km one but it ticks the boxes and has the turbo 4.2 motor. You would be looking around the 02/03 vintage. They don't come up that often.
Regards
Mark
AnswerID:
364013
Follow Up By: Mooze - Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 16:29
Saturday, May 09, 2009 at 16:29
Thanks for that Mark - will keep an eye out - we don't need it until Mid August so will be a bit patient.
FollowupID:
631696
Reply By: Member - Vince M (NSW) - Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 10:02
Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 10:02
Mooze a 2nd hand 4.8ltr petrol patrol will meet all your requirements & fuel economy will be about the same as a 4.2ltr diesel with this much load & will be as reliable as it can get.
I have both in 6x4 with a gmv of 4500kg & tow of 4500kg with break aways & we tow a lot of heavy trailers) both are bullet proof
good luck regards Vince
AnswerID:
364130