Need experience opinions on tow cars.

by **BROCKYB8** » October 18th, 2013, 9:50 am

Hey guys ,
Looking for some peoples experiences and what people have had to tow cars in past.
Basically I sold my Ed with intention of buying a ute to tow with .

Since then my fathers cars has given up the ghost(Nissan patrol) Im looking whether a Au 5 lt ute would be good enough to tow my cars on a trailer.

Have others had experience with this and also do you have suggestions of cars that would be good to tow with . Within reason .

Thanks

by **TUFED6** » October 18th, 2013, 10:22 am

In terms of power the AU would do it no probs, but use a shitload of fuel in the process. It would probably be well over the tow rating with a tandem trailer/1600kg falcon.

If you're towing a heavy car/tandem you want a much bigger tow car IMO. Something like a 4wd, probably with diesel as all the petrol ones are shit.

by **BROCKYB8** » October 18th, 2013, 10:27 am

Yeah that's why im asking what people are using and have used .
yeah 2500 is weight that total for car and trailer .
I haven't seen rating be for the au 1 tonne.

by **BROCKYB8** » October 18th, 2013, 10:29 am

Isnt most fords around the 2300 for towing or am I just imagining it .

by **apoc** » October 18th, 2013, 11:22 am

Power stroke f250 is the best tow car IMO. Such beasts. They're pretty good on diesel, and have the grunt to tow heavy loads, and are still pretty good on fuel. Rather expensive to buy though, that's the only bad part lol

by **krisisdog** » October 18th, 2013, 11:50 am

HJ61 turbo diesel Landcruiser.
We just sold ours and upgraded to a F250 with a powerstroke. Obviously the F250 is the better car for the job, but it also comes in at about $50k vs 5 odd for the cruiser.
You'd be silly to tow on a consistent basis with a Falcon 5L lol.

by **Ef_frmnt** » October 18th, 2013, 12:34 pm

Navara is a great tow car, used to tow our Mustang Clubsport 3400 cruiser with it no problems.. because the boat was so heavy (maximum size trailerable beam - around 3.5t fully loaded for a trip) it pushed the navara a bit under braking but it still managed it fine. That was a brand new 3.0l diesel, traded it in on a 3.0l patrol a few months later and it was much the same just a bit more stable. The tow car should always be heavier than the towed car where practicable

by **DJV8T5** » October 18th, 2013, 1:31 pm

best car I have towed with was a diesel 4.2 GQ Patrol. A friend had a Pajero (whatever the V6 petrol one is) with electric brakes and that towed the old wagon the missus had no issues. 4WDs seem to be the best to tow with, and diesels tow better that petrol ones. The AU V8 would tow it ok, but wouldn't be an ideal long term tow car compared to a 4WD

by **Dansedgli** » October 18th, 2013, 2:21 pm

Fix you're dad's patrol.

I towed a ba Wagon with my au ute once. It did pretty good I thought.

Turbo gq does it better.

by **EFFalcon** » October 18th, 2013, 2:32 pm

Yeah if i was going to be towing a car with any frequency, i'd be buying something big & diesel.

by **NUT347** » October 18th, 2013, 3:04 pm : **EDXR61994 Likes this post**

Get yourself a PK ranger, 3L turbo diesel.

Best cars ever.

My old one has 150k on it now, never missed a beat. That's hard kms too.

by **BROCKYB8** » October 18th, 2013, 3:11 pm

That's the problem with the patrol it's petrol 400000 on flock and a lot off shit breaking . Needs atleast 6-7 k

by **nothin suss** » October 18th, 2013, 4:09 pm

Those 4800 Petrol Patrols are mint for towing. LPG is essential tho!

by **private9** » October 18th, 2013, 5:18 pm

Screw towing that weight regularly with a Falc. In case it wasn't mentioned, get a large diesel 4wd!

by **nstg8a** » October 18th, 2013, 5:32 pm

Yup diesel patrol, ranger, cruiser etc etc. nuts to really consider a V8 ute, unless its only occasional towing, and if its only occasional then you might as well just pay for a tilt tray when you need it.

by **TUFED6** » October 18th, 2013, 5:54 pm : **misk Likes this post**

If it was only an occasional thing I'd use the AU ute no worries. Not worth having a barge 4wd that sucks to drive for towing twice a year.

The real advantage of a bigger tow car is obvious when you try to stop in the wet - still have fond memories of fully locking up an AU forte and being pushed thru an intersection by the trailer/load after the lights changed suddenly and trying to stop

by **justa6** » October 18th, 2013, 6:11 pm

Another one here for diesel 4x4, if your going to tow a bit. With my dads d40 manual towing the ute, it did 15.5 l per/100 .sits on 100 like its not there.

by **Dumpsta** » October 18th, 2013, 6:55 pm

I tow quite a heavy builders trailer everyday of the week and occasionally a loaded car trailer with my petrol rodeo. It was quite a bit cheaper then a diesel model at the time :thumbsup:

Great power-wise, as others have mentioned, fuel consumption is a biggy though I cant comment as Im running 32" mtz's which dont help regardless of the towing factor. I can also honestly say that my previous 2001 turbo diesel hilux single cab chewed just as much fuel and was a slug compared to.

In saying that, 1+ for diesel. The newer td's really seem to get up and boogie.

by **krisisdog** » October 19th, 2013, 9:29 am

What's the budget?
You've got a wide range suggested here lol

by **Troutman** » October 19th, 2013, 10:25 am

It's better when the tow car at least comes close to being heavier than the trailer + car. My Ford's been towed with the Caprice and a 3.5L Pajero, and I'd definitely recommend the 4x4 for regular towing. No doubt something in the Patrol/Landcruiser class would be better again.

by **Parfrey** » October 19th, 2013, 10:29 am

If your after something cheap a diesel 4x4 will be out of your budget.. for a decent one anyway.
Depends how many times a year you actually tow... if you buy a diesel for the economy but rarely tow it'll take forever to recoup the cost in fuel savings.
But yeah as everyone said a good sized 4x4 will be better than a Falcon.. or an old f350 with a tilt tray on it?

How bad is the patrol? Pm me if you want to offload it cheap lol.

by **nstg8a** » October 19th, 2013, 10:41 am

If the patrol is a gq then drop a td42 into it and use that.

by **NUT347** » October 19th, 2013, 12:50 pm : **misk Likes this post**

Or an LS1.

by **OMY-747** » October 19th, 2013, 1:36 pm

4.2 turbo diesel patrol.

by **LUXO_8** » October 19th, 2013, 2:31 pm

What exactly is the problem with your dad's patrol?

by **Dansedgli** » October 19th, 2013, 3:03 pm : **LUXO_8 Likes this post**

Also in for cheap patrol.

by **sparksy** » October 19th, 2013, 7:21 pm

Cannot beat bf straight gas ute or wagon with the old cart springs!!!

by **nothin suss** » October 19th, 2013, 8:11 pm

sparksy wrote:Cannot beat bf straight gas ute or wagon with the old cart springs!!!

As long as you have a LPG tanker following you.

by **krisisdog** » October 20th, 2013, 7:09 am

sparksy wrote:Cannot beat bf straight gas ute or wagon with the old cart springs!!!

by **PSI-POP** » October 22nd, 2013, 7:43 pm

I love my Dmax for towing mine around, diesel leaf sprung and its a company car, that's probably the best bit.

Big and heavy if your towing something big and heavy

by **SnipeZ** » October 22nd, 2013, 8:57 pm

Heard the dmaxes are the bees knees. The new ones have a killer traction control system. Think it's called dsc. Like the Volkswagens.

Got a mate that tows his vl to and from the track and swears by it!

Also another bloke has a new Colorado to tow his vp Calais to and from and he says it does it effortlessly.

So big and heavy is the way to go.

Cheers

by **Mr. CVE** » November 12th, 2013, 4:57 pm

My TT Caprice tows nice :drinks2:

hills don't worry it.
Good on fuel.
Comfortable.

And makes a nice daily !

by **FTW-302** » November 12th, 2013, 8:12 pm

My BA XR8 ute did a good job towing my cars (AU and EF)
Was awesome on fuel too!
Wouldn't imagine an AU V8 Ute to be too far behind it.

by **EDXR61994** » January 7th, 2014, 9:53 am

AU 5 Litre Fairmont Wagon. Super Comfy V8 Pulling Power plenty of Room too for tools n stuff

If you cant afford a PK Ranger. My dad has one and tows a 2 tonne Caravan and uses about 14L on the highway pulling it. Only thing to watch if its Manual when Backing a Heavy Load you have to put it in 4 wheel low. You should find something on it in the Owner's Manual they blow clutches if you dont.