i have got a bailey pageant vendee (2004) about 20ft body, and have been offered two differnt tow vehicles. I. ford maverick 2.4 swb petrol 1994. 2. land rover discovery 2.5 turbo diesel 1993 lwb. which do you think would be the best tow vehicle? which would have the best economy? Any help would be well appreciated. Thanks. Gary.
I have to confess that I haven't personal experience of either car, but generally petrol 4x4s drink fuel as if it's going out of fashion.
Also, being a diesel, I would think the Disco would be streets ahead towing-wise.
We have an 2002 Ford Maverick 2.0ltr petrol which is the Mazda Tribute version so can't really be of much help except to say that ours is a great towcar and very nice to drive. I would think with 1993/1994 cars, the cost of spares comes into the equasion and Ford will be cheaper and easier to find.
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A couple of things to think about first, do you do your own maintenance? If you are thinking about a Disco you will need to, parts in the main are pretty cheap, the main issue with a disco of this age is the boot floor. They are well known for corroding in this area and if the parts are still available, it is a big job and if you cannot weld yourself to MOT standard, can turn out to be an expensive one. Rear axle casings corrode through, causing a leak, recon casings are £250 'ish and about 4 hours to exchange all the bits over. In short, if you get a good one, fine. Get a bad one and you will need a big wallet and a lot of patience. A good benchmark when looking for a towing vehicle, is to work with the recommendation of 40 bhp per ton, I think that is the Caravan Club guidlines, but I am not sure. Good luck in your quest.
Sorry to confuse you more, but we had a terrano 2.4 petrol and it drank fuel like no tomorrow, would cost us at least £90 in fuel to get from where we live in near birmingham to Cornwall!
The SWB is also quite bouncy towing, only plus side is that it had plenty of ooomph to tow.
Personally unless you have a really heavy van I'd go for a normal car
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Thanks for all your help! i do have a migwelder and am an ex- panelbeater/sprayer, any rot that occurs i am able to tackle easily. On doing a bit more research, i think the maverick will do about 20mpg towing whereas the disco should do about 32mpg. I know that the diesel is dearer but feel that a long trip would be considerably cheaper. These have the old mechanical pump, so would not be too expensive to replace if neccesary. The modern electronic ones can be £2k + if you need a new one! Due to the price of fuel and i think that old 4x4's wont be affected by extortionate road tax(correct me if wrong) i am swaying towards the disco. any more info very welcomed. Thanks all. Gary
Thanks for all your help! i do have a migwelder and am an ex- panelbeater/sprayer, any rot that occurs i am able to tackle easily. On doing a bit more research, i think the maverick will do about 20mpg towing whereas the disco should do about 32mpg. I know that the diesel is dearer but feel that a long trip would be considerably cheaper. These have the old mechanical pump, so would not be too expensive to replace if neccesary. The modern electronic ones can be £2k + if you need a new one! Due to the price of fuel and i think that old 4x4's wont be affected by extortionate road tax(correct me if wrong) i am swaying towards the disco. any more info very welcomed. Thanks all. Gary
I would def go for a maverick diesel not petrol, be careful with the disco, as mentioned before they're not as good at towing a big van as you think, the later TD5 diesels were ok for power but the early ones were very sluggish and you will find people like me wizzing past you up the hills!!!
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Topic: which car to tow with? Help!
