Advice please on best tow?

Medium sized caravan. Am looking at a Freelander 1.8 manual. I had a 6 cylinder petrol auto but it set fire to itself and I got paid out by the insurance. Which model should I choose next for towing? Is the 1.8 up to it? The caravan supplier who is selling the 1.8 to me says it is? Advice please or should I buy Japanese judging by my poblems and the complaints on this forum about Freelanders? Cheers, john.

I should have made the point that the fire was within days of buying it.

no

NO
NOOOOOOO

get a TD4 pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeee

so you have read the comments about 1.8 freelanders and you are still thinking about buying one ?

I guess this is a No, No? Are you suggesting the diesel one?

The Mad Hat Man said:

get a TD4 pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzzzzzzzeeeeeeee

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nuff said?......:boink:

jesus!

if you're going to buy a freelander, td4 is the one to go for. I know there are lots of people who will say they have a 1.8 and they've had no problems, and there are just as many problems with the td4. However, the td4 does seem to be the best engine of them all, and has more torque for towing.

Certainly wouldn't buy a 1.8 to tow with. what with the extra effort almost a dead cert that you will get hgf sooner rather than later.

As for the caravan seller who is trying to sell you the 1.8, of course he will say it's up to it, he has a vested interest !

depending on how much money you have and what you're actually looking for, maybe consider a discovery too !

(There, now I've said it, even though I've got a freelander td4, and I tow with it, and I'm happy with it just consider the options)

JohnHuson said:

I had a 6 cylinder petrol auto but it set fire to itself and I got paid out by the insurance.

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They're doing it themselves now?? Could this be a useful "automatic feature" employed by LR to save petrol FL owners having to do it manually??

Seriously - get a diesel TD4 if you can. I hear the auto's are smoother for towing, but not sure if it makes much difference. (You'll pay slightly more in road tax for the please of an auto).

if yu do decide to get a hippoo - make sure yu get an aftermarket uprated gearbox oil cooler - they are known to fry otherwise.

Norbet said:

They're doing it themselves now?? Could this be a useful "automatic feature" employed by LR to save petrol FL owners having to do it manually??

Seriously - get a diesel TD4 if you can. I hear the auto's are smoother for towing, but not sure if it makes much difference. (You'll pay slightly more in road tax for the please of an auto).

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Only the late ones, abut 06 from memory, but a look at the tax disc will tell you. The scare over backdating seems to have gone away, but you can expect tax to climb steeply anyway.

If the OP has the primary objective of caravaning and not driving then the LR club is not for you.

Td4 is not without its problems, if anything the earlier diesel is more reliable

Get yourself a reliable motor if you're the caravaning type.

Just for the record, the 1.8 has more power, less torque than the Td4.
It will tow no problem but the fuel guage will drop like a stone.





















r

The Mad Hat Man said:

if yu do decide to get a hippoo - make sure yu get an aftermarket uprated gearbox oil cooler - they are known to fry otherwise.

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do you mean the auto box will fry of the manual ??
as i tow a caravan and not heard of this problem.

Its a known problem with the Auto

The Mad Hat Man said:

Its a known problem with the Auto

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thanks for clearing that up mines a manual
.

I tow a 5 berth Swift with a V reg L series and its FAB !!!

i got a better idea park it on your front lawn and save your self a fortune in fuel and us the greif of trying to get past you :hysterically_laughi

Best tow car I ever had was a TD5 Disco Auto. In fact, it was the best car I ever had.

But I do have a TD4 Auto, and it does the job remarkably well at reasonable MPG (and fits under the barrier at the local tip)

Reckon that the TD4 Auto is the best to go for in this instance, but would add additional gearbox cooling and then boost it with an EGR bypass and a Roverron Synergy, you'll thank yerself for doing so.

Td4!!!!!!