Best for towing a 2000 kg boat?

[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

[Garry]

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

[WAWoody]

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

[DiscoMick]

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.

[n plus one]

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...

[djam1]

Personally I would prefer a 110 for towing any weight

[uninformed]

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

[Loubrey]

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

[isuzurover]

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.

[WAWoody]

Thanks for the feedback so far............

I appreciate that the 110 may be a more stable towing platform but like the short wheel base of the 90's as I do a bit of four wheel driving and prefer the maneuverability that the shorter wheel base provides.

I should have explained in my first post that I currently own a Diesel JK Sport and a Chevy V8 powered HJ75. The Jeep won't legally tow the boat and the Toyota is big, thirsty and getting on a little.

What I'm ideally looking for is one vehicle that that I can use to replace the two that I currently have.

I could of course get a Hilux or ranger, but where would the fun be in that?

I could possibly stretch a new 90 if I get a decent price for the cars that I have and have not discounted that option entirely. But I'd rather pick up a good low mileage second hand version that someone else has already kitted out with all of the extras.

I intend to try and arrange a test drive in a new 90 when I get home from work (FIFO), but don't think that they'd let me drag the boat around for a few hours in the demonstrator, so am trying to find out the pro's and cons from those of you who already do this sort of thing.

As I mentioned in my first post I generally only tow the boat the five minutes from the house to the beach, so long range towing is not done regularly, but I'd like to have some confidence that when I do want to do a big trip the 90 will cope okay.

Cheers

Andy

[isuzurover]

If buying 2nd hand I would also consider a Td5 90. They are a good engine and should last a long time if looked after.

[Garry]

The 90 is a bouncy little bugger but is fast and fun to drive.

I was in the same position as I have big cars and didn't need another one hence the 90.

Remember there are solutions out there to give extra storage. I have the mantec shelves fitted and so far has been really good.

In saying all of that it is small but its workable

Garry

[Summiitt]

After owning and still running 300tdi,td5, 2.4 and now a 2.2puma, don't look at anything else but a puma...the reason is the gearbox, 1st is great for take off, 4th 5th and 6th work well on the hills. Can't comment on the 90s, as all my work utes are 130s, and my trailers are 3-3.8tons.

[uninformed]

After owning and still running 300tdi,td5, 2.4 and now a 2.2puma, don't look at anything else but a puma...the reason is the gearbox, 1st is great for take off, 4th 5th and 6th work well on the hills. Can't comment on the 90s, as all my work utes are 130s, and my trailers are 3-3.8tons.

3-3.8t behind a defender :o Thats not fun at all

[Summiitt]

3-3.8t behind a defender :o Thats not fun at all

As long as you understand what's hanging off the back of the ute it's really no dramas at all...on the td5 and tdi it's a different story...

[uninformed]

As long as you understand what's hanging off the back of the ute it's really no dramas at all...on the td5 and tdi it's a different story...

maybe, I havent driven a puma. But even with my 2.8Tgv towing 2t isnt fun. I do realise that the new 6 speed has a much better first gear, but that is only one aspect. As far as staying in 4th, 5th and 6th towing, has anyone seen inside these new gearboxes to see gear size etc? What is the oil capacity of the box?

[gazzatron]

My 95 thrashed 130 pulls two tone of boat to Carnarvon just have to get her wound up through hills. The new 90 I just bought should do it easy. Also a bonus the 2.2l 90 goes like a Suzuki on steroids up the beach and dunes.

[debruiser]

Iv'e got a 90 2013 Puma 2.2. Anytime you want to carry more than 2 people with anything but your hat then there are minor space issues.... BUT I still love it, and a 3.5T towing capacity fixes space issues.

I towed a Series 3 ute on a car trailer (roughly 2.7T-ish) for about an hour over hilly country with only 2000km on the clock (so not even worn in yet) and I'm very much not a big fan of towing cars I dont like the way they jiggle on the trailer. Having said that once you get the 90 up to 100km/hr she goes well, I even pulled up hills in 6th! (my 07 ranger would have done it in 5th) 1st gear is the bomb when towing, nice and low, get you rolling (stupid 07 ranger had a crappy 1st! had to thrash the clutch to get anything rolling, the newer rangers have a 6 speed as well, 1st is much lower and more 'tow usable' than the older models. But the gearbox feels like mush. and they are a big wallowing whale of a car! yuck!). Again I would agree with everyone else who has said that the 110/130 is better for towing - it's simple physics.

If you let your tyres down a little the 90 doesn't bounce around nearly as much!

2nd hand near new 90! never seen one! no wait I lie... I did see one, then looked at the brand new one it was 2k price difference!!!!! Just go get a new one - you can pick colours and you get FULL new car warranty.

I can't comment on the 2.4 puma. Sorry.

[Trundle]

This is the only second hand 90 I've seen in a while
2012 Land Rover Defender 90 SWB Wagon | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Denmark Area - Denmark (http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/denmark/cars-vans-utes/2012-land-rover-defender-90-swb-wagon/1018839273)

[debruiser]

This is the only second hand 90 I've seen in a while
2012 Land Rover Defender 90 SWB Wagon | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Denmark Area - Denmark (http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/denmark/cars-vans-utes/2012-land-rover-defender-90-swb-wagon/1018839273)

2012 Land Rover Defender Wagon | Cars, Vans & Utes | Gumtree Australia Wanneroo Area - Wanneroo (http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/wanneroo/cars-vans-utes/2012-land-rover-defender-wagon/1019398098)

here's another.... pity they want more than what I paid for my 2013 brand new....