Freelander 1 Will it pull a caravan?

Hi Everyone, not sure I'm posting this question in right area but here goes. I have recently bought my first caravan, a 20 yr old 925kg classic lol! My question is will my mums freelander 1.8 petrol Freelander which is a 52 plate and has done 38k pull it on the 500 miles round trip to Devon and back. It might sound a daft question as I know technically it's possible but I'm terrified of the head gasket going again!!! It has been done twice now, once badly but since it has been done this time about 3 yrs ago we've had no problems although it's never been on a long run! Ive towed the caravan in it once just on a local run and apart from hills, where it struggled a bit, otherwise it was fine. Was considering a discovery 3 on a 55 plate but it's done 130k already and having read lots about its issues I think I would be making a mistake there. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.

Yes it will, but don't overload van or vehicle!

Saw 3 or 4 FL1's on the North Devon link road towing wobblyboxes of my way home about an hour ago and they wasn't havin' no problems bud.

Should be fine. Maybe check the cooling system, rad etc if you are concerned.

I used my 1.8K, 50th edition for towing a heavy 1200 Kg 5 berth caravan without a problem. Just remember that the 1.8 has it's max torque at 4,000Rpm. Knowing this will help when it comes to selecting the correct gear for climbing hills. Don't expect to see fuel consumption more than low 20s either. Otherwise a 1.8 does do the job, not brilliantly, but OK.
If the HG was done properly and the latest PRT was fitted, towing shouldn't cause it to fail again.

If your looking for a cheap reliable economical tow car for a smallish caravan the best I ever had was a Nissan XTrail. Not much character and you'll never love it but apart from a few electrical sensor issues very reliable. Never heard of issues with the 4WD either.

I've never had a daily 1.8 so not much experience, and 925KG isn't a a great load (unless you start adding in awnings, furniture, fridges, bikes, beer etc). However, as Nodge intimated, you'll be reving the engine quite high and if you don't have experience, you may start burning clutches with the manual box. I would never lower myself so much as to recommend an XTr, no, can't say it, but, if you're mum's up to it, switching to an auto TD4 will probably make towing the van much more pleasurable.

According to government stats over here, a TD4 Freelander is more reliable (5.5 stars) than the Toyota range of cars (4.5 stars) - didn't check against Nissan.

Alibro said:

If your looking for a cheap reliable economical tow car for a smallish caravan the best I ever had was a Nissan XTrail. Not much character and you'll never love it but apart from a few electrical sensor issues very reliable. Never heard of issues with the 4WD either.

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my old man had an xtrail dezul from new and it towed terrible. It was also unreliable. I understand the petrol are better but that's goes against common sense for a tow vehicle. He raves about his gay lander2 in comparison.

goonarmy said:

my old man had an xtrail dezul from new and it towed terrible. It was also unreliable. I understand the petrol are better but that's goes against common sense for a tow vehicle. He raves about his gay lander2 in comparison.

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DCi was much better than Di for towing (we used it to tow a horse trailer) but I did say good for towing a smallish caravan, a Disco or Defender it aint. As for reliability, any car can have issues but at least it didn't sh1t its drive train at around 100k miles because the VCU had tightened up.
All leccy windows and leccy sunroof worked with no issues or leaks too and boot door handle didn't fall off in your hand along with half the door.

Coincidently I had to tow a friends horse trailer yesterday with my 1.8. It had a horse and tiny foal so load around 600kg plus trailer probably around 600-700kg and it was fine until we came to a moderate hill where I had to change down to 3rd to keep going. I love my 1.8 but could never call it a tow car.

Alibro said:

Coincidently I had to tow a friends horse trailer yesterday with my 1.8. It had a horse and tiny foal so load around 600kg plus trailer probably around 600-700kg and it was fine until we came to a moderate hill where I had to change down to 3rd to keep going. I love my 1.8 but could never call it a tow car.

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You do have to work the 1.8 when it's towing. Keeping the revs at 4K Rpm will do the trick however
The TD4 auto is the best FL1 tow car, followed by the V6. The clutch is vulnerable on the manual models.

TD4 Auto ..relocating Bailey caravan weighing 1400kg ..... was pretty good and very stable but 400kg lighter would have been spot on
It was within the vehicle specification, but pushing it on the recommended 80% guidance

you should be fine with that weight ,as said just watch how you load the van and watch the road ahead and be in the right gear at the right time to tackle any hills , i tow regular with my td4 a caravan weighing about 1450kgs and i have no probs auto prob better of two but mine is man and i have had no probs