We have just purchased a Jayco Sterling 25ft with bed slide out, ATM 2900. Interested to know what is the best and strongest vehicle to tow this. Any suggestions please?
-- Edited by handycapped on Tuesday 22nd of January 2013 07:30:25 PM
Plendo said
08:57 PM Jan 22, 2013
Hi Andrea, I first need to qualify what I say, by letting you know that we are not on the road yet ourselves.
I have however put a fair amount of research into towing vehicles in the bracket you are looking at, the list is not very extensive I am afraid.
Here are the ones I have found:
Holden - Colorado Ute (3,500), and Colorado 7 Wagon (3,000).
Ford - Ranger Ute (3,350).
Toyota - Landcruisers NOT PRADO, only ones with auto are 200 series, and older 100 series.
Mazda - BT50 (3,500) just like its brother the ford ranger.
Mitsubishi - Pajero (3,000 but beware ball weight drops as towed weight exceeds 2,500 ), Challenger (3,000)
Nissan - D40 Navarra (3,000) and Pathfinder (3,000).
Jeep - Grand Cherokee (3,500).
Land Rover - Discovery 3 or 4 (3,500), Range Rover (3,500)
VW - Tourag (3,500).
Audi - Q7 (3,500).
I am sure I have missed some, but I am also sure that someone else will point out the ones I have missed.
For the weight you are towing, it would be advisable to have a safety margin, so that limits the field even further.
For me, I have ruled out some of the above, because they are too big (over 5m long), some because they are too well travelled (more than 150k km), poor reputation, or just because I do not like them.
I checked out the newest of the bunch last weekend, and ruled it out almost immediatly, poor design, and even worse build quality.
I am currently strggling between a second hand Land Rover (prefer a Disco 4 SE), or a new/near new Jeep Grand Cherokee (only the WK series diesel).
I hope this list helps you, at least identify the contenders.
-- Edited by Plendo on Tuesday 22nd of January 2013 09:22:03 PM
handycapped said
03:49 PM Jan 23, 2013
Hi Plendo thank you so much for that very helpful respnse. Some of those on your list are also in our sights. We are thinking Isuzu D-Max or Colorado, Ford Ranger, BT-50. We do not want to go over $50K (with trade in) so are limited by that, we also don't want too big, as there are only two of us and one very small dog. We have seen some second hand models at a reasonable price but they have big mileage.
We will keep looking before we buy, thanks again. Hope to be on the road by late March.
villatranquilla said
06:27 PM Jan 23, 2013
I would not always believe the weights on the compliance plate - a weigh bridge check would ensure accuracy - we recently looked at a new Jayco with slide-out (not as long as yours) and empty ball weight was listed as 210kg - add a couple of gas bottles and start loading the boot with chairsand other basics and we would be over our 250kg limit very quickly.
handycapped said
08:50 PM Jan 23, 2013
Yes, exactly that's why we're going for 3500kg tow to give some leeway. Thanks for your input. Cheers
neilnruth said
10:01 PM Jan 23, 2013
Hey, handycapped, haven't you discovered you have a PM (message)? Have a great day.
handycapped said
10:39 PM Jan 23, 2013
No. Can't say I have. Where is it?
neilnruth said
10:43 PM Jan 23, 2013
Check the right hand corner of your page - near your name it will say you have 1 new message. Click on that to find your message..
p said
10:54 PM Jan 23, 2013
Ford Ranger is rated now at 3500kg and the BT-50 is 3350 kg
Peter_n_Margaret said
04:59 AM Jan 24, 2013
An important group of vehicles missing from the list above are the 70 Series Landcruisers, all 4.5L V8 diesels. 4 door Waggon, tray top and twin cab.
Cheers, Peter
handycapped said
11:04 PM Jan 25, 2013
Hi folks - thanks for the responses. We've solved the problem and bought the BT-50. Very happy with it, please don't post any horror story experiences! It's too late.
-- Edited by handycapped on Tuesday 22nd of January 2013 07:30:25 PM
Hi Andrea, I first need to qualify what I say, by letting you know that we are not on the road yet ourselves.
I have however put a fair amount of research into towing vehicles in the bracket you are looking at, the list is not very extensive I am afraid.
Here are the ones I have found:
Holden - Colorado Ute (3,500), and Colorado 7 Wagon (3,000).
Ford - Ranger Ute (3,350).
Toyota - Landcruisers NOT PRADO, only ones with auto are 200 series, and older 100 series.
Mazda - BT50 (3,500) just like its brother the ford ranger.
Mitsubishi - Pajero (3,000 but beware ball weight drops as towed weight exceeds 2,500 ), Challenger (3,000)
Nissan - D40 Navarra (3,000) and Pathfinder (3,000).
Jeep - Grand Cherokee (3,500).
Land Rover - Discovery 3 or 4 (3,500), Range Rover (3,500)
VW - Tourag (3,500).
Audi - Q7 (3,500).
I am sure I have missed some, but I am also sure that someone else will point out the ones I have missed.
For the weight you are towing, it would be advisable to have a safety margin, so that limits the field even further.
For me, I have ruled out some of the above, because they are too big (over 5m long), some because they are too well travelled (more than 150k km), poor reputation, or just because I do not like them.
I checked out the newest of the bunch last weekend, and ruled it out almost immediatly, poor design, and even worse build quality.
I am currently strggling between a second hand Land Rover (prefer a Disco 4 SE), or a new/near new Jeep Grand Cherokee (only the WK series diesel).
I hope this list helps you, at least identify the contenders.
-- Edited by Plendo on Tuesday 22nd of January 2013 09:22:03 PM
We will keep looking before we buy, thanks again. Hope to be on the road by late March.
Ford Ranger is rated now at 3500kg and the BT-50 is 3350 kg
4 door Waggon, tray top and twin cab.
Cheers,
Peter