Thread: Best for towing a 2000 kg boat?

Hi Andy

I have the 2.2 90 and found towing my Complete Campsite trailer which will be just shy of your boats weight almost effortless, granted its a big difference to my D3 V8 but I was pleasantly surprised I must admit I was a little worried about it also but I shouldn't have

If you keep the speed under 110 while towing you only lose about 50ks out of the tank, exceed that at you peril as you can almost see the needle drop as I recently found out

Exmouth is a beautiful spot too, I fly over the Ningaloo reef every two weeks

Garry

Thanks for the quick reply Gary.

I generally sit on 100 - 110 when towing, so all good with me.

Do you need to drop down a couple of gears for long hills? Or does she keep pulling?

Cheers

Andy

Gearing is more important than power when towing so yes, you would need to drop gears to keep it in the best rev. range, but that's part of the enjoyment of driving.
My old D1 300Tdi auto is no rocketship, but manually dropping the gears means it can handle most situations when towing our camper. It might not be as fast at the V8s, but it gets there.

Originally Posted by WAWoody

Hi,

I'm potentially in the market for a nearly new Defender 90 and wanted to ask those of you in the know a couple of questions if I could please.

• Which would be the better motor for towing? The 2.4 or 2.2 turbo diesel? I understand that they have the same torque and power, but is one better than the other? Most of my towing trips are very short. 5 minutes from the house to the beach, but once or twice a year intend to tow the boat about 1300 km up the coast to Exmouth. It's a long haul and the road temperatures can get very hot.
  
  
• I know that the Defenders are rated to tow 3500 kg, but do they have enough grunt to do this in reality? I'm more used to towing with my current Toyota HJ75 with Chevy 6.5 V8 Diesel Conversion. This pulls well, but is getting on, is thirsty and has a tendency to overheat when the aircon is used whilst towing. How will the Turbo Charged 2.2 / 2.4 compare?

Thanks in advance for the responses.

Andy

Can't comment on 2.4 vs 2.2, but I towed 1.5t to WA and back to the east coast (14k total trip including dirt roads) with my heavily loaded (2 passengers, gear, RTT, fridge, mud tyres, etc) 2.4 110 and it was hard going against the nully head wind (70km/hr) and a bit slow on long hills but fine everywhere else.

Loaded handling was great though - no issues there!

I've since remapped the truck and have an intercooler ready to go too - the difference is night and day! Heaps more pulling power and tows uphills much better!

I'd say you'll notice the reduced bottom end from your current rig (understatement) but the 90 will do it fine. And you have the scope to increase pulling power by more than 25% for a grand if you think you need it...

Personally I would prefer a 110 for towing any weight

Whether you drop back gears on an incline towing has as much to do with gearbox design as engine power.

Originally Posted by djam1

Personally I would prefer a 110 for towing any weight

While I'm a die-hard 90 fan, I must agree with djam1 that the 110 is a more stable towing platform.

Add to that the fact that if you manage to find a "nearly new" 90, a moderate mileage 3 year old one will set you back only a couple grand less than a brand new one...

The ones you find on the market are usually sold by dealers of other brands after they've been traded by disillusioned newcomers to Land Rover. People buy 90's for "looks and pose" not realising how small they actually are!

Please don't see this as discouragement and by all means go for it once you've decided. You might just need a bit of patience looking for one.

Cheers,

Lou

As has been touched on - a longer wheelbase tow vehicle is preferable to a swb.

So in the defender family, a 130 will tow better than a 110 and so on.

WA has no serious hills to speak of, so any defender will tow that sort of weight without an issue.