All,

The wife has bought a horse and needs something farmyard!
We only want to spend £5/6k but it needs to be able to pull 2 horses.
I have looked at discos but I don't like the look of them.
Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mark

Defender 90

Then you can nick it for off road fun days

Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee

should get a nice one for that money

Ray

Nissan Patrol, true off roader, luxuriuos inside.

Rings the bells in both camps..

Or you could try:
http://homeappliances.files.wordpress.com/2006/11/barbecue-grill-galore.jpg

range rover or defender 90...

or discovery 2

one other thing on the defender 90 is that is just like a kit car, parts are cheap and EVERYTHING just unbolts and is easy to fix

We drove a £6k defender and I can't see the attraction.

Disco 2....look old fashion?

Cherokee...might have potential. What is the 2.8CRD like?

Nissan Patrol...tooooo big.

+1 for defender not pretty or flash but easy and cheep to fix and it does what it says on the tin..............

L200 all the way, chuck hey in the back too

Isuzu trooper

Nissan Patrol...tooooo big.


Have you towed a pair of large horses with horse box..... No such thing as too big.......

They knock the one ton pickup about.

I read that as what 4x4 for £56k

In which case it would have to be a RR Sport in black wid da bling wheels

@ £5-6k then I'd be hankering for a Defender 90 (with sensible wheels). Especialy if you're towing muddy horses and associated stuff.

I would agree that the defender is best suited for towing, and the chassis and engines are like adult meccano and easily changed. I've even been helping a mate of mine change the chassis for a galvanised one weekend just gone.

However, I find them to be very much an agricultural vehicle. There's not a great deal of room inside, especially for the drivers right arm! If you want to take more than one person (in addition to driver) and gear in the car then you;ll need a 110.

I recently purchased a P38 Range Rover diesel and thoroughly enjoy it. I wouldn't say it's as good as the Defender for towing, but it's much more comfortable and more of a road-goer. However, I spent 3 months looking for the right one, and then you've got issues to consider such as the air suspension and other common faults that wouldn't occur in a more basic vehicle.

I considered a Discovery and also looked at Isuzu Troopers when I was in my "unsure stage", but decided that the RR was definately the best all round for what I wanted in terms of towing and daily use.

My 2p's worth over....

my choice would be a merc ml430, lpg, don't know what the towing ability it but it will have the power with the 4.3 v8, i had the e430 and that pulled like a train, nice and comfy as well, and its a merc, for the money your looking at it should have all the toys on it as well, discos and defenders are to agricultural for me, yse they will pull, but i like a bit of comfort, so ML430 or range rover v8 4.6, or v6 3.5 24v shogun, if you want an odd ball, i had a delica 2.8 td for a while, basicly a shogun but a full 7 seat people carrier body, take the seats out and it was like a transit!!!!

and the big chyslers have normally got mercedes running gear, i know the 300 is an E class merc underneath

Simple Nissan patrol or Toyota landcruiser. Make landrovers look like ladas.

Disco 2 TD5, we paid £5k for our 35k mile 2002 model last January. Feels a bit like a tractor and tows as well as one. Will drag 1600kgs of car trailer without feeling it, even off muddy fields regularly encountered at hillclimbs. I would imagine most of the agricultural seperate chassis 4x4s would be pretty similar though.

Don't know about over there, I have a 4.0 litre Cherokee with 235,000 kms, doesn't burn oil, tows 3000lb boat and trailer without difficulty.
My son has a Grand Cherokee with 245,000kms, runs well, no major problems, also has a 4.0 litre six petrol.

Another vote for a Defender 90. When i need one, i'll get one! Yes bit impractical and horrible to drive but for some reason, i think they look cool and have always wanted one!

I wouldn't reckomend a Merc ML, a few of my mates had them (well their folks, who for some reason let their kids drive them) and they all (3 different cars) fell to peices and were constantly being put back together.

If you don't want a Land Rover, your best bet has to be some thing big and Japanese.

Thanks Guys.

I drove a Defender because of all of the reasons above but this has to be the wifes everyday car and the 90's at that price are just too old and agricultural. I dare say that if I bought a £15k Td5 version it might look a bit different.
My dad has a ML, the 350 petrol and loves it but the build quality is nowhere near my E-class and they all seem to have been to the moon and back.
I will keep looking

Mark

Wouldn;t touch a Disco With a Crappy stick.

Bought a disco II about 18 months ago. Biggest piece of crap ever. Would not pull it's self at 60 let alone a trailer.

Was a 52 Plate 2.5 TD AUTO ES fully loaded.... Lights running boards etc.


Had sold a perfectly good P38 Range Rover for it and haded the disco so much sold it 6 moths later (for great loss) and bought a Ford Ranger Pick up - FAR BETTER


So P38 Range Rover or Defender (avoid TD5 engine) or L200 or Ford Ranger etc.

quote:

---

Originally posted by mad4x4
Wouldn;t touch a Disco With a Crappy stick.

Bought a disco II about 18 months ago. Biggest piece of crap ever. Would not pull it's self at 60 let alone a trailer.

Was a 52 Plate 2.5 TD AUTO ES fully loaded.... Lights running boards etc.


Had sold a perfectly good P38 Range Rover for it and haded the disco so much sold it 6 moths later (for great loss) and bought a Ford Ranger Pick up - FAR BETTER


So P38 Range Rover or Defender (avoid TD5 engine) or L200 or Ford Ranger etc.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by MK9R
Do consider the towing weight, if you are towing 2 horses and a trailer, you'll need something rated up to 3 tonnes towing weight, and if you actually look into it there aren't many 4x4's out there that can do that, LR are the heaviest rated ones on the road (there maybe a couple more just can't think of them to hand). I looked into this when i was considering buying and american toy hauler

---

Just to point Ford Ranger has a reputation as a serious money pit. --- just do a quick Google.

Likewise with the Nissa Navarra Google for real horror stories.

Jeep Cherokke models I encountered have had somewhat fragile rear axles and use the the VM diesel with its expensive habit of cracking cylinder heads

What about a Shogun? A couple of chaps that I know have/had them and love them to bits. One of them also does a sheet-load of towing.

quote:

---

Originally posted by mad4x4
Wouldn;t touch a Disco With a Crappy stick.

Bought a disco II about 18 months ago. Biggest piece of crap ever. Would not pull it's self at 60 let alone a trailer.

Was a 52 Plate 2.5 TD AUTO ES fully loaded.... Lights running boards etc.


Had sold a perfectly good P38 Range Rover for it and haded the disco so much sold it 6 moths later (for great loss) and bought a Ford Ranger Pick up - FAR BETTER


So P38 Range Rover or Defender (avoid TD5 engine) or L200 or Ford Ranger etc.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by hicost blade
L200 all the way, chuck hey in the back too

---

i have had most four wheel drives in my time,and used them for towing heavy trailers.

shogun 3.2 did easily get for £5-6k tows very well.

landrover disco 300 tdi crap,no power atall

landrover disco td5 crap,no power low down and slow on hills,rear suspension no good.

landcruiser various best 4x4 on the road,had loads,never had a problem,will pull a house down,but heavy on fuel.

cherokee jeeps,waist of time,they are american based,too soft,expensive to run.

shogun pajero,very good for towing,but bit underpowered.

isuzy trooper,best thing you can spend your money on.

either get a 3.0 turbo diesel lwb trooper 99 onwards,or a bighorn late 95 onwards with the electronic 3.1 and you will be very pleased.
never had a problem with any of our troopers.tow very well,good offroad,good and comfortable on road.

hope this helps

I would look into what sort of weight you are going to be pulling and what weight you license can tow. Assuming to past your test before '97' you should be able to tow a 3.5 tonne rated trailer.

Are they big horses? Two horses, all the associated gear and the weight of the trailer I reckon you'll be hitting 2 1/2 tonne perhaps more. Some of the suggested trucks above are rated 2.2, 2.5, 2.8 etc. Just be careful.

Disco's and Landys both are great towing trucks and can tow 3.5 tonne. Thats why my business uses them and has used them for 10 years. Also they are cheap cheap compared to Troopers, Shoguns and all of the 'big boys' really.

Ask 20 folks for an opinion and you'll get 40 answers!
I wouldn't recommend a Cherokee for towing heavy stuff. I had one and for everyday use it was OK. It was a 2.8CRD and it managed an accurate 36mp(UK)g everyday and almost 40mpg on a run. The problem I found with heavy trailers was the lack of weight over the rear axle. It was easy to get out of shape!.
A LR90 is good if you want a tractor with a radio. I've had several and I love them but as an everyday car? Nah.
Anything modern and Japanese will cost you in parts. See how much an exhaust is for an L200 or a starter motor.
I had a 200tdi and a 300tdi Disco and they were ace!
I currently run a 2002 Rangey and it's brill.

Well, it seems I have a few to go at

I was aware of the towing weight thing and that is my concern with the smaller models. I quite like the look of the short wheelbase shoguns or troopers.
Does the wheelbase matter?
Oh and the nags are both 15-3 so not massive but certainly not ponies.

Thanks for your comments...

Mark