Good Tow Cars?

[Tektrader69]

Petrol Jeep won't tow enough for me, it's yours Ben. Thanks for the heads up Tekky.

He's got a VZ V8 Holden ute to go as well. Its in great nick too. My Son Scott has been driving it. Think that will be cheap as well. Not sure what he wants for that probably around 10-12K

[260DET]

No ute for me thanks Tekky, they invite work like cleaning up stuff for the dump

Actually what I would like is a KJ Jeep Cherokee CRD, looks cool, low km ones under $20K, heaps of grunt and would suit me 100%. But what happens if it breaks down during an interstate towing trip? At least with a common Jap make parts should be available while who knows what the future of Jeep is in Australia? Pity because they make some interesting vehicles.

[JZP]

No ute for me thanks Tekky, they invite work like cleaning up stuff for the dump

Actually what I would like is a KJ Jeep Cherokee CRD, looks cool, low km ones under $20K, heaps of grunt and would suit me 100%. But what happens if it breaks down during an interstate towing trip? At least with a common Jap make parts should be available while who knows what the future of Jeep is in Australia? Pity because they make some interesting vehicles.

Jeep has just invested heaps in warehousing of spares in Melbourne, part of the divorce with DaimlerChrysler. Chrysler's new head office is now down Port Melbourne way along with their new warehouse. Previously we had to wait for parts from Singapore.. Fiat has changed their business model.

With the huge sales volumes of the new Grand, they can't keep up with demand. Even still they are struggling to build JK wranglers as it is. Demand is that good.

I don't think they are going anywhere in a hurry.

[Tektrader69]

I have the horn for a Grand Cherokee Diesel. $57K drive away

Problem is whenever I bring it up the wife says "not till you do the last 2 years tax"

She is just NO fun when it comes to money.

[JZP]

I have the horn for a Grand Cherokee Diesel. $57K drive away

Problem is whenever I bring it up the wife says "not till you do the last 2 years tax"

She is just NO fun when it comes to money.

I've been bragging about my one ... You won't regret it.

The car that is... Not my wife!

[260DET]

Had a beaut low km KJ CRD Jeep lined up to buy for under $20K but chickened out and will now settle for something more common in case of a breakdown out in the sticks. Damm, I really wanted that Jeep

[260DET]

No love for the 2.8 CRD Jeep? The silence is ominious But seriously, CRD's seem like a bit of a lottery in the used car market and if they stuff up, which they can do, then it's big bucks, bloody thousands just for a fuel system. I'm starting to think that, other than the old school diesels, petrol is the way to go for a part time tow car.

[Tektrader69]

I couldnt bring myself to buy a petrol version of any of these 4wd's. Distnict lack of torque compared to any of the diesels for towing

[Husky33]

the 5.7 hemi in my grand cherokee has more than enough torque....but the thirst to match.

Good if your not driving mega km's weekly

[260DET]

Territory would be my petrol choice, Barra donk has reasonable torque.

[Tektrader69]

I think I said earlier, driving the Crewman back from QLD with the trailer and race car on board. it did an average of 19 litres per 100K's.. We seemed to be stopping every half hour to fuel up.

was a horrible drive.

I know in any of the diesel 4WD's the consumption would have been a lot lower and probably a more comfortable and safer drive.

Edited October 4, 2012 by Tektrader69

[260DET]

Agree that a good diesel is better than a comparable good petrol on fuel consumption and towing performance but for an all purpose vehicle other things come into play. Which is why I am dithering around like an old mole trying to decide which one

[260DET]

KJ diesel Cherokee is off the list, too likely to have big $ problems which of course may affect reliability too. Pity because they look cool, suit me to drive and have a 2800kg towing capacity.

[hrd-hr30]

If it were me, I'd be driving my car down to. What's the point of a road registered car that's not road useable? Just so you can claim it's not a race car?

That way you don't need to buy the tow car you don't want anyway, and there's also no need to buy a trailer.

But in all seriousness, putting your car on a truck for this one interstate event is a better option than buying a tow car that's not really suitable for the job anyway.

Edited October 7, 2012 by hrd-hr30

[260DET]

Once I get a tow car the Z will be trailered locally too, with the twin plate clutch I'm not keen on too much driving in traffic and it is no fun to drive long distances anyway. No cruise control

[Roy]

Hoping others can save me some research which I will probably end up getting wrong anyway.

If you were to retrofit a diesel 6cylinder into an older car what would you go for? Preferably behind a good auto but if manual is the way to go then happy to go manual. Landcruiser, Patrol..other.

Just needs to be a grunty, reliable and ecnomical 6cyl good for towing a 1300kg Skyline.

[hrd-hr30]

Depending on your budget, what I'd buy is an auto 100 series Cruiser IFS with the 4.2 turbo. Awesome engine and box combo. Little bit weak in the front end - diff is a bit on the small side and the LCAs are a weak point, but most will be rectified by now.

If you're looking for something a bit cheaper from the 1990s, a GQ Patrol 4.2 diesel with aftermarket turbo is the way to go. They perform better than the current Patrol TD and will go forever, patricularly if you get the early silvertop TD42. Manual is the pick of the gearboxes in them. The autos are known to blow up these days as they're getting a bit long in the tooth. But if you're willing to rebuild an auto with a couple of upgrades they'd be reliable.

Mine gets 15l/100 towing a 1200kg camper trailer. Can't remember what it got last time I towed a car 3 or 4 years ago. And it gets 14l/100 by itself - around town or hwy doesn't make any difference, but mine is the high roof Safari import which is probably worse for hwy economy than a normal Aus delivered Patrol.

Edited October 11, 2012 by hrd-hr30

[Roy]

Well I should have been clearer. I am looking at a neat VF Valiant this weekend and the old slant 6 wont be much chop for towing so want to throw some late model engine/box at it for towing. Sounds like the TD42 is a decent enough thing...which is what a friend was recommending

[hrd-hr30]

ah... I see... the Landcruiser twin cam turbo diesel is definitely a better engine. But any diesel will be expensive. You will need moon gears in the diff to make it work too. TD42 is a giant of an engine as well. Would be surprised if it fits under a Val's bonnet!

1J or 2J the Valiant would be much betterer

Edited October 11, 2012 by hrd-hr30

[Marlin]

Troy. Stop it.