I know there have been quite a few threads about the best tow vehicles for a certain application BUT still need to get some view points from you knowledgeable people. I have a large open tandem trailer 3500kg GVW - but expect to be around 3000kg fully loaded. Now I have been tossing over pro's and con's of different vehicles. $15,000 budget, diesel/four doors/car licence only so looking at Chev Suburban 6.2 Turbo vs Nissan Navara 3.0 D22 vs small Isuzu Elf. Hit me with your thoughts, it'd be appreciated.
fordcrzy,
Jun 21, 8:50am
if your trailer is 3000kg then anything you tow it with will take you over the 4500kg limit for a car licence.
ralphdog1,
Jun 21, 8:56am
TD42 Safari/Patrol!
alltorque350,
Jun 21, 9:01am
Definatly a yank diesel truck. 2500 silverado or f250 with a fifth wheel.
msigg,
Jun 21, 9:05am
I think you will find the car license weights are going up so you should be ok.Navara will pull it good, suburban should be good as well, navara will be better to drive when not towing,landcruiser good, safari good(if turbo diesel) Not sure how good a suburban you will get for 15k, even the others will be half worn out at that price.
fordcrzy,
Jun 21, 9:09am
navara will be great until the chassis snaps in half.
trader_84,
Jun 21, 9:24am
I had a 93' 6.2 Diesel V8 GMC Extra Cab 4x4 I brought back from a trip to the US once . it was not that good at towing either. It had the weight and size but going up hills etc with a vehicle loaded on the tandem behind - and it was struggling. It went through 2 transmissions during the 9 odd years or so I owned it. 4L60E's are not enough trans for the size truck.
chris.f,
Jun 21, 9:33am
I'm with you on that, my 6.2 had a Turbo 400 behind it which I thought were bullet proof but the trans let go just on a hairpin bend just out of Springs Junction in the South Island and blocked the road for over two hours before we could get it moved! Even Turbo have to have a cooler and temp gauges installed.
thejazzpianoma,
Jun 21, 10:27am
Its a very rare thing to see in your price range but should you find a Diesel Touareg for 15K that would be my pick. It will blowyour other options right out of the water right across the board. (comfort, handling, towing abilities, servicing, economy etc)
Keep an eye on Turners etc just in case but while possible don't hold your breath in your price range.
sr2,
Jun 21, 10:52am
As much as I love the big Chevs I think your best bet would be a diesel VX Landcruiser, they are a tried and proven solution to towing big trailers.
johnf_456,
Jun 21, 11:01am
The rules have changed do some research
sr2,
Jun 21, 11:42am
Yes, you can't beat them for HD towing.
scoobeey,
Jun 21, 12:08pm
op wants something HEAVY DUTY to tow up to 3 TON LOL
scoobeey,
Jun 21, 12:10pm
Go the ELF with the bigger engine and you wont look back :))
thejazzpianoma,
Jun 21, 12:14pm
If only you realised how stupid that statement made you look.
craig04,
Jun 21, 6:36pm
Have they dropped in value that much already! They must be great then.
xs1100,
Jun 21, 7:53pm
+1 tow anything anywere with no problems.just keep oil changes up to date and they take 10 litres of oil
thejazzpianoma,
Jun 21, 8:58pm
Already!
They are 10 years old now and like I said you are pushing your luck to get one for that coin but no harm in keeping half an eye out for a bargain.
That said, when buying in this age/price bracket a vehicle with high initial depreciation is what you want. (unless you are mathematically challenged)
Also as always pricing in NZ has nothing to do with the quality of the product and everything to do with the car dealer nonsense that's ingrained into the population.
The OP can either consider the advice and get a much much much better vehicle for the money (if they can find one in their price range) or ignore it and choose from the worn out obsolete dregs like the masses.
phillip.weston,
Jun 21, 11:35pm
I think the Toureg would tend to be the vehicle being towed rather than the tow vehicle :P
Good pot stirring though. And you do actually raise a good point, the Touareg is a complicated vehicle and there are plenty of vehicles on the road that are more reliable. (to be frank on paper its probably the most unreliable vehicle VW have ever made).
However. when you look at the age and type of vehicle its being compared to here, and the sort of crazy stuff people do with Touareg's. I wouldn't say reliability is going to be any worse than the other contenders.
trdbzr,
Jun 22, 2:16am
someone please give this fool a mirror
tazcsv,
Jun 22, 4:28am
We have a VX Cruiser to tow a 3x horse float so all loaded up is getting close to 3t and it tows it all no worrys.
craig04,
Jun 22, 5:02am
Check this clip out (from 1:30 onwards) to see what sort of crazy stuff people do with Touaregs! Imagine, trying to drive it on the sand! What were they thinking. At least someone had a Toyota to save the day. http://www.youtube.com/watch!v=CSsA7DS7500 You'll probably go on about road tyres blah blah blah, but really, aside from going skiing, what is there purpose!
phillip.weston,
Jun 22, 5:06am
interesting to note the cheapest diesel touareg is $33k for a piddly 2.5 while the 5.0 V10 starts at $50k for a nearly 10 year old example. Lots of petrol 3.0 for $15-25k but they wont be suitable, I don't even think the 4.2 V8 would be suitable either.
amberjandal,
Jun 22, 5:30am
If you are not going over 3.0 tonne a high KM ranger or BT-50 will do the trick. You will be 2WD only though.
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