I'm not convinced about a p38 as I had one and every one on here said I should have avoided it and they were right, my osf air bad leaked so vehicle crept over night, the auto box failed and the once it random overheated on the motorway and was fine after? I'm concerned that aa much as I'd love one we would get nothing but hassle?
suew
Well-Known Member
There's nothing wrong with a Freelander TD4 Auto towing up to 1500kg (more is allowed but this is comfortable.) cheaper to run, easier for retired folk to get in /out of.
Look after it by making sure you keep to the 'new tyres on the rear axle' rule and the VCU wont let you down. Off road, like any vehicle, it's the boots that you wear that give the grip on the ground. So don't listen to soft-roader comments as I dont expect you see many tractor sized ruts at horse events.
If your missus was towing up to 3500kg then I would agree with the TD5 comments above. But she isn't, so a later TD4 is a contender in my book.
The MAM on an Ifor is 2700Kg, its not just the horses its the tack, water, feed etc. Freelanders just aren't up to the job.
I had a Disco Auto which was good while it was working, but far too much electronic ****e to go wrong.
My 200tdi Defender will tow a 510 with two horses up steep hills and you hardly notice the difference. However it would be absolutely useless if you have more than two people and a lot of showing gear, it just doesn't have the space if you were to put seats in the back. Discos are pretty good for having plenty of seating and still leaving room for the horsey gear.
Whatever you buy, make sure you pay the extra £100 or so for the horse trailer recovery on top of your normal breakdown. Non of the normal recovery people will recover livestock, they aren't insured.
Datatek
Well-Known Member
Airsprings have a design life of 7/8 years 80K miles, cheap and easy to replace. Auto boxes and the EAS fail due to lack of maintenance. Had mine 5 years and it's never let me down. Will be doing 1,000 miles in two weeks later this month
Turboman
Mab An Gov
Have you ever seen the price of Japanese spares! And they change models all the time, so compatabilty from different years is low. And they aren't always reliable, shogun engines crack heads for a pastime!
Seen nothing in this thread or anywhere else to alter my belief that a decent Disco2 would be the best value occasional tow vehicle, I have been towing a long time, and they really do tow well. I got one myself, and it has been pretty good!
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To be honest me and the missus have been talking and she doesn't want to spend all the budget on purchasing the vehicle just for it to sit there and be used on the occasional weekend.
Is it both 2.5 and 2.8 shoguns that suffer with heads?
We haven't ruled out a discovery just not keen on the rust side of things.
Is it both 2.5 and 2.8 shoguns that suffer with heads?
We haven't ruled out a discovery just not keen on the rust side of things.
Datatek
Well-Known Member
I've had 2.5 & 2.8 mitsi engines, never a problem with the heads despite an overheat on the 2.5. Spares however are horrendously expensive when you do need them.
A good P38 diesel can be found for £4K and with a bit of TLC will be reliable. Lots of info and support for fixing it on here and the parts are dirt cheap.
MJI
Well-Known Member
Have you ever seen the price of Japanese spares! And they change models all the time, so compatabilty from different years is low. And they aren't always reliable, shogun engines crack heads for a pastime!
Seen nothing in this thread or anywhere else to alter my belief that a decent Disco2 would be the best value occasional tow vehicle, I have been towing a long time, and they really do tow well. I got one myself, and it has been pretty good!
In the 70s and 80s I used to have Japanese bikes, all a bit unreliable and spares not cheap
T0P5Y
Member
My missus had a Freelander and although it was awesome at towing an Ifor williams HB505 Horsebox weighing in at 3.5T it was totally illegal as its towing capacity was 2T and the trailer was rated at 3.5T even though it was never any where near that limit! She dis this for 8 years as she was blissfully unaware and thought she could tow anything upto 3.5T as thats what her licence said. People always bang on about MAM and the likes but they always forget the plated towing weight of the car, theres not many large trailers a Freelander can legally tow, regardless of whats on your licence, I have now corrected her error and have a 2000 Def TD5 90, remapped by Alive Tuning, Its awesome but you forget you have a trailer on the back even going up the mighy A38 hill southerly past Plymouth!! It grips me seeing all these horsey people illegally towing Ifors on Freelanders (i know you can get the trailer plate ReCatagorised) but i know when two horses weigh over 700KG plus feed, water etc etc. I am even more emotional about this now after this last week when i am watching grockles leaves gods country in the stupidly large eldis caravans being towed by a Ford Fiesta whilst trying to over take a similar set up all the while going uphill! Bloody dangerous and stupid! The government do not help with their law changes and the various different VOSA tech speak just adds confusion.
srtgray
New Member
MJI
Well-Known Member
They were a dammed site more reliable than the british equivalent and without the oil leaks
Suzuki alternators, I got to be known at the rewind place.
Turboman
Mab An Gov
They were a dammed site more reliable than the british equivalent and without the oil leaks
Slightly more reliable, but they did have some issues. The capacitors and contact breakers were always a weak spot, so most got replaced with electronic ignition. Also some timing chain problems, and poor corrosion resistance as they aged.
My British bikes did tend to leak a bit of oil, but not desperate, using good gaskets and sealant when assembling kept it minimal.
As said b4, the parts were so dear you didn't need to break down much for the bills to add up!
Datatek
Well-Known Member
They were a dammed site more reliable than the british equivalent and without the oil leaks
I've owned Honda, Suzuki & Yamaha Jap bikes since 1960, never once had a problem despite some hefty mileages, My brit bikes were another story.Slightly more reliable, but they did have some issues. The capacitors and contact breakers were always a weak spot, so most got replaced with electronic ignition. Also some timing chain problems, and poor corrosion resistance as they aged.
My British bikes did tend to leak a bit of oil, but not desperate, using good gaskets and sealant when assembling kept it minimal.
As said b4, the parts were so dear you didn't need to break down much for the bills to add up!
Turboman
Mab An Gov
Never even a misfire due to damp or pitted contact breaker points?
Datatek
Well-Known Member
No, but I have drowned one
Later ones had no points.
