freelander?..... can you tow with one?
Submitted: Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 18:48
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Chipsy
having searched around the net a bit there are a few good reviews and a few not so good reviews. we are a family with three small kiddies currently own a 2wd Kluger towing an aussie swag and wanting something that will still do the school duty around town but will take us out further than the Kluger can. were not setting out on any great journeys just weekend away and probably a few weeks at a time as leave allows us.
the specs say it can tow but I would love to hear any experience real people have had in the real world.
please dont tell me look at prados I just cant come at them, everytime I think they are the answer I look again and I just have an aversion to them. I dont want a cruiser or patrol -too big, and a new discovery would be nice but too $$$ and I would prefer a new car. the freelander might be a little squeezy but it seems we have to compromise somewhere. the perfect car alludes me.
your thoughts would be appreciated.
Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 20:28
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 20:28
Well you say everything EXCEPT what you want to tow with it Oh an Aussie swag How heavy are they and what do the specs for the Freelander say.
Not having a shot at you but I read that the Freelander was the worst model Landrover ever produced.
Probably not a very good recommendation for going remote.
Imagine trying to get parts for it in
Kununurra for instance.
At least with Toyotas and Nissans they are like you know what. Everyone has one.
AnswerID:
424931
Follow Up By: Chipsy - Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 21:34
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 21:34
the swag is about 1.2 tonne and the specs indicate that it can tow this. I guess I wasnt looking to know what people have read about them but someones actual firsthand experience... thanks though.
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 21:59
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 21:59
Fair enough but possibly for the reason I stated hardly anyone uses them and I wouldnt like to see anyone knowingly buy a lemon.
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Follow Up By: feraldisco2 - Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 17:16
Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 17:16
"the Freelander was the worst model Landrover ever produced"
Graham's got a point, but it really depends what model Freelander you're talking about - the current ones are great to drive and proving to be pretty reliable
Chipsy - you're better off going to the Freelander section of the AULRO website if you want some comment from actual users
cheers
FollowupID:
695468
Reply By:- Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 20:49
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 20:49
Hi Chipsy,
We had a tD4 and towed a
Kimberley Kamper (about 1.4 tonnes plus when set up and loaded) from
Adelaide-
Broken Hill -
Innamincka- and back down the Strz Track to the
Flinders Ranges (I think about 3500kms). I was amazed with the performance of it - 110 kph on highway, and very strong and comfortable on the dirt roads. The only reason we sold it was to get something which had higher ground clearance for some further travel where I felt the Freelander may struggle. The other issue we had was the towball rating of 120kg on the car, requiring a fair amount of work to balance the KK which starts out at 160kg on the towball.
Around town the tD4 was great, with good performance and economy, always better than 10l/100km.
The vehicle we replaced it with is a DiD Pajero, and we are very pleased with this. We have just returned from a 6 week trip to the
Kimberley in it.
Incidently, we purchased the KK through EO trader August last year, and have already clocked up 15,500kms with it.
AnswerID:
424932
Follow Up By: Chipsy - Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 21:37
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 21:37
thanks this is exactly the kind of info we were hoping someone would provide. the KK is a simmilar size and weight to the aussie swag so your response is really helpful. cheers.
did you put a weight distribution bar on the KK? and did this solve the problem?
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 22:03
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 22:03
Just to clear that up
A weight distribution setup does not in any way alter the ballweight or allow you to overload the specs for the wehicle
The ball weight is always just that
All the hich does is straighten the join and does shift a bit of the weight forward again but not enough to alter allowable ball weight limits.
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Reply By: garrycol - Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 22:03
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 22:03
I have a FL1 Diesel and have towed its max tow weight of 2 tonnes on a number of occasions - all car trailers with a series 1 landrover on it.
It tows
well - being very stable - it will cruise at 100 on the flat but with that weight does die off a bit on hills. Is also economical giving 35-40mpg when not towing and about 25-30 when towing. The tow ball weight is 140kg.
I have had my car for a number of years and is one of the most reliable I have had. The horror stories you have heard relate to the petrol engines not the diesels. Ground clearance is better than most of the softroaders but is not as good as the big 4wds. It does have all the traction aids like traction control and
hill decent and a bit larger tyres improve the ground clearance.
If you want a softroader then I would definitely consider a diesel Freelander.
Garry
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By:- Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 23:12
Thursday, Jul 22, 2010 at 23:12
Re KK and WDH. I balanced towball weight by loading extra fuel and water Jerry cans at back of trailer's top rack, and any heavy stuff like food, tools etc inside rear of trailer. In other words, get anything heavy behind axle centre as far as is practically possible, and keep all light stuff in the back of the vehicle. Every little bit helped, and the tD4 and trailer travelled quite level. Dont be discouraged by people who talk of poor spares supply in remote areas. It takes no longer to get LR spares to these
places as it takes to get Toyota etc. It can be beneficial to carry a workshop manual and contact details for a good spares source.
Bob.
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 09:57
Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 09:57
A recipe for disaster if ever I saw one
Why do you think everyone else advocates keeping heavy things in the centre near the axles and light things at each end.
Its for stability.
Loading up the rear end will lead to snaking and ultimate severe problems.
ALL Caravan manuals specifically advocate not adding weight to the rear end for that very reason.
There is a famous Coroners report from SA a couple of years ago that showed a caravan sitting in a police yard with NO JOCKEY wheel and the A frame was sitting level.
A classic case of bad weight distribution.
Perhaps thats why the van went 150 mtres into a tree after becoming disconnected from the van after the tug got wobbly when a roadtrain sucked it in and crushed it and killed all in it.
Most vans would stop really quickly in that situation as the A frame would drop and dig in as it should..
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Reply By: garrycol - Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 11:28
Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 11:28
Noting that the FL2 is about the same price as the Kluger, it has the same width as the Kluger, is a little shorter with better departure and approach angles, has better ground clearance, is arguably better offroad and does have a diesel engine if required.
Oh - the FL2 does look better.
Why would you go with the Kluger?
Garry
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Chipsy - Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 14:00
Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 14:00
The Kluger has the third row seats so the boys dont punch on while were travelling. thats a good feature. its actuallly a brilliant car to drive -I love it. which is why I am struggling to find a replacement for it.
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Follow Up By: Madfisher - Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 20:14
Friday, Jul 23, 2010 at 20:14
Chipsy have you driven the latest awd 3.5 Kluger, very powerfull and econimical, but they have become a bit of a tank as
well. The awd is much better to drive then the 2wd, no torque steer. Believe me in muddy conditions any 4wd will go a hell of a lot further then a 2wd especially a front wheel drive 2wd.
Cheers Pete
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