What's your tug?

Beth54 · Guru

What's your tug?

Beth54 · Guru

If all goes to plan, I'm going to be changing my tug in the near future

So I was wondering....

1/what is your vehicle?

2/ are you happy with it?

3/ Why did you choose this vehicle?

bill12 · Guru

I have a 97 ford courier diesel 4wd that came with the slide on when I bought it. Its been very reliable, and is a comfortable , strong vehicle.The only thing I would change is to get more power. I have been think of fitting a turbo, but will leave it the same in the short term.Will probably buy another , but a turboversion. Good vehicle, underrated, in my opinion. Bill

Beth54 · Guru

Is that the one that's now a Ranger Bill? I remember you talking about the Ranger.

neilnruth · Guru

We love our XTrail. It pulls our 1980 Viscount no problems.

Beth54 · Guru

I've researching vehicles and the Xtrail was one I liked. What model is yours Ruth? Is it petrol or diesel, 4 or 6 cylinder?

neilnruth · Guru

Ours is petrol and 4 cylinder. Only word of warning - while it has a towing capacity of 2 tonne make sure they put the tow bar on properly. They can be lazy and not put the bits needed between the towbar and chassis. But for your small van, it would have no trouble pulling it. We get no more than 13.5 lt/110km when towing and better when not. Plus the car itself has plenty of room to put your bits and pieces.

Beth54 · Guru

The van has a few problems coming through, so I was thinking of updating to a later model as well. I'd still have a smallish one though.

And I know Bill's going to ask me what's wrong with the van...the floor will need replacing in the not too distant future. When the bed is lifted up, one can see daylight from the front wall...here's a couple of cracks visible on the outside. It leaks if the roof is left down. I always have to cover it with a tarp when it's parked up. No, it's fine when the roofs up.

Considering I can't do all these jobs myself, and my son has his own projects, I thought it may be better to update.

Back to the tug, I would probably go for a new or near new vehicle.

Happywanderer · The Master

I thought you might have decided to go for a onesie Beth. Save the trouble of towing.

bill12 · Guru

I thought seriously of buying a ranger , but decided to keep the courier as it would save me big $$$$.The camper is good, and I live on a tropical island, so the courier suits me.When I win lotto, I willbuy a better tug, and an off road van, probably.Beth, I will down in October, so keep in touch. Bill

Beth54 · Guru

bill12 wrote:
I thought seriously of buying a ranger , but decided to keep the courier as it would save me big $$$$.The camper is good, and I live on a tropical island, so the courier suits me.When I win lotto, I willbuy a better tug, and an off road van, probably.Beth, I will down in October, so keep in touch. Bill

Sure will Bill.

Happywanderer · The Master

Yep, meant campervan. So hard finding exactly what you want. Good luck.

johnq · Guru

Beth,

I will throw the cat among the pigeons and recommend a Subaru. I don't own one. Since you did ask, I have a 2005 Landcruiser GXL turbo diesel - never used for its purpose :( , although I have a long past record of caravanning and towing heavy boats with other vehicles including earlier LCs.

For your purposes an auto Subaru Outback would edge out your other options on build quality, durability, re-sale and suitability. The economy is reasonable. They are not the cheapest, but they will get you there and back and around the map, and still be turning out the kms. I have a particular aversion to being stranded.

Here is an article, not selected especially, but the first hit with search,

www.caravancampingsales.com.au/advice/2013/tow-test-subaru-outback-20d-cvt-38030

Happywanderer's suggestion also has merit, but it would be another thread.

dazren · Guru

I go along with Johnq, Subaru are are great well respected vehicle, However ''bang for buck'' in your situation I would probaly go for the X-Trail [Petrol] Except for the towbar issue, you would be hard pressed to find anyone [ that knows anything ?? ] say a hard word against the X-Trail, Everyone seems to ''can'' the Patrol and the Navara, But the X-trail is praised by all that own them and know them, [ same with the Subaru ] If i was to get a light SVU for the Missus, it would be X-Trail

BUT ??/ that's only my opinion, !! Good,Luck and Good Hunting.

wasn_me · Guru

dazren wrote:
I go along with Johnq, Subaru are are great well respected vehicle, However ''bang for buck'' in your situation I would probaly go for the X-Trail [Petrol] Except for the
towbar issue, you would be hard pressed to find anyone [ that knows anything ?? ] say a hard word against the X-Trail, Everyone seems to ''can'' the Patrol and the Navara, But the X-trail is praised by all that own them and know them, [ same with the Subaru ] If i was to get a light SVU for the Missus, it would be X-Trail
BUT ??/ that's only my opinion, !! Good,Luck and Good Hunting.

The T31 (which I think is 2008 onwards) has a different method of mounting the towbar, to the T30. The T31 seems ok towbar wise,( I would like to hear if anyone has had problems with the T31)

The X-trail has the advantage of the rear compartment folding completely flat, which can be used for sleeping. There is a lot of X-trails out there coupled with small vans.

Cheers Pete

Beth54 · Guru

I had to go searching again to find out why I'd ruled out the Xtrail. I've driven a friends a few times and thought it great, and I don't know if this is so with the earlier models, but the latest model has that silly temporary spare tyre. Not keen on that.

http://www.nissan.com.au/~/media/Files/Brochures/Specifications/T31-X-TRAIL-Specification.ashx

I did look at Subaru's too, my daughter-in-law has the Imprezza and is impressed..pun intended. wink

I also keep checking out the running cost of various vehicles. http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_economy/vehicle_running_costs_2013#suvmedium

I always thought the Subaru would be exxy for services etc, but from this list, it seems okay.

And because I've been very happy with my i30, I've also been looking at Hyundai's ix35.

The other one I was impressed with, is the latest model Mitsubishi Outlander.

Most of you seem to have the larger vehicles, but I guess you have the larger caravans, whereas I don't need anything too big when it's just me myself and I. biggrin

My first priority is always the economy of the vehicle, towing capacity and clearance.

johnq, as always your advise is sound.

The other problem with the Nipper is that it's self braking, so I'm limited to 750kg. The i30's ball weight is 75 kg, so I tend to carry a lot of stuff in the vehicle to distribute the weight. I'd like to NOT have to move stuff from van to car every time I go somewhere.

I think a compact SUV, as they call them, would be right for me, so I would still only want a smallish van.

-- Edited by Beth54 on Saturday 21st of September 2013 03:31:33 PM

GaryKelly · Guru

Beth54 wrote:
If all goes to plan, I'm going to be changing my tug in the near future
So I was wondering....
1/what is your vehicle?
2/ are you happy with it?
3/ Why did you choose this vehicle?

1/ Ford Courier

2/ Yep

3/ Cheap.

Gerty Dancer · Guru

Ours is a Prado diesel, but probably a bit big and heavy for your requirements Beth. Its heavy-ish on fuel too. Mr D loves his Prado, comfy and easy to drive, will tow up to 2.5 tonnes.

Bassett52 · Veteran Member

Beth54 wrote:
If all goes to plan, I'm going to be changing my tug in the near future
So I was wondering....
1/what is your vehicle?
2/ are you happy with it?
3/ Why did you choose this vehicle?

1/ 2011 Toyota Prado SX 3ltr Auto Turbo Diesel (3 door)

2/ Very Happy

3/ 3t tow capacity, only two of us, 4WD to take us anywhere we want to go, and reliability.

Travelling Wattos · Member

Beth54 wrote:
If all goes to plan, I'm going to be changing my tug in the near future
So I was wondering....
1/what is your vehicle?
2/ are you happy with it?
3/ Why did you choose this vehicle?

1. 2004 Landcruiser Diesel

2. very

3. had a diesel rodeo which was too weak, petrol/gas landcruiser which was heavy on fuel and sometimes gas hard to find. This vehicle does the job well...no worries

johnq · Guru

Beth54 wrote:
The van has a few problems coming through, so I was thinking of updating to a later model as well. I'd still have a smallish one though.
[snip]

Might be wise to get the van sorted first.

It is too easy to overload the towball on softroaders. The gross mass they are rated to pull is always emphasised by car and caravan sellers alike, but no-one tells you how easy it is to become unroadworthy by carrying even a light load in a tow vehicle that is hooked up to a moderately loaded van. That is a van with water in the tanks, gas cylinders and usual kit inside. It mounts up.

You would want to be legal and safe anyhow, but it wouldn't take much more media sensationalising of trailer accidents + 'dangerous' old drivers to cause the Depts of Transport and police to target grey nomads. In Qld the maximum speed limits are being raised by a fool of a Minister, so more scrutiny will inevitably fall on 'slow' drivers who 'block' highways.

Beth54 · Guru

I had to go searching again to find out why I'd ruled out the Xtrail. I've driven a friends a few times and thought it great, and I don't know if this is so with the earlier models, but the latest model has that silly temporary spare tyre. Not keen on that.

http://www.nissan.com.au/~/media/Files/Brochures/Specifications/T31-X-TRAIL-Specification.ashx

I did look at Subaru's too, my daughter-in-law has the Imprezza and is impressed..pun intended. wink

I also keep checking out the running cost of various vehicles. http://www.racq.com.au/motoring/cars/car_economy/vehicle_running_costs_2013#suvmedium

I always thought the Subaru would be exxy for services etc, but from this list, it seems okay.

And because I've been very happy with my i30, I've also been looking at Hyundai's ix35.

The other one I was impressed with, is the latest model Mitsubishi Outlander.

Most of you seem to have the larger vehicles, but I guess you have the larger caravans, whereas I don't need anything too big when it's just me myself and I. biggrin

My first priority is always the economy of the vehicle, towing capacity and clearance. And I'm not really keen to have front wheel drive again. Do you know how few rear wheel drives there are around now?! So it comes down to AWD or 4WD.

johnq, as always your advise is sound.

The other problem with the Nipper is that it's self braking, so I'm limited to 750kg. The i30's ball weight is 75 kg, so I tend to carry a lot of stuff in the vehicle to distribute the weight. I'd like to NOT have to move stuff from van to car every time I go somewhere.

I think a compact SUV, as they call them, would be right for me, so I would still only want a smallish van.

bloomoon · Veteran Member

You could buy Jeep??

Beth54 · Guru

I've seen this one before. It's funny but kind of sad too.

smile

Cruising Cruze · Guru

Hi Beth

It all depends how much you have to bring for change over

what about a ute BT 50 single cab 2.2 diesel form around 24 .000 minus your trade in

solo runs nearly as cheep as your i30 7.6 the 100km = 13 km per ltr

just an idea plenty power to tow your van even up to 2500 kg

Cheers John

countryroad · Senior Member

O M G Beth, big decisions to make.

I think the suggestion of checking out a few vans first sounds a very good idea. So you know exactly what weight you will be towing.

And checking what each of your choices will tow, making decisions with safety, pocket and comfort, and right for you.

Robyn

Beth54 · Guru

I think I've gone off a ute now, John. I haven't been in one yet that's as comfy as a non ute. My friends have a BT 50 and I know it's not very comfy,,for distance travel anyway. And I just remembered, I don't want anything that I have to climb up to. My knees don't like that.

Moneywise, I'm not sure yet. I'm waiting for an insurance payout, but only have a rough idea of how much. I just know I want a vehicle that's new, or near new. Under $40,000.

Yes Robyn, I've been looking at all types of caravans online, which has lead me to think I may stick to a smallish van. But I'll certainly go and check them out 'for real' before I make a decision. Same with the vehicles. So far I've only looked at the Outlander, but not driven anything yet.

Legendts · Senior Member

Beth54 wrote:
If all goes to plan, I'm going to be changing my tug in the near future
So I was wondering....
1/what is your vehicle?
2/ are you happy with it?
3/ Why did you choose this vehicle?

1/ 2009 TTD 200 series Sahara.

2/ Oh YES!

3/ Tow heavy van and have 320kg ball weight.

signwilson · Senior Member

we absolutely love our 100 series 4.2 turbo diesel landcruiser

neilnruth · Guru

Beth, our XTrail (2005 model) does not have small spare - it has a normal one. We looked at Subaru when trying to decide and found it was very expensive to service. Have had no problems with that with XTrail. As someone else said, everyone who has an XTRail loves them - and if you watch, there are an awful lot on the road!