Best 4x4 for towing?

Question

What's the best 4x4 for towing an Ifor Williams 505 with two 14.2s in it. Total weight weight would be max 1700kgs. THX

Answer 1

I have had a F250 1996 with a 460 motor auto tranny, and it was sweet. It was a solid truck and never left me. I traded it when it had 150,000 miles on it and very little was done to it and still running solid. I only traded it because we couldn't pass a gas station, it SUCKED the gas!! I think hauling, it was in the 5mpg range.



I have a 2001 F250 7.3L diesel, manual tranny. Its a sweet truck. Its been solid, have had some repairs to it, but it has 130,000 miles on it now.



The newer fords with the 6L diesel are not getting good press. They are having problems with them, such as poor gas mileage and not as much power as mine. I am hanging onto mine, its a good motor, good transmission, at least thats what the mechanic tells me.



I have owned chevys, but it was the 6.2L diesel I believe, they aren't making that motor anymore, thank God. It was a junk truck, never had so many problems in my life and so many mechanics that couldn't diagnose problems off it.

Answer 2

Nissan x-trail, Kia Sorento and Volkswagen Touareg are the top rated towing cars. Nissan X-Trail is the cheaper of the 3, and is the car I have for towing. It tows like a dream and is very spacious! Mine is metallic blue with tinted windows, cd changer, sun roof, air conditioning etc. Touaregs are the most expensive, although it's a very nice looking car. Brand new they cost from £29,000. I don't know anyone with one so I can't say how they tow. I think the Kia Sorento is only slightly more expensive than the the x-trail. A friend of mine has one and she says it's really good for towing too and just as nice looking as the touareg and x-trail.

I think my X-trail cost close to £9000 second hand, but it wasn't very old and had low mileage. It tows a cheval liberte trailer with a 16hh and a 15hh, one of which is a very bumpy traveller. It has low carbon emissions so I think the tax is lower? Not sure on that one but it's more economically friendly!

I know a few people who had land roverns, both new and old, and they said the cars spent more time in the garage than they spent driving it.

I also know someone who had a Mitsubushi Warrier and it physically couldn't turn around a corner that was more than 90 degrees! Wasn't very handy dodging in and out of horse-boxes in the lorry parks at shows.

Answer 3

Well, if you're buying a tow vehicle, it's always better to have more truck than you actually need, if that's financially possible.



I prefer diesel to gas, and while 4x4 isn't necessary for normal towing (but right handy when it rains and you're parked in a now-muddy field) I like to have 4 wheel drive.



Regardless of the make, having a tow package is very important too. The tranny needs that cooler, and you have to think about stopping the trailer as well as getting it moving.



US makes, I'll probably go with the Dodge because the Cummins is made close by, and there are a lot of knowledgeable people to work on them. 3/4 ton minimum, prefer 1 ton.

Answer 4

Firstly are you in the UK? because all these Dodge and big Ford answers are straight out the window if you are as they are too big for our roads and will cost you more than your mortgage payments in petrol or diesel every time you go anywhere. I would have to go with the other sensible UK answers and say Land Rover Defender, they are geared for towing and pull well in ALL conditions, your upmarket chelsea tractors are shite for towing as they are too high geared. Japanese are good for reliability and fuel economy but will cost you a small fortune if you need parts, the best out of the Jap bunch are the Shogun and Landcruiser.

Avoid the Mitsubishi L200 and Toyota High Lux at all costs as the steering lock is awful and you will have to do 3 point turns every time you encounter a mini roundabout.

Answer 5

I have a 2001 3/4 dodge ram 4x4 laramie. I love the stock height on this truck, I'm always asked if it has been lifted. Problem with dodge's are those crappy tranny's. I have already rebuilt mine and it only has 68,000 miles on it. Thank you warranty!!!! It pulls great however if I had the money (cause buying a bigger farm is my priority) I would buy a GMC with the allis tranny in it. My boss bought a GMC HD 2500 with the Allis tranny and this thing pulled anything like a feather. I would have the trailer packed with mares and foals going up steep hills like there was nothing back there. Awesome truck there, plus the tranny catches going down a hill and holds you at speed instead of riding your brakes. This was a automatic also. Loved it! Buy a truck, not a SUV!

Answer 6

The experts who check into this towing & weight the experts say Dodge Diesel. It has the most towing weight capabilities. Then the Ford Diesel. I own a 2002 Dodge Diesel 1 ton 4x4. I get ave 18-20 miles to the gallon. I have never had a trans or motor problems & this is my 3rd one I have owned. My mother has a Chevy V 8 & she gets 11 miles per gallon. Your wheel base is what you should watch for. Most SUVs are not safe for towing. You need 114 inch MIN wheel base!!!!!!!! So if you are going to towing safety & gas milage go with a diesel !!!!







*****EDIT******



For the person above me is crazy!!!!!! That little car can NOT safely tow horses!!!!!!! It could NOT control the horse trailer with horses in it!!!!! I have seen many horse trailers flipped over because people think their LITTLE truck like a ranger can tow horses!!!!!! I may pull but it can NOT control or stop correctly if the trailer is out of control!!!! I would NEVER tow any of my horses with that car!!!!!!!!

Answer 7

Saw some VERY serious haulers at the Snaffle Bit Futurity in Reno, Ford and Dodge, diesels, Ford 350's, 450's, 650's, and larger. Very impressive with wonderful leather interiors, and every accessory imaginable(some with sleepers). Would NEVER consider any kind of car or light weight truck; you're asking for trouble. AND, it will find you.



Any of the above trucks would pull one of the more expensive trailers at the show, a $200,000+ Chisholm trailer, with living quarters. yikes!



We have a 2001 Ford 350 one ton auto, takes our camper plus horse trailer and two horses, one at 1300lbs and the other at 1100lbs, the truck is very stable and has more power than we'll ever need. Very reliable, good mileage ....really love it.

Hate to trade it off for a 450 or larger, but it might happen.

Answer 8

I have towed horse trailers all over this country and I would only reccomend two makes. Dodge or Ford. The Ford tranmission is a really good transmission and they have enough power to get the job done. The Dodge has a really good transmission and motor but seems to be a bit more comfortable than the Ford. I have a 68 Dodge that has been back and forth across this country 2-3 times now. It still runs and can still pull a trailer.

Answer 9

Ford diesel with the 7.3 turbo diesel (which means a used truck) or the new 6.4 diesel. I would stay FAR, FAR away from the 6.0.

I still have my 1995 F-350 with the 7.3 turbo diesel (the powerstroke) with an automatic transmission with overdrive and 296k miles, and it is still going strong! I have a lot of friends with these trucks too, and we all share the same opinion of them. I have a friend that had a Dodge diesel. The engine was strong, but she had a lot of problems with the transmission.

The torque converter just went out on my truck (with the mileage somethings going to go), and we decided to go ahead and have the transmission rebuilt at the same time just on general principles, and the tranny guy said it was perfect inside.



So, I vote for the FORD diesel, but then again, it's whatever you prefer!

Answer 10

I would say landrover or izuzu trooper, you need to check towing limits as a lot of the pretend 4x4 (crv,x-trail etc) will be on the limit, but the landrover and izuzu are two that have decent limits, also the mitsubishi pajero which a friend of mine tows quite capably with. and definitely diesel

Answer 11

If in the UK?

Land Rover Discovery or Defender or 90, as the farmer's wife above said, you have behemoth trucks in the US, sure you do but try fitting one of those down a lane in the British countryside!

Answer 12

Ive had a variety of jeeps and I found the Santa Fe Hyundai to be above and beyond for pulling my box, I have 2 very big horses, and its the one jeep that I NEVER had any problems with - even going up hills!

I found Land Rover lost power ascending heights, Pajeros were quite rocky and uncomfortable to pull, Mitsubishis lost power off road - this is only my opinion but I hope Im of some help xx

Answer 13

defantly a land rover!!!!!!!! i've always had 1 and they are the true 4x4s! don't get fake ones like ford etc...



i've none many land rovers to pull 6 tonne lorry for more than 3 miles at a speed of 20mph! not many cars can do that!

Answer 14

I find all makes of trucks equally crappy



Stick with a 3/4 or 1 ton

Answer 15

I have horses and I know allot of people who tow so here is a list of what they tow with:



Mitsubishi Shogun/ Pajero 2.8 V6 petrol (does drink a LOT) or diesel.

Mitsubishi Warrior

Range rover

Land rover Discovery

Land rover Defender

Nissan Navara

Jeep Cherokee

Suzuki Grand Viatra



I wouldn't bother towing with anything under a 2litre engine I do prefer Diesel Turbos as the have allot of tourk to play around with and they don't die half way up a hill! lol

Answer 16

Land Rover every time. But it's not the best of vehicles if you can only have one and need to drive it every day as well, unless of course you love them. Land Rovers are like Marmite, you either love them or hate them. Defender if you have money, old Series III diesel if you're broke

Answer 17

Buy one of the car magazines that have all cars listed in the back and the weight they can tow. I've always allowed a bit of extra weight as I'd rather have spare capacity (and it's safer too). The rest is down to personal preference and your budget. I know the following can tow well:



Landrover Discovery

Landrover Defender

Mitsubishi Shogun (I have one of these & it's great!)

Isuzu Trooper (my friend tows with one of these)

Range Rover (my rich friend tows with one of these!)

Diahatsu Fourtrack (not made any more but good at towing! I used to have one!)

Jeep Cherokee



I think some Suburu's are good at towing too but you would need to check the weights...



Forgot the Toyota Landcruiser and check out some of the Nissans (Patrol I think!) too.

Answer 18

I have a 2007 one ton dually... GMC... Diesel. with the allison transmissions....4X4



this is the 3rd one I have owned



If I didn't have this I would have a new Ford F-450... new in 2008 cool truck.. for 50,000 bucks..lol

Answer 19

I find the trusty Landrover 90 Or Defender, or TDI Discovery, all pull like trains, and have never let me down, (we tow a 14:2 heavy cob and a 12hh welsh mountain pony, no probs!)

If you don't like the above, an Isuzu 3:1 Diesel, also had one of these and it was ok.

Good luck!

Answer 20

go for a land rover they cant be beat or a diatsu i have had both and i tow a horse box alot with two very heavy cobs

Answer 21

landrover TDI, with four wheel drive. we pulled a triler round for many years with it

Answer 22

Definitely a Land Rover Defender. It will pull up to three tonnes and has good economy with the Diesel version (30+ mpg), holds its value and is the very best off-road



http://www.landrover.com/gb/en/Vehicles/Defender07/Defender_overview.htm?route=_gb_en_Vehicles_overview@__link__Thumbnail_4

Answer 23

A new RAV 4 will tow 2 x 14.2hh ponies but I had an old P reg and it was lethal. Go for the heaviest vehicle you can get.

Answer 24

dodge durango it trailer our boat which is twice that weight and it can also carries our horse trailer

Answer 25

Audi Q7 mate!!!