How good is a TD4 at towing?

Hi guys
I will soon need a car for towing a horse trailer with two large horses (probably around 2 ton altogether) and was wondering how good the TD4 is at towing.
I know my K series hasn't a hope of pulling that amount of weight so my choices are a TD4 or a XTrail.
As standard the XTrail (post 2003) has more HP and Torque but with a Ron box the TD4 should be comparable but how strong is the clutch?
Anyone out there using a TD4 to tow heavy loads or should I really be thinking about a Disco?

with two tons on the back it will tow it but you are at the limit I would go for a disco better to be safe than sorry.

It will do it, but its not particularly fun.

Mine is a 2001 td4 with ronbox set to max everything. I regularly (at least once a week) tow anywhere from 1.2 to 1.8 tons with mine and its.....well, lets just say I am fortunate in that its only on local small roads as its not really pleasant.
If your clutch is fine anyway, it will be ok, but a hill start puts a lot of strain on it as you need a LOT of slip and high revs to prevent bogging down and stalling so if the clutch is tired dont expect it to last too long.
My trailer brakes are tip-top so no troubles slowing down. I wouldnt fancy trying to emergency stop a horsebox with shonky brakes though!

If you are thinking of towing a TD4 it will be fine. If you are thinking of towing anything behind it, other than an Halfrauds trailer it won't.

Alibro said:

Hi guys
I will soon need a car for towing a horse trailer with two large horses (probably around 2 ton altogether) and was wondering how good the TD4 is at towing.
I know my K series hasn't a hope of pulling that amount of weight so my choices are a TD4 or a XTrail.
As standard the XTrail (post 2003) has more HP and Torque but with a Ron box the TD4 should be comparable but how strong is the clutch?
Anyone out there using a TD4 to tow heavy loads or should I really be thinking about a Disco?

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You will be way over loaded...... It is rated for 2500lbs. You are at serious risk if thing go to hell in a hand basket. Will your insurance cover you for being over loaded. Plus you will be putting yourself at risk as well as others

Second question what kind of horses do you have that weigh 2000 lbs each

Thor1950 said:

You will be way over loaded...... It is rated for 2500lbs. You are at serious risk if thing go to hell in a hand basket. Will your insurance cover you for being over loaded. Plus you will be putting yourself at risk as well as others

Second question what kind of horses do you have that weigh 2000 lbs each

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You must have really good eyesight to be able to see his weight plates from where you are sitting?

A TD4 is rated to tow 2 tons. An average horsebox is probably about 800kgs, maybe a ton for a fancy one, maybe less for a lightweight, which leaves him around one ton payload for two horses.

depends what kind of horses he has, I suppose.

dave21478 said:

You must have really good eyesight to be able to see his weight plates from where you are sitting?

A TD4 is rated to tow 2 tons. An average horsebox is probably about 800kgs, maybe a ton for a fancy one, maybe less for a lightweight, which leaves him around one ton payload for two horses.

depends what kind of horses he has, I suppose.

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He said his horses weighed a ton apiece

Thor1950 said:

He said his horses weighed a ton apiece

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Just so. So 2240 pounds (proper tons note) plus 2240 pounds plus 800Kgs for the trailer that is another 1763 pounds adds up to about 6243 pounds. I wish him good luck towing that with a bloody TD4.

I definitely would not want to tow that sort of weight with a td4 I am not saying it would not do it BUT I have seen accidents where the weight being pulled far out weighs the car and they have ended up in a bad accident or even worse and injured other people as well I have regularly pulled one and a half ton but made sure the brakes on the trailer are good .with my TD4 Auto.

wammers said:

Just so. So 2240 pounds (proper tons note) plus 2240 pounds plus 800Kgs for the trailer that is another 1763 pounds adds up to about 6243 pounds. I wish him good luck towing that with a bloody TD4.

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Plus the weight of feed (hay/grain) buckets, pitch fork and the saddles,blankets etc could easily add another 700 lbs

Thor1950 said:

Plus the weight of feed (hay/grain) buckets, pitch fork and the saddles,blankets etc could easily add another 700 lbs

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Think he is on a loser John.

lbs? its not 1974 any more grandad.

Anyway, he ACTUALLY said the trailer and two horses weigh around two tons.

Quote - probably around two ton altogether.

so - we can sit here pulling numbers out of our arses and tut tut the guy, or we can wait and see what he says regarding the actual weight.

I tow a 1500 kg caravan its about 23foot nose to tail and i have no probs at all , if you have one of these boxes fitted set it for more torque rather than power , yes i agree the autos eliminate the clutch problems but mines a manual just look ahead and try to drop down the gears and keep moving (i know its not always possible) and you should be ok just make sure you are within your limits . i pulled the van onto a site earlier this year through about 4 inches of mud it did it no probs .

dave21478 said:

lbs? its not 1974 any more grandad.

Anyway, he ACTUALLY said the trailer and two horses weigh around two tons.

Quote - probably around two ton altogether.

so - we can sit here pulling numbers out of our arses and tut tut the guy, or we can wait and see what he says regarding the actual weight.

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So we wait until he has had his trailer and gee gees on the weigh bridge then that seems fair. If we want to tut we will so sod off.

LOL what have I started.
Thanks for the replies guys, I've been afk far a couple of days. We currently have a small old lorry but I would like to get rid before it dies
Just to confirm, An Ivor Williams 510 horse box is 1000kg unladen.
The horses are both over 17 hands so guessing around 500kg each therefore total weight around 2000kg or 2 metric tons.
For the most part journeys would be under 20 miles but sometimes a lot further.
Interesting to hear the TD4 would struggle with so much weight, I wouldn't worry if it were only occasional use but towing that much weight every week would probably kill it.
I guess I will need to think again



BTW, afk = away from keyboard.

Give it a try and see how you get on. Like I say, it WILL do it, albeit not as comfortably as a fullsize 4x4 would and if you already have the Freelander, its probably better financial sense to put up with it for this tow job rather than spend out on another car and the potential unknown expenses that can bring.

Day to day mine pulls this trailer with a big diesel lawn tractor, smaller rider mower, push mowers, strimmer, fuel etc, and I do this sort of thing every now and then to feed my habit of ****e old cars......

I have a Freelander but it is a K series so wouldn't pull much. I once towed a car trailer with a Subaru Imprezza on it and it really struggled.

dave21478 said:

Give it a try and see how you get on. Like I say, it WILL do it, albeit not as comfortably as a fullsize 4x4 would and if you already have the Freelander, its probably better financial sense to put up with it for this tow job rather than spend out on another car and the potential unknown expenses that can bring.

Day to day mine pulls this trailer with a big diesel lawn tractor, smaller rider mower, push mowers, strimmer, fuel etc, and I do this sort of thing every now and then to feed my habit of ****e old cars...

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No idea what the regs are over there, but that wouldn't be legal here. Freebie isn't rated to tow max weight of that trailer.

Alibro said:

I have a Freelander but it is a K series so wouldn't pull much. I once towed a car trailer with a Subaru Imprezza on it and it really struggled.

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Think those are only rated to tow 1240 kg, but up to you!

**** me, another one with super-duper eyesight that can read weight plates in a different country while sitting on their couch.

Or are you just pulling figures out of your arse and making assumptions?

dave21478 said:

**** me, another one with super-duper eyesight that can read weight plates in a different country while sitting on their couch.

Or are you just pulling figures out of your arse and making assumptions?

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No, just see a lot of trailers, and know what tends to be available.