Car to tow with.....

[Theresahairbrushinthefridge]

So. I have headed down the slippery slope. I am spending a fortune on transport.

Thinking of getting a trailer. I reckon £2k for a second hand one. Looking to be able to tow the standard 1950kg. Although our present horses are lighter than that. A pony and two 15.2hh

However our family car is too light to tow. What cars do people recommend without going into the mega luxury end. Mostly it will be me and my 15.2. I don't have a budget as yet. I don't know anything about these kind of cars. So far a second hand Citroen kind of a person!!!

Will you ever want to take all three?

There's a very limited number of cars that can tow 3.5 tonne. It's the range that I go for because getting up and down hills when using something 'under powered' or light is, in my experience, no fun at all.

Have you done the maths of a 4x4 and its daily running vosts v. a 7.5 tonne that could take all three neds?

Also, what will hou be using it for? If shows etc then the living area is bliss.

I think all three is just something I going to have to avoid for now! Though I did see a trailer that took three. Pony is 12.2.

We have a fairly complicated set up. Where i will need to transport my 15.2 several times a week. He lives local to me but the best hacking is a bit further away. The kids horses I will collect from my parents, so a motorway trip half a dozen times a year. They come to us in livery for lessons. At the beginning of the holidays each time. Would also like to be able to take my horse to my parents on Exmoor for weekends.

We don't need a lorry for competitions. Yet. Gulp. Gulp.

The trailers that take three are blinking heavy. I'd want a beast to yow that lot (and I used to tow ten-horse trailer the the USA).

The 4x4s that have the highest tow weights (3.5 tonne) are the Land Tover Discovery and the Mercedes ML (but only certain ones of the latter).

Look at the weight totals and consider a 3.5 tonne. Easy to drive, park, MOT. Cheap to run fuel-wise. Stable on the motorway. Mine has 1.2 tonne payload, which has to cover everything that's not the actual lorry (so horse/s, human/s, fuel, hay, gear).

I’ve recently bought a new car and trailer as I have an 11,2 and a 14,2. I got a kia Sorrento which pulls both of them with no effort, plus it has a reversing camera which is great for lining up.

Just got to master reversing them now but I’m getting there

Just to throw another one into the mix, I town with a ssangyong rexton which has 3.5 tonne towing capacity, it is a solid car with a Mercedes based engine and highly regarded in general by those who own them, love mine and in the future hope to get a new Musso which is a pickup similar to Toyota Hilux but very competitively priced!

We used to have an old Santa Fe just for towing which worked well. Far too thirsty to use regularly

We have an old Landrover discovery (51 plate) specifically for towing.
We borrow our friend's 3-horse trailer when we travel.
Landrover pulls it beautifully.

I tow with a 10 year old Isuzu Trooper 3.0. Pulls like a train BUT is heavy on diesel. To be fair to it though it is as heavy on diesel when not towing! Replacement tyres aren't cheap either . If you can find a decent older 4x4 they are going to be a lot cheaper to buy. But finding a good 'un that won't need lots of work is the trick. Mine sails through its MOTs and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will chug on for a good few years yet.

If you are looking at a 3.5T box, just be very careful to check exactly what the payload is. Some are as little at 900kg or 1000kg. You are very unlikely to find anything with a payload of more than 1200kg. And that's for everything - horses, passengers, tack, equipment etc etc.

We have a Toyota warrior. Not actually towed with it yet but my mate is a farmer and she swears by hers, having had lots of 4 x 4s.

Think it tows up to 2.8, we won't ned that much as will only ever have 2 ponies on-board, one of which is a 11.2h so didn't need the extra pulling power.

It's wuite handy to have. The back has a hard top so handy for buying and transporting big stuff like feed or timber. But its almost like driving a car. Can park it anywhere I could get a mid sized car in, just have to make sure I leave enough room to reverse out as it doesn't have the best turning circle.

I think the newer hilux have towing capacity of 3.5. We discounted them as they seem much bigger than the warrior which is mostly for me to get from A to B in, rather than tow.

I love driving mine, hate it when I have to drive DHs astra now, feel really low down and vulnerable. The odd extra walk across a car park to make sure I have space to get out is worth it. And I have perfected reversing in spaces now.

I would certainly not be considering a trailer for 3 horses - which would probably be an expensive Equitrek which would also need some extra fire power for towing.

I would recommend a second hand Ifor Williams 2 horse as they are great value, very well built and very light which is important if getting a more normal car.

We towed ours with a Freelander and a Hyundai Santa Fe - the latter was better as had more torque so great at pulling away from lights, roundabouts etc.

You don't need to get an expensive car and can be quite old - just needs the weight and strength.

If you want to take 3 horses then you're definitely looking at buying a horsebox which may work out cheaper in the long run as you can keep buying your little run around cars.

We have an Ifor Williams 505HB and a Kia Sorrento (2006 manual (tows up to 2.8t)) and tows 2 horses up to 16.2hh no problem.

Thanks for all your input. Definitely looking at a second hand Ifor Williams trailer. The 3 horse thing just has to be shelved for now.

Really helpful info on cars. Have been looking at them all.

The 3 horse trailer we borrow is a (rather old) Fautras. It is amazing.
I would not touch an equitrek with a bargepole...

Sorry, I know you are looking at an ifor. Just wanted to come to the defense of my friend's beloved red beast...

Another recommendation for ssangyong rexton, you get a lot of car for your money and can tow 3.5t better than a discovery, shogun or trooper imo.

You can google “top ten towing cars” or similar. There are quite a variety that are capable of towing 2 of your Gee gees plus a typical trailer. The ssangyong is well rated, but a bit uncommon; (I never buy new).I recently went for a Skoda Yeti diesel, tows 2k kg handily. BUT do check out towing capacity of any model. The Yeti seeems to have dozens of models, all of whose towing capacities vary. Do not believe what a dealer may say, confirm towing capacity independently.

I have just bought a Kia Sorrento to tow with.

It's stopping safely you really need to worry about. No use getting a car that can get you going but can't get you stopped, especially in an emergency or on a slope. Also getting out of wet fields. I'll disagree with the Yeti suggestion, they're fab cars but not big enough to tow a loaded trailer. Friend has one to tow a small caravan and it can sometimes be a bit sketchy.

Couldn't agree more about needing enough wellie to cope with a heavy trailer going down a steep hill, or having to do a hill start, on a bend, with a trailer and 2 horses! Also pulling out of knee-deep mud.

My Trooper is a beast, a pig to drive, and horrendous on diesel. BUT it pulls like a train and whether I am going up or down steep hills etc I feel perfectly safe.

Our Santa Fe does 3.5 easily, not horses sadly but sheep and veg. We have done many a veg pull with it when someone else was using the defender and it's never let us down unlike our previous Toyota

Thanks for all your input. I am
Still searching. I am really struggling to accurately understand the running costs of the various options. I had not realised how high the road tax is for certain vehicles. I have Googled like mad but don't understand when it changes. I was looking at older cars but if the road tax is through the roof then that has a huge cost implication.

It's based on engine size, fuel type and emissions. So a 2.5l diesal will cost more than a 1l petrol.

I've a Bateson Deauville. Lighter in weight than most trailers, roomy and bright inside, nice for the horses and good to tow.

I had a Skoda Yeti 4 x 4, 2 litre, 150 BHP, towing capacity plenty on paper. The reality is different, brilliant car but just not up to the job of towing a loaded trailer. We have a 13.3 pony and 15.1 cob, it really struggled up hill, incredibly hard work but more over, as someone has said up thread, you need to be able to stop coming down hills too! In general it lacked the power you need overall to be safe and confident on the road.

I changed it for a 2011 Discovery 4. Unbelievable towing ability. You really do not know the trailer is on the back. Such peace of mind and just confirms how inadequate the Yeti was. I cannot recommend the discovery, as a towing machine, highly enough. But they're thirsty on fuel and you'll pay just under £500 road tax a year.

Expensive these horses aren't they! Good luck. We love our trailer and the freedom and happiness it gives us. Well worth it.

Odd comments on Yeti! Mine is excellent power-wise, do not know I have the trailer on, TBH.
Previously, I had a Jeep Cherokee Sport, 2.4 l. What I really liked about it was you could manually put it in 4low & it was like driving a tractor-fabulous in muddy fields. I went for the Yeti as the running costs & esp tax, for said Jeep just too high £180 for Yeti, £500 for Jeep.
The super powerful ones are thirsty, which is ok if you use just for towing, but not if it is to be a family car too.
One option: my daughter got a second hand 3.5T horsebox ( diesel transit van conversion) for less than £3k. It sits in the yard, but gets here to and from events. Not pretty but it works. There is a FB page specifically for listing these.

Moanranger - Was fine on the flat, really struggled with hills, up and down, we live in the Peak District. Just not up to the job for us. Great car otherwise.

We had three and only ever took two anywhere. Originally had a jeep grand cherokee amazing to tow with but had loads of issues with it. Now have a Nissan navara truck. Both cost a fortune in diesel. Tow an ifor 510.