To buy or not to buy...

Long time landy admirer, first time poster...

I've got a yacht on a trailer which together come to just shy of 3500kg. Up till now I've managed to beg and borrow from passing tractors and the like when a tow was required, but I think I should plan to be a bit more self sufficient and look to get a towing vehicle of my own.

As far as I'm aware, a Defender, Disco, or Rangie are about the only vehicles that can legally tow 3.5t. My mate has a Hilux which is only rated to 2.5!

The distance to tow will be pretty short, less than ten miles; also I plan on launching and recovering the boat only at either end of the summer, so total usage/milage will be miniscule. Outside of these towing duties I do fancy having a landy for occasional transport of firewood, building materials, etc, and perhaps some use over winter if we have are going to keep having these snowy ones.

The question is- I am nuts to consider buying a landy for such a small amount of use? Hiring suitable tow vehicles locally is impossible though, so I'm not sure what choice I have. And, if I do buy, what should I be looking for that will be cheap enough to run that i can justify it?

Thanks in advance!

buy a land rover defender 90,whats your budget?

Disco probably best bet diesels plentiful they have a bit more comfort than defender and if your 6foot 6 and built like a brick **** house you'll be able to drive it

is it salt or freshwater launching?

3.5 ton behind a 90's not a lot of fun...

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jhuKLrjJLg]Land Rover Defender Towing a 12 Tonne Truck. - YouTube[/ame]

Thanks for replies... budget is, well, what is has to be, will save up if needed. A glane at classified suggests I can get a mid 80s rebuild on a galv chassis for about £6k... various landy friends have told me not to even bother with something that doesn't have a galv chassis.
I'm wondering if an old rebuilt defender could happily sit unused all summer and then be taxed for six months over the winter (boat towing to be done Sept/April). Somehow I imagine a disco would just rot away whilst unused.
Would prefer a 110 or HCPup for aforementioned firewood duties etc, and I won't be using it as an everyday vehicle anyway.
On engines, given the tiny milage I would be doing, might I find a petrol one would be cheaper to buy? Or do I need diesel for decent towing?

if it is saltwater it will rot into Gruyère cheese very quickly. why ruin a decent 90 or 110. get a cheap disco for about 1/4 the price, run it into the ground then flog it for spares and get another.

that disco idea isnt a bad one, they are cheap as buying printer paper, and very much in abundance lol. how ever a decent 90 will sit and wait to be used with out a problem, and they best advice i can give is to give it an in depth under seal before you start using it for winter, thne a bloody good clean and more under seal , this will keep rot and rust away form her

1996 Defender 90 - 300 TDi CSW Galvanised Chassis FULLY RESTORED | eBay

this has just been completely refurbed, if i had the money id be very tempted to buy it but it would take away the fun of building my own

theorangebandit said:

1996 Defender 90 - 300 TDi CSW Galvanised Chassis FULLY RESTORED | eBay

this has just been completely refurbed, if i had the money id be very tempted to buy it but it would take away the fun of building my own

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but it's not for sale

for that little use I wouldnt go spending 6k on a land rover..... but, if you are loaded, then go ahead.

if it was me though, as MHM says, I would just buy an old Disco for 1k/1,5k..even less and use it, making sure to pressure wash the salt water after launching the dingy lol

scotchgit said:

Disco probably best bet diesels plentiful they have a bit more comfort than defender and if your 6foot 6 and built like a brick **** house you'll be able to drive it

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I'm 5' 2" and built like a matchstick with the wood scraped off, but I don't have any trouble driving a Disco.

I could be wrong (it has happened before ) but doesn't the 3.5t limit mean train weight, vehicle and trailer combined? So if your yacht and trailer weigh 3.5t on their own, add in the weight of the Landy and you, and you will be overloaded legally speaking?

of course if you're only going short distances you might be willing to chance it, but it's something to bear in mind.

GrottyYotty said:

Thanks for replies... budget is, well, what is has to be, will save up if needed. A glane at classified suggests I can get a mid 80s rebuild on a galv chassis for about £6k... various landy friends have told me not to even bother with something that doesn't have a galv chassis.
I'm wondering if an old rebuilt defender could happily sit unused all summer and then be taxed for six months over the winter (boat towing to be done Sept/April). Somehow I imagine a disco would just rot away whilst unused.
Would prefer a 110 or HCPup for aforementioned firewood duties etc, and I won't be using it as an everyday vehicle anyway.
On engines, given the tiny milage I would be doing, might I find a petrol one would be cheaper to buy? Or do I need diesel for decent towing?

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Unless you have some ballast in the back of a 110 Hi-cap when towing 3.5 ton, you might find it a bit twitchy.

What's the nose weight on the trailer?

[JP];1718565 said:

for that little use I wouldnt go spending 6k on a land rover..... but, if you are loaded, then go ahead.

if it was me though, as MHM says, I would just buy an old Disco for 1k/1,5k..even less and use it, making sure to pressure wash the salt water after launching the dingy lol

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Just had a peek on eBay and, yup, discos look much cheaper! Maybe people are getting rid of them as fuel gets so expensive.

Wouldn't normally consider a car over ten years old... liked the idea of a landy with galv chassis that would go on forever... how long does a Disco tend to live for? (how long is a piece of string...)

discos are even more rot prone than defender chassis's the discos rot on the body mounts the boot floor sills etc etc were as defenders its just usually the chassis,but if you keep the chassis clean and protected with waxoyl or similar it should have many years left in it.

ratty said:

Unless you have some ballast in the back of a 110 Hi-cap when towing 3.5 ton, you might find it a bit twitchy.

What's the nose weight on the trailer?

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Quite likely to be transporting at least a quarter ton of gear that gets stripped off the boat (anchor + chain is a big chunk of that)- so that could be a bit of ballast in the towing vehicle.
Nose weight is adjustable as the axles and the boat itself can slid back and forth on the trailer chassis.

What's considered the optimum size/type of Defender for towing?
Oh, and no love for the petrol engines for this job?

GrottyYotty said:

Just had a peek on eBay and, yup, discos look much cheaper! Maybe people are getting rid of them as fuel gets so expensive.

Wouldn't normally consider a car over ten years old... liked the idea of a landy with galv chassis that would go on forever... how long does a Disco tend to live for? (how long is a piece of string...)

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Up to May this year when some scroat stole it, we had a 1991 200Tdi, had to do some welding, changed the hubs and discs. Usual Landy stuff, but she past her MOTs with no advisories.

GrottyYotty said:

Quite likely to be transporting at least a quarter ton of gear that gets stripped off the boat (anchor + chain is a big chunk of that)- so that could be a bit of ballast in the towing vehicle.
Nose weight is adjustable as the axles and the boat itself can slid back and forth on the trailer chassis.

What's considered the optimum size/type of Defender for towing?
Oh, and no love for the petrol engines for this job?

Click to expand...

Whatever you feel comfortable with. Sounds like it might be worth your while test driving a few. I prefer a 110 over a 90. As it's heavier and more stable. Others have towed 3.5 ton quite happily with a 90 or disco. It's down to personal preference.

I've had a 3.5 v8 and loved it. Unfortunately diesels are more practical due to fuel costs. My current weapon of choice is a TD5. I'd be just as happy with a 300tdi though.