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Tow car recommendations
smart51 - 27/7/10 at 01:17 PM

My brother-in-law needs a new car and as they have recently started pig farming as a hobby (they've got 4) they have recently bought a small livestock trailer. Brother-in-law's wife wants him to have a land rover because twice a year he'll need to tow the trailer. I think its a monumentally stupid idea but can't really say that. Telling them of the £2000 per year saving in diesel might make them listen but being positive I'd like a few ideas of decent tow cars for a trailer containing 250kg of sausage ingredients.

His current car is a Fiat Stilo so anything would be an improvement.

The new shape Fiesta is quite a decent car, but is 90 BHP enough? Mind you, the 2.0 Focus diesel only has 100.

loggyboy - 27/7/10 at 02:28 PM

Volvo 2.0d (c30/s40/v50)
VW group (passat, golf, a4, octiva, fabia, leon)

motorcycle_mayhem - 27/7/10 at 02:30 PM

Lots of modern cars/4wds, etc., so he'll have no problem finding/sourcing something. I tow the race car and stuff with a Transit - pretty much ideal?

I'd go for a SWB Transit. Sorted.

At the other end, this looks a rare find if he wants to pull a house down....

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1901083.htm

mookaloid - 27/7/10 at 02:38 PM

work out how much the maximum weight is that will be towed including the trailer, then multiply this by about 1.2 to get the minimum kerb weight of the towing vehicle.

simples

dinosaurjuice - 27/7/10 at 02:54 PM

quote:
Originally posted by smart51

Mind you, the 2.0 Focus diesel only has 100.


only if you get the automatic. Its 136 in standard trim.

A VW passat tdi estate would be my choice. followed by a xsara HDi 110.

Dangle_kt - 27/7/10 at 03:02 PM

get an old 1.9 d citreon ZX. buttons to buy and tow just fine.

[Edited on 27/7/10 by Dangle_kt]

jase380 - 27/7/10 at 03:52 PM

used to have a volvo v79 d5, can pick them up at reasonable money now, early ones are 163 bhp and enough torque to pull a house down !

907 - 27/7/10 at 05:01 PM

My ideal tow car / works car / shopping trolley is..................



a Passat 130 TDI Estate (with black interior )

Paul G

Image deleted by owner

andrew - 27/7/10 at 05:08 PM

wasting your breath if she wants a land rover she will have one , its the image thing green wellies etc,

StevieB - 27/7/10 at 06:29 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jase380
used to have a volvo v79 d5, can pick them up at reasonable money now, early ones are 163 bhp and enough torque to pull a house down !


2nd that - mine's an S60 and has the 185bhp D5 engine.

I want to replace it soon as it's getting a bit tired and I could do with an estate for an expanding family situation - problem is I can't find something to replace it with that has an equally good engine for a reasonable sum of money (not getting a V70 as it wouldn't feel like I'd bought a new car).

smart51 - 27/7/10 at 06:43 PM

quote:
Originally posted by andrew
wasting your breath if she wants a land rover she will have one , its the image thing green wellies etc,


Father-in-Law has been a Farmer since birth and has managed nicely with estate cars. Can't see why son needs a 4x4. I don't think he wants one either. I'm happy enough to be blamed if he gets what he wants. Being fairly newly weds they're not flush with cash and the £2000 fuel argument will go a long way.

I forgot totally about VWs. Is a 130 essential or will 110 BHP be enough?

JoelP - 27/7/10 at 06:58 PM

Absolutely no point in the land rover, you'd only really be swung to one if you wanted to tow a serious weight, ie up to 3.5 tonnes.

Its quite relevant how much the trailer he has weighs, and what its plated at?

Also, does he have b+e on his license, if not he has to really carefully pick a gvw so the train weights dont exceed 3500, since the trailer will certainly weight more than 750kgs.

BigFaceDave - 27/7/10 at 07:55 PM

quote:
I forgot totally about VWs. Is a 130 essential or will 110 BHP be enough?


I have a passat TDI estate too but only 110bhp and it pulled a large Ifor Williams plant trailer with a Citroen Berlingo on it and didnt really struggle at all, Not the heaviest car I know but the trailer is massive (19ft bed I think) and very heavy on its own.

907 - 27/7/10 at 07:59 PM

quote:

I forgot totally about VWs. Is a 130 essential or will 110 BHP be enough?


Probably.

I'm very patient when looking for cars. I look at loads of ads, go and look at a few, even look at a rough one just as a comparison.
Sooner or later the perfect one turns up. The odd ding or scratch just to show it hasn't been tarted up, and a dirty old file full of
receipts and old Mot's. I know I'm going to buy it before I even test drive it.

I suppose most of you lot would brand me a time waster, but hey, it's my money.



I once knew a bloke that kept a few pigs.
He also owned 20 or so old cars, the better ones he used for weddings.

He had an old London taxi with the glass panel between the front and rear, and used it to take the pigs to the local butchers.

The butcher used to tell the tale in the pub that his meat this week was "special".
Arrived by taxi y'know.

No one believed him.

Cheers
Paul G

RoadkillUK - 27/7/10 at 08:15 PM

Just put a towbar on my Xantia, easy to fit, didn't even need to jack it up


Xantia towbar fitting
Xantia towbar fitting

Auto leveling, 2.0 HDi, also looks like a space ship

Liam - 27/7/10 at 09:12 PM

Vauxhall Omega. Cost peanuts and rear wheel drive. Superb tow car. V6 petrol or diesel.