Which is the best vehicle for extreme towing?
QUESTION
Hi John,
I'm looking for a second vehicle to tow over 3.1T and preferably not a dual cab. I'd get the Nissan if I did.
I’ts to pull a horse float on the weekends but I commute every day to work so I don't really want a large vehicle to drive.
Don't want a LandCruiser (have one), so what else is out there that would work? Don't want a Patrol, but might consider a Pajero Sport. I like the Volkswagen Touareg but it is expensive and am not sure whether its resale is going to hold up.
Cheers,
Ian
ANSWER
Ian,
“…so I don’t really want a large vehicle to drive.”
It’s time for a reality check mate.
Small vehicles don’t tow more than three tonnes. Your statement is like wanting to be Clint Eastwood: It’s not going to happen. There’s no non-large vehicle for this assignment.
My default position is: If you want to tow more than about 2.5 tonnes, buy a truck. Not a ute. Not a Landcruiser. Not a Patrol, certainly not a Touareg (poorly supported shitbox).
Buy a full-on truck, with actual heavy towing capacity. (Pajero Sport is maxxed out at 3.1 tonnes - and you want a vehicle to tow more than that… So that won’t work.)
The Complete Guide to Heavy Towing >>
Heavy towing with automatic transmission: What not to do>>
Towing more than three tonnes with a vehicle weighing about two tonnes, maybe 2.5, is asking - begging - for a disaster. That’s just how this works. It’s fundamental physics.
The kinds of trailers we tow with these kinds of vehicles are intrinsically unstable in yaw. All the dramatic failures occur in yaw (horizontal pendulums going out of control). That’s a club you do not want to join.
Here’s an entertaining video to show you what club membership looks like:
Sincerely,
JC
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