Towing

I have a heavy ball weight caravan (420 kg) at tare: tare 2830 kg, ATM 3320 kg, GTM 2900 kg, tri-axle chassis 3500 kg total, axle group rating 3200 kg. I am looking at buying a Ford 5.4-litre petrol F250 so I can legally tow it. Is it legal to tow with a 3500 kg rated tow vehicle with a 4500 kg rated tow bar fitted, or do I need to go to the 7.3-litre diesel 4500 kg rated F250 with 4500 kg tow bar, or do you have another suggestion as to which is the best vehicle to tow this van with?

BMW Australia has adopted the towing hardware used on US models to raise the towing capacity of its full-size SUVs by 30 percent.

You've come here for a towing review. You want to know the Holden Trailblazer towing capacity, and the Isuzu MU-X towing capacity, and which of these two is the "best SUV for towing caravan". Okay, you might actually have better grammar than that, but we know you've been searching for this test. So here it is!

May I ask your advice about choosing a car to tow a van ("Eco Tourer" probably - up to 2000 kg) for the grey nomad round-Aussie trip, for starters. We have driven and like the Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD, 3.0 turbo diesel. We have test driven the Toyota Prado 2.8 turbo diesel and found it lacking power – or acceleration at least. Our questions are: are the Jeeps reliable? At $60,000-ish, they're at the top of our price range, and is there another car you'd recommend – for strength, reliability and economy mainly.

We're looking for a SUV, wagon or ute that could tow a trailer and still have a bit of power left. We are using your reviews, but is there such a car that is 5 star or 4.5 star in this style?

The sixth edition of Explore Australia by Caravan & Motorhome ($50, timetoroam.com.au/exploreaus and most good bookshops) is a comprehensive revision and updating of previous versions of this popular guide. Loaded with pretty much everything you should know about caravan and motorhome touring in Australia, including routes, places to see, things to do, where to park your caravan and much more, the latest edition should find its place as a sole source of clear, accurate information for keen vehicle tourers.The author, Brendan Batty (publisher/editor of the top-selling Roam magazine), is one of Australia's most respected automotive and adventure travel journalists and his high-level expertise is evident in every page of this book*. (* He owes me big time for saying all of this positive stuff.)Details of caravan parks, best camps, dump points, cheapest fuel locations, as well as tips on how to best pack for trips of varying lengths, towing advice and more, are included.Easy-to-understand symbols are used throughout the book to denote, among other factors, whether a caravan park is dog-friendly and what facilities are on hand.A region's best campsites – whether they're free, budget-friendly or expensive – are listed in the book. Bonus: the book is a complete guide, encompassing each region's history and heritage as well as really important stuff, like where to buy the best pie.Routes are mostly on-road focussed, but Brendan did do a fair bit of outback dirt-highway driving (including 400km of Savannah Way, the Outback Way from Longreach QLD to Laverton in WA), but he reckons everything could be driven by a sensible driver in a high-clearance SUV with a semi-off-road caravan. No suggested route has more than about 300km between fuel stops, Brendan says. To buy Explore Australia by Caravan & Motorhome 6th Edition visit timetoroam.com.au/exploreaus or any good bookshop.

I currently drive a 2010 Volvo XC70 and hubby drives a 1989 Ford XF ute that has been rebuilt and is in fantastic condition. With one daughter heavily involved in equestrian sports we currently tow the horse float with a borrowed 2003 Falcon station wagon that my father owns. I can't tow behind the XF ute as it does not have power steering and is just too heavy. The Volvo is an amazing car but very expensive to service so we are thinking of selling it. We need a reliable tow vehicle that has a around a 2.5 tonne tow capacity and five seats. A friend has suggested we look at a GQ Nissan Patrol and said his towed like a dream. What do you think, what else should we consider? If we sell the Volvo budget will be max $10,000.

 

Just recently my 2013 Mazda BT50 has started jumping out of 5th gear. Anyone else have this issue with a 2013 model?

Almost everyone agrees that the lighter your load the better everything will be on a camping trip. If you have less weight, you use less fuel, you put less strain on your vehicle’s mechanical components and, if you are heading off-road, you’re more likely to get into the tougher places

Diesel has changed; it's gone mainstream and spread its oily little wings into many corners of the car market.