Have a horse float & allso thinking of getting. caravanso has to be able to tow them and not be to expensive. to run. Have to be able to be 4wheel drive.
mugenb20b,
Sep 29, 10:20am
Towing heavy loads and cheap to run! Cheap to run compared to what!
I'd be looking at a late model Toyota Prado or the last of the 6 cylinder Nissan Patrols, simply due to their robust drivetrains.
horses7,
Sep 29, 10:29am
We have a 1997 3.2 Terrano now its beenreally good. The trouble with the late model Prado is there not cheap. They probably are the pick of them.
mugenb20b,
Sep 29, 10:35am
What's your price range, if you don't mind me asking!
horses7,
Sep 29, 10:49am
30 to 40 depends on what it is.
mugenb20b,
Sep 29, 10:54am
Have you considered 4WD utes, like Mazda Bounty for example!
horses7,
Sep 29, 10:56am
There a bit big. Haven't driven any yet.
mugenb20b,
Sep 29, 11:04am
No bigger than a Terrano, just a fraction longer. Take one for a drive, they are not comfortable, but will provide many uses.
Otherwise, I could recommend a Hyundai Santa Fe diesel.
horses7,
Sep 29, 11:18am
We have tryed a Kea Sorento & really liked it all so a Ford Territory, we really liked that but being petrol it would cost quite a bit more to run.
horses7,
Sep 30, 8:56am
Saw a Ford Ranger Wild Track 3.0 4Wheel Drive on here wouldn't mind having. A test drive. In one.
gunhand,
Sep 30, 9:02am
You are able to spend 30 0r 40k on a vehicle to tow horses (expensive hobby) around in a know doubt expensive float and also you thinking about buying a caravan as well so i guess your into holidays etc yet your a bit worried about fuel consumption!Im not having a go at you but can you not (and many others) see how odd it sounds.Buy a 10k vehicle and have 20k for fuel.
horses7,
Oct 3, 5:56am
We are not looking to buy a vehicle just to tow horses around in a not very expensive horse float.it also has to be our car,and as we have worked hard all our lives we thought a caravan may be an inexpensive way to see the many parts of NZ we havnt seen yet,so our choice of vehicle is fairly important to get right as we will probably have to live with itfor a fair while
supernova2,
Oct 3, 6:13am
I know of two cases where Prados were purchased as tow vehicles and subsequently traded for Kia Sorentos as in the owners opinion the Prado was useless for towing.
Have never used either so only just putting the comment out there.
Also is there much difference between a Hyundai SantaFe and a Kia Sorento!Same manufacturer.
grangies,
Oct 3, 6:32am
Have you considered buying an older, but low k's and tidy 4x4 for around $10,000 and purchasing a nice everyday car for $20,000!
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 3, 6:36am
Are we talking one horse or two!
What size caravan!
There are some great modern vehicles that make good comfortable and economical daily drivers while still being able to tow serious loads.
I would strongly suggest you go with something that has a trailer stability program. These systems do an amazing job to get you out of the poo if the trailer starts to sway, it can save the day like nothing else.
Once we have an idea of the max towing weight I can give you some ideas.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 3, 6:41am
In the meantime, the sort of things I was thinking was the likes of the Skoda Yeti 2.0 Diesel.
They are a lovely economical zippy every day car with excellent features and value for money. The 2.0 Diesel ones are good to tow up to about 2000KG which will likely be enough for two horses and quite a decent sized caravan.
If you don't like the look of the Skoda the VW Tiguan is the same car mechanically.
Very inexpensive service wise these cars too, nice long service intervals, parts are easy to get and well priced. Its veryhard to find anything that matches up to the VW/Skoda product.
These of course have the trailer stability control that I was talking about. You just have to make sure that they have a proper factory wired trailer plug or an equivalent. Most towbar places just use rubbish bypass relay's so its important to change that BEFORE you need the stability control to save your but.
horses7,
Oct 3, 7:28am
We currently own a 97 3.2 terrano done fairly low ks and it has been superb,but as i am nearing retirement we would like to upgrade to something newer,my wife enjoys trekking and we own a double tandemfloat but only 1 horse,and have been looking at caravans in 5 to 6 metre bracket.Have had a great run with Nissan over many years and love the late model Pathfinder but dont like what i am hearing aboutthem,which is a pity because they fit our needs perfectly
chook90,
Oct 3, 7:36am
Personally I'd be hunting for Navara STX450 or VW.
Kia strike me as being capable but perhaps not well suited to heavy work like towing horses.
cowlover,
Oct 3, 7:38am
Is that the Navara that has chassis issues like breakingand cracking!
skiff1,
Oct 3, 7:45am
Ford ranger. If you are towing a lot, seriousily consider getting set up for goose neck trailers. Pretty much any modern ute with a goose neck/ fifth wheel set up will tow better than any SUV
horses7,
Oct 3, 7:54am
Nissan apparently have a number of issues,engines,diffs,suspensio- n,chassis,all expensive ones,have also been told by numerous people to stay away from any common rail diesel which pretty much eliminates everything,dont know what to do,might have to keep the old Terrano as they never die
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 3, 8:37am
O.K, well so long as you don't go too crazy with the caravan the Skoda/Tiguan would be a great option in my opinion. Just remember you need the 2.0 Diesel option for towing that sort of weight.
What may be hard to get your head around after the Nissan is the smaller engine size. Because the Skoda is common rail and a very good one the 2.0 diesel is actually going to provide you with ample pull. That's why VW's Ute the Amarok is only 2.0 yet can hold its own against the much larger capacity competitors.
With regard to the reliability of the new Nissan etc. Realistically when it comes to anything modern and Diesel your best bets are the big European names, Mercedes/VW/Fiat. etc. VW (who also make Skoda and Audi) are going to offer you the most suitable package for what you are doing IMO. The rest of their technology is superb as well, like their DSG transmissions. (Which are ideal for towing as you have plenty of gears and no torque converter to get hot).
The reason the Japanese are off the pace when it comes to Diesels is nothing to do with their engineering abilities. Its just the economic's and sales volume.
In the 90's when Europe was (and still is) buying more Diesel cars than petrol ones the Fiat/Bosch developed the new common rail diesel system. Other European makes had the domestic sales volume to commit massive amounts of capital to developing their own flavor of the system.
While this was going on Japan was in recession, their already small domestic diesel market was dwindling and for all intensive purposes dried up completely by the 2000's.
As a result, the Japanese really never got a fair go at developing decent diesel technology. There are one or two that are not too bad but many including Toyota are really lacking in the reliability department.
Of course there are many die hard "Japanese or Nothing" enthusiasts that still cling to their old Hiace van's or risk their luck with a new Hilux etc. But the reality of the game is more and more Japanese manufacturers are converting to European diesel engines (and in some case re badging entire vehicles) as a more sensible solution to the delema.
Like the Hiace which is now being retired for a re-badged Fiat and other Toyota models receiving BMW diesel powerplants. Suzuki have used Euro Diesels for years right across their range.
Take from that what you will. The best thing you can do IMO is try out a Yeti, if you can, take one for a day and hitch your float up to get a feel of it for yourself. If you feel its too small there are other options, however I think the Yeti offers you the best all round value, economy and versatility.
Best of luck with it all.
thejazzpianoma,
Oct 3, 8:43am
This is absolutely absurd. Unfortunately though, you will hear it a lot. Its usually from the Japanese or nothing types who have seen the drama's with the new Toyota Diesels etc.
Common Rail technology from the likes of Fiat/Mercedes/Audi/VW/Skoda/Pe- ugeot/Citroen are by and large excellent though. Our main car is a common rail Fiat and its great.
Once you drive one you will see why they are so good. You are talking 3 times as long between services, only around 4 litres of oil required at service time and much better power/response with significantly lower fuel consumption.
Just because some of the Japanese and the Korean's are struggling to make reliable ones doesn't mean they are all bad.
Remember, if common rail technology was no good Europe would have ground to a standstill or gone broke years ago. Plenty of Fiat/Mercedes Diesels around that are well over 10 years old now and still going strong, you often see Mercedes courier vans on here with well over a million km's on the clock. (one had 1.5 Million on it that I saw this year)
The vast majority of Ambulances in this country are common rail diesels similar to what I am suggesting too.
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