Tow vehicle

[Rod Gilbert]

Hi all,
We are looking at buying a used mid sized 4x4 tow vehicle. I have been looking at Nissan pathfinder any advise on this vehicle or similar size for towing our van. We have been using a falcon wagon until now and have had no problems with it and just get by with the 2300kg capacity but a bit of leeway would be an advantage and from 2005 on the pathfinder has 3000kg capacity and would give us plenty to work with any advise would be very welcome.
Regards Rod.

[chris0375]

What's your budget? What age and mileage vehicle are you wanting? Do you want off road abilities? Need some more information about you and your needs. Are you going to work on the car yourself?

Diesel or petrol?

3.0l Nissan diesel has a very patchy history.

V6 diesel is a good performer. Not really sure about reliability.

WH Jeep grand cherokee could be an option. Nice Mercedes 6 cylinder diesel. As bullet proof as a modern diesel can be.

[Chris Parks]

Buy a vehicle with common rail diesel power, it took the Japanese some time to get on that bandwagon. Some of the Nissan utes literally break or bend the chassis which is not good but I don't know model details. Do some research on the towing capacity because I believe that in some vehicles there is not a lot of lee way but again not something I have had to be bothered with. Big Shed here might chime in with more information as he has been there and done that so to speak.

[chris0375]

. Some of the Nissan utes literally break or bend the chassis which is not good but I don't know model details.

Patrol coil cabs and some wagons had an issue with the coil hats cracking. These vehicles were generally close to or overweight, towing heavy loads and doing literally 10s of 1000s of the roughest corrugated roads in the country.

Easily strengthened and fixed for under $1000.

If the OP is even considering a pathfinder a patrol would be far stronger than anything he requires.

Only chassis/driveline in a similar league to a patrol would be a 70 series land cruiser.

[Chris Parks]

I don't know the cause but it doesn't look good....

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=nissan+pickup+breaking+chassis&client=opera&hs=snE&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiW_Y399_TPAhXGk5QKHQoADUYQsAQIIA&biw=1080&bih=486

[chris0375]

Ah ok.

I think all those photos are of navaras not patrols. They have an issue, just like pretty much every other Thai Ute, of bending the chassis.

Again most of them were overloaded. Notice the first picture the Ute has a huge camper cantilevered off the back?

[Rod Gilbert]

Thanks for the replies,
We are in need of a new (to us) vehicle that is capable of towing our van we don't use it a lot, more for regular driving not serious 4 wheel driving (we manage a camping ground and don't get a lot of opportunities to get away). The only things that are important is that it has better than our current 2300kg tow capacity and is not to large for my wife to feel comfortable with she is 5ft nothing tall and doesn't fell confident with the larger vehicle like Patrol or Landcruser which is why I am looking at mid size vehicle. I have always had petrol but am interested in either petrol or diesel are the running costs of diesel higher I realise the fuel economy is better on a diesel but have heard the on going maintenance costs can be higher.
Any suggestions and advise welcome.
Regards Rod

[Big Shed]

Rod, not sure what sort of vehicle you are after, station wagon type or ute.

I will relate our experience with a ute that is also available in a station wagon, the Holden Colorado.

We had a Hyundai Terracan before this towing a Jayco Heritage but purchased a 5th wheeler so the Terracan had to (sadly) go.

Looked at most of the utes on the market that could tow 3500kg and settled on the Colorado ute in the Space Cab model (gave us more turning circle with the 5'er).

We have now owned this ute for 2 and a bit years and have done 20,000km towing our 3300kg GVM 5'er, averaging just under 16L/100km. This mainly towing as we use our Commodore for daily use.

It has done everything we have asked of it and more, has good fuel consumption and is very comfortable. Both my wife and I share the driving 50/50 and she is very comfortable driving it, neither of us are very tall people.

When it comes to towing, diesel has a big advantage over petrol in torque and therefore very superior fuel consumption. I can't comment on maintenance costs as we have not as yet had to spend any money on this other than for normal services (15k intervals, although I change oil and filter in between at 7500Km). With the complexity of fuel injection of modern vehicles and the associated electronics I would suggest that maintenance costs and parts are not that different between diesel and petrol.

As I mentioned, if you don't need or want a ute the Colorado is available in a station wagon as well which has a somewhat softer ride as it doesn't have the leaf springs of the ute.

There are several other utes that are also available in station wagon form, eg Isuzu (similar to Colorado but different engine), Ford Ranger and Everest.

In our travels we also see a lot of Jeep Grand Cherokees towing vans up to 3500kg and most owners are very happy with those vehicles.

[rustynail]

My wife stepped out of a Toyota Corolla and into a 100 series Landcruiser. The verbal tirade lasted as long as it took her to get used to the size variation - about an hour. She still uses the Corolla for her daily commute, but for a trip its the Cruiser. As a towing vehicle, the 4.2 Turbo Diesel has a lot going for it. We have done 350K and still going great. No dramas other than a recon on the power steering pump. Everything else is original. Not bad for a 15 year old truck.

[Mobyturns]

Patrol coil cabs and some wagons had an issue with the coil hats cracking. These vehicles were generally close to or overweight, towing heavy loads and doing literally 10s of 1000s of the roughest corrugated roads in the country.

Easily strengthened and fixed for under $1000.

If the OP is even considering a pathfinder a patrol would be far stronger than anything he requires.

Only chassis/driveline in a similar league to a patrol would be a 70 series land cruiser.

As a surveyor I speak from practical experience in some pretty hard core situatons. Not only did the Patrol coil cabs have problems with paintwork, the coil towers, but with chasis cracks behind the cab, EGR valves, turbos, terrible fuel economy, non existent low down torque, and a few other issues. The 3.0lt were diabolical in sand. Hills that a naturally aspirated 4.2 diesel L/C Troopie could easily handle in 2nd gear high range 4WD were 1st low range and barely manageable in the Patrol's (both 3.0 lt & 4.2 lt) If you slowed (whoa boys etc) or heaven forbid stopped the Patrol on a steep incline it was almost impossible to get going again without burning a clutch. Our work vehicles fitted into the high payload, and 100,000km per year category. The Patrols with alum canopy were not a patch on the 75 series L/C troopies imo and Nissan would not honour warranty claims with the fleet deal as they reckoned we used them outside their design parameters. All vehicles had to comply with GCM etc as we could be sacked for non-compliance. I threatened to leave my Patrol on a hill top and push it over the edge after numerous problems. We had a few in the fleet on their 3rd turbo, very inconvenient and expensive to recover (plus a HD Cape York trailer) when they fail in the never never. Plenty with chasis repairs. I was not happy being forced to give up my L/C Troopie which was unkillable compared to the Patrol. To be fair though I don't have much experience with Patrols post 2010. Be particularly wary of 3.0 lt Patrol turbos, they are low priced for a very good reason.

In over 20 years with Troopies the only mechanical issues we had were due staking a radiator, and a blown water pump on a 45 series petrol. The early 75 series used to cook batteries in about 3 weeks until Toyota solved that one. Had one catch fire in town in a car wash when a newly installed twin battery setup failed due to poor install. They were never treated with kid gloves and worked hard up the Cape & in western QLD, NT etc.

Our personal 23yo 4.5 lt petrol 80 series wagon has performed extremely well towing a 2000 kg 6m alum hardtop boat, and with very low repair costs that are mostly old age repairs now.

[chris0375]

Yeah the 3 litre Nissan certainly had its fair share of issues. Not convinced most of the issues are any worse than any other modern turbo diesel.

Remember Toyotas generally have a much lower low range and lower first gears than a patrol.

I would agree the Toyota 70 series range is more reliable and suitable for work than most other vehicles.

I am guessing to OP won't consider a 70 series but maybe a patrol isn't too much of a stretch in the handling department.

[Cliff Rogers]

... averaging just under 16km/100L. ....Really? :D
If you towed 3500Kg of fuel, you only get about 560Kms on a tank full.

[Big Shed]

Oops, that should have read 16L/100km:B

[Cliff Rogers]

I knew that. :D

[rsser]

Have a look at the Isuzu D-Max or MU-X as well.

Similar body and running gear to the Colorado but different box and engine.

3T towing capacity; a capable and no-fuss rig; under-stressed and fuel-efficient engine. Those who buy 'em for towing love 'em.

I post this cos I've had an MU-X for 2.5 years and 75,000 Kms. It's proved to be reliable and cheap to run and it's taken a hammering in the outback. I only tow sometimes though and then only about 1.5 tonnes. When towing on the blacktop fuel consumption is 10-12 lph depending on conditions.

It's also a perfectly capable off-roader with decent ground clearance and a broad spread of power that makes rock-crawling easy. It doesn't come with a diff lock or a centre diff. You can add an aftermarket diff lock if you're hitting the vehicle's traction limits and your own skill limits.

I have yet to see or read about any real weakness like Nissan's 3.0 l hand grenade or Toyota's injector washer leaks. With mine there was a leak from the 'oil filter housing' that was noticed at a service and fixed under warranty (5 years, 130 K) and on one occasion a drop in brake fluid accompanied by spongy brakes. That was attributed by the mechanic to the fluid not having been changed at a service when it should have been.

Some more user info: MU | 4x4Earth (http://4x4earth.com/forum/index.php?forums/mu/)

[sacc51]

This litres per 100 is stupid, I don't know why they never went from MPG to KPL.