4x4 to pull double horse box.

saphire1979 · 15-09-2010 8:49am #1

I know this will depend on the type of double horsebox but what 4x4 would you generically recommend to pull a double horsebox?

I've been told:

-Landcruiser (the best)
-Mitsubishi Pajero
-Land Rover (useless)
-Isuzu Trooper (trouble)
-Suzuki Grand Vitara (not good enough)

Any ideas?

Borderfox · 15-09-2010 3:19pm

Sounds about right but double check the weight each model can tow as it can change between each one.

fits · 15-09-2010 9:04pm

saphire1979 wrote: »

I know this will depend on the type of double horsebox but what 4x4 would you generically recommend to pull a double horsebox?

I've been told:

-Landcruiser (the best)
-Mitsubishi Pajero
-Land Rover (useless)
-Isuzu Trooper (trouble)
-Suzuki Grand Vitara (not good enough)

Any ideas?

Wouldnt discount the trooper at all. Just make sure you get the good engine. theres a 3 litre and a 3.1 litre and one of them is trouble and the other is brilliant.

Others to consider are the Hyundai Terracan and the Kia Sorento.

And yeah the Grand Vitara doesnt have a high enough towing capacity and I wouldnt get a landrover personally.

ashy4 · 18-09-2010 10:55pm

Hi, just following the thread, am also looking for a 4x4 to tow, any thoughts on a toureg or a santa fe?. Will only be towing occasionally and will need the jeep as a work car also.

saphire1979 · 19-09-2010 9:10pm

Bad reviews for towing.

saphire1979 · 19-09-2010 9:11pm

fits wrote: »

Wouldnt discount the trooper at all. Just make sure you get the good engine. theres a 3 litre and a 3.1 litre and one of them is trouble and the other is brilliant.

Others to consider are the Hyundai Terracan and the Kia Sorento.

And yeah the Grand Vitara doesnt have a high enough towing capacity and I wouldnt get a landrover personally.

Hyundai Terracan.
Good reviews. Might consider this.

ashy4 · 20-09-2010 9:28am

Hi thanks for that. Ive seen quite a few around at competitions but will take into consideration. Hard to find a toureg with decent mileage and price!, any other thoughts?, friend uses a rav 4 to tow 2 regularly, but I'm sceptical!!!. Any advice gratefully received!

saphire1979 · 21-09-2010 10:53am

Rav 4 max tow weight is 1500 kg.Single horseboxes with a small poney maybe but I've heard that they are not that reliable.

Borderfox · 21-09-2010 2:29pm

No point having a car and horsebox that are just at the limit of towing, the car/jeep wont last long

ashy4 · 22-09-2010 12:22pm

Thanks for that, ideally would like a landcruiser but too big an engine. Ideally would like 7 seater, not much to ask really !! All for a budget of around 14k.

Borderfox · 28-09-2010 1:37am

3 litre diesel for a start, a lot of the newer jeeps X5, Tourag and such all have electronic four wheel drive so getting stuck in a field is still a possibility. Maybe something like a Mitsibishi L200 or the Toyota Hi-Lux would suit at the budget? they are commercials and have small tax, but need DOE tests

ashy4 · 28-09-2010 1:25pm

Thanks borderfox for the reply. Can't go into the 3 litre bracket for tax, so 2.5 is the max, plus with 4 kids commercial won't work either!!!. Will look at Mitsubishi tho, not looked at any yet so maybe something to suit in the range.

silverfox88 · 29-09-2010 12:35pm

ashy4 wrote: »

Thanks for that, ideally would like a landcruiser but too big an engine. Ideally would like 7 seater, not much to ask really !! All for a budget of around 14k.

santa fe's are great, there are four of them in my yard, ranging from 2003 to 2006, all used to tow regularly; the 2003 one has been pulling a double horsebox with a 16.2 sport horse and a 15.2 most weekends for years, not a bother on it! bought one myself recently, 2005, all leather and every extra you could ask for with only 48000 miles, for just over 10k. make sure you get the diesel version though obviously, my 2.0 litre diesel is fantstically economical, not much more expensive to run than the old 1.0 petrol i had before it, so not too much of a drain on fuel! the 2.0 litre is great, strong enough to pull two horses but without going into the tax/insurance bracket of the 2.5/3.0.
theres plenty of them for sale as well in varying price brackets, well worth considering!

ashy4 · 29-09-2010 1:26pm

Great! Thanks for that, was one I was hoping would suit and there us a 7 seater version also, have heard some bad reviews, but now am hearing more good than bad! So I'll be looking out for one now, thanks a lot.

fits · 29-09-2010 8:21pm

You can check out the towing specs of any car you may want to buy on www.parkers.co.uk

granturismo · 30-09-2010 6:08pm

Can anyone explain the difference between 'unbraked' and 'breaked' towing weight and how both are relevant. Thanks.

fits · 03-10-2010 8:44pm

All big trailers such as caravans and horseboxes have their own braking system. So when you apply brakes in your towing vehicle, the brakes will go on in the box too. Its much safer as otherwise the trailer's significant weight would be pushing against the towing vehicle in transit.

Smaller trailers dont tend to have brakes. Obviously these have to be very light (less than 750 kg generally with their load) to be towed safely.

If you're looking at towing horseboxes, its the braked towing weight thats relevant.

coolhandspan · 05-10-2010 10:58pm

is an isuzu any use, like look of them

jeanpaul · 05-10-2010 11:33pm

Im on my 4th Landcruiser and do a lot of heavy towing. Apart from one faulty gearbox that was replaced free of charge outside of warranty i had no problems. Can't see myself changing to any other brand.

saphire1979 · 09-10-2010 7:24pm

Only a dealer would promote this to pull a hore box.
Rubbish for pulling 2 big horses. Specs from website listed above shows that they are not safe.

Unbraked Towing Weight700 kg:mad:Braked Towing Weight2300 kg

silverfox88 wrote: »

santa fe's are great, there are four of them in my yard, ranging from 2003 to 2006, all used to tow regularly; the 2003 one has been pulling a double horsebox with a 16.2 sport horse and a 15.2 most weekends for years, not a bother on it! bought one myself recently, 2005, all leather and every extra you could ask for with only 48000 miles, for just over 10k. make sure you get the diesel version though obviously, my 2.0 litre diesel is fantstically economical, not much more expensive to run than the old 1.0 petrol i had before it, so not too much of a drain on fuel! the 2.0 litre is great, strong enough to pull two horses but without going into the tax/insurance bracket of the 2.5/3.0.
theres plenty of them for sale as well in varying price brackets, well worth considering!

mack2 · 10-10-2010 9:09am

hi just to add my 2pence worth! I have a nissan x-trial 2.2 desil and that pulls my big welsh cob and my little welsh pony, 2 kids, all the gear etc no bother.....also i use it on a daily basis, kids to school, work, shop etc and i put in 50 every 2 weeks.......i swear thats the truth ive never had such an ecconomical jeep/car before i love it!!! It has all the extras too....leather heated seats etc..... Touch wood have never had a prob either on a daily basis or with the horsebox and ive been through thick yuck mud in fields at shows with the two cobs and its just pulled no bother.....
best of luck with your search.....its an idea to ask also that when you take the jeep on a test drive you can hitch up the box....thats what we did - our garage was great like that......i dismissed 2 other jeeps just on what i felt when i started pulling with them!!!
good luck!!

granturismo · 17-10-2010 12:03pm

According to the Sunday Times, the total weight of whatever's being towed should not exceed 85% of the vehicle's kerb weight to minimise any chance of the horsebox swaying.

silverfox88 · 19-10-2010 12:54am

saphire1979 wrote: »

Only a dealer would promote this to pull a hore box.
Rubbish for pulling 2 big horses. Specs from website listed above shows that they are not safe.

Unbraked Towing Weight700 kg:mad:Braked Towing Weight2300 kg

heehee, i dont really know any 21 year olds with car dealerships to be honest!! i'm only getting used to towing so i havent pulled two yet, but brought a friends big boned 16.2 cross country with it the other day and hardly felt the box on the end of the jeep at all. you'd really have to have driven one with a box on it to judge it properly. as i said earlier, another girl in the yard has been pulling her two big horses with hers for 7 years now and never had a problem. love the thing!!

savvygirl · 09-01-2011 10:49pm

Well I have a landcruiser and I absolutely love it for pulling the horsebox around the country with 1/2 horses. But now with the clamp down on commercial tax (tax gone from 288 to 1350!) I am going to have to change it for something with a smaller engine size so again I am looking for recommendations. Such a pain to have to change it but just can't afford the 1350 per year! One wonders what effect this will have on the prices of jeeps?!

Bellemz · 18-11-2013 9:59am

Anyone towing one horse (16.22hh +) with a Tiguan/Grand Vitara/Yeti?

I'm stuck in the 2.0l Tax bracket and have a small budget (8k absolute max). Towing weight of the 3 above vehicles is 2000kg and horse plus trailer are 1600kg max.

Grand Vitara is the most reasonably priced of the 3. Anyone had trouble with any of these models?

HarrietD · 18-11-2013 8:13pm

Bellemz wrote: »

Anyone towing one horse (16.22hh +) with a Tiguan/Grand Vitara/Yeti?

I'm stuck in the 2.0l Tax bracket and have a small budget (8k absolute max). Towing weight of the 3 above vehicles is 2000kg and horse plus trailer are 1600kg max.

Grand Vitara is the most reasonably priced of the 3. Anyone had trouble with any of these models?

I have a 1.9 Grand Vitara for 6 yrs. 99.9% of the time it is my run around and I need it to occasionally tow 1 horse short distances. There is no comparison to towing with a landcruiser etc but it suits my purpose and is very economical and has never given trouble towing or otherwise.

Bellemz · 18-11-2013 8:14pm

Thanks

marley123 · 20-11-2013 2:51pm

Have you looked at a Nissan X Trail?

Bellemz · 20-11-2013 2:56pm

I hadn't, thanks for the tip!

aonb · 20-11-2013 6:33pm

Bellemz wrote: »

Anyone towing one horse (16.22hh +) with a Tiguan/Grand Vitara/Yeti?

I'm stuck in the 2.0l Tax bracket and have a small budget (8k absolute max). Towing weight of the 3 above vehicles is 2000kg and horse plus trailer are 1600kg max.

Grand Vitara is the most reasonably priced of the 3. Anyone had trouble with any of these models?

we had 5 Grand Vitara's - all bought new, loved them, then we got a horse box for our daughter. There is a particulate (sp?) filter problem with the I think the later models. Disaster! Towing with one horse in a 505 was not great. In fact I was permanently paranoid about towing our beloved horse to events far away. That last Vitara we had, we replaced the filter (cost several thousand) and still a problem. We got a new VOLKSWAGON TIGUAN. My husband is that person who does ALL the research beforehand 8-) The Tiguan has super torc rating for towing, its cheaper tax, is really economical, and we all LOVE it as a family car. Check it out - I would 100% recommend one - even after 5 Grand Vitaras!!!

charlieIRL · 21-11-2013 2:24pm

marley123 wrote: »

Have you looked at a Nissan X Trail?

I've used an xtrail for the last 2 years (have a few posts about it here about it if you do a search) Its well capable to pull the box with our 2 ponies but i have towed 2 horses with it. It's easy enough on diesel, returning nearly 40mpg travelling over and back to work. Tax is the big downside though.

paddi22 · 21-11-2013 8:31pm

i have a kia sorrento and it easily pulls 2 horses in a 505 with no issue.

dave66 · 25-11-2013 3:01pm

I bought a Nissan Pathfinder during the summer and absolutely love it, 7 seater, very spacious. No problem towing, even around hills of Killegar. Got it for 8k, however it is a 2.5L engine.

Bellemz · 27-05-2014 7:51pm

Anyone tried towing with Nissan Qashqai or Juke?

fits · 27-05-2014 9:20pm

Don't! Those cars wouldn't be up to it at all.

dave66 · 28-05-2014 10:10am

Bellemz wrote: »

Anyone tried towing with Nissan Qashqai or Juke?

If you check the towing capacity of these cars, you'll find they're not suitable, for example the 2L Qashqai has a max capacity of 1400kg, so applying the 80% rule you shouldn't try pull more than 1120kg. As far as I can see the max capacity of the Juke (AWD version) is 1150kg, so applying the 80% rule you shouldn't try pull more than 920kg.

norwegian fjord · 30-05-2014 2:43pm

I towed two horses for years in an Ifor Williams 505 trailer pulled by a Mitsubitshi long wheel based shogun 2.5 Sport. Never had any problems either on short or long trips. Loved the shogun and it was a very sad sale.

MedusaV8 · 30-05-2014 2:48pm

Land Rover 110 is best for towing they are rated up to 3.5 ton. However the passenger comfort isn't great. I've towed with my 90 and it tows like there is nothing there. Most modern soft roader just aren't up to weight.

Bellemz · 02-06-2014 9:21am

The New Qashqai 1.6Dci 4WD tows 1800kg apparently, which would cover a 505 and one horse... Just curious if anyone's done it though...

plannerscanner · 18-07-2014 11:10am

Hey - lookng for some advice. Have a very limited budget <€5k to get a reliable jeep to pull a 510 with two horses (16 & 15.2). Due to the year I have only been looking at Landcruisers (reliability a key factor) - however, due to the cost of the tax I am trying to suss out some cheaper alternatives. What would people reccomend from 2000-2004 for me?

Thanks

Bellemz · 18-07-2014 11:12am

Mitsubishi would be a second choice to the Land Cruiser, a lot of my friends got a Patrols as they were a bit cheaper and are pretty happy.

Izuzu's seem to go forever but I've no experience in owning one

aonb · 18-07-2014 6:07pm

a commercial would be the best option financially.
we pulled a box with a SUZUKI GRAND VITAR - lovely jeep to drive/passenger in, and it just about had the power to pull

The problem with a car that old is reliability. My idea of a total nightmare would be breaking down with 2 horses in the box

Do you travel much/far?

MedusaV8 · 18-07-2014 6:16pm

I would reiterated that for pure power for towing you really can't beat a Land Rover 110 Defender. Even better if you can get a commercial. They are well up to towing 3.5 ton. I may be a little bias but my Defender is 21 years old and drove all round France last year without missing a beat. The will go on forever if looked after and serviced properly.

lyoness · 19-07-2014 9:16am

Kia sorento commercial? Great jeep

plannerscanner · 21-07-2014 10:39am

aonb wrote: »

a commercial would be the best option financially.
we pulled a box with a SUZUKI GRAND VITAR - lovely jeep to drive/passenger in, and it just about had the power to pull

The problem with a car that old is reliability. My idea of a total nightmare would be breaking down with 2 horses in the box

Do you travel much/far?

I agree totally - I know some people have great things to say about 2.0L jeeps but I just feel a 2.5 or 3.0 will be the best option for reliability - especailly considering a load of up to 1400kg.

As for the travelling - want to be in a position to to be able to get to hunts approx 1.5hrs and 3hrs away over the winter and then in the summer want to get away to Donegal once or twice

plannerscanner · 21-07-2014 10:43am

lyoness wrote: »

Kia sorento commercial? Great jeep

The Sorrento only has a braked pulling capacity of 1,580kg - don't think it is suitable for 2 handy sized horses.

fits · 21-07-2014 11:38am

plannerscanner wrote: »

The Sorrento only has a braked pulling capacity of 1,580kg - don't think it is suitable for 2 handy sized horses.

Depends on the year. Also the towing capacity is gone way down in the newer models. Mine has capacity of 2800kg and does it well.

plannerscanner · 21-07-2014 12:06pm

fits wrote: »

Depends on the year. Also the towing capacity is gone way down in the newer models. Mine has capacity of 2800kg and does it well.

What year and model is that out of interest?

fits · 21-07-2014 11:07pm

2006 2.5 XE Automatic. Imported from UK. (cant remember anymore if capacity is 2.5t or 2.8t but its big)

Edit wrong on both counts, it has 3.5 tonne braked towing weight. http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/kia/sorento/station-wagon-2003/35069/

Edit appears I am wrong again this link says 2.8t. http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/kia/sorento/station-wagon-2003/24886/

So to summarise, I dont know but enough to pull a box.

elusiveguy · 22-07-2014 9:56am

fits wrote: »

Depends on the year. Also the towing capacity is gone way down in the newer models. Mine has capacity of 2800kg and does it well.

Some of them aren't 4wd

lyoness · 22-07-2014 10:04am

elusiveguy wrote: »

Some of them aren't 4wd

I think you are thinking of the Sportage, all new model sorentos are 4WD as standard and the budget being asked here is 5K so I don't think he is looking at the new model anyway

Mine has a towing capacity of 3500kg.

4x4 to pull double horse box.

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