Towing vehicles

Stej12

Member
Just wondering if I should swap my defender 90 for a better towing truck the 90 is wobbly when towing cattle trailer was thinking maybe buy a defender 110 utility or go for a pickup maybe Toyota or Mitsubishi any advice
 

HarryB97

Member
Mixed Farmer
I had a Defender 90 but wrote it off and now have a Discovery 4. The disco is in another league, quiet, smooth, air suspension to keep the truck level and plenty of power. I would have another defender 90 tomorrow but going back to a manual and a truck with so little power for towing would be a big step backwards.
 

Drillman

Member
Mixed Farmer
All modern pickups will be a significant step up from a 90. For a lump less money too
I went from LR90/Disco 1 and 2 to Ford Ranger 3.2

The pickup is in a different league for towing so much more stable but is about 130 inch wheelbase compared to the defenders 92.9 and the discos100 inch which makes a big difference

pickup is a fair bit heavier as well which I think helps.
 

Dave W

Member
Location
chesterfield
I went from LR90/Disco 1 and 2 to Ford Ranger 3.2

The pickup is in a different league for towing so much more stable but is about 130 inch wheelbase compared to the defenders 92.9 and the discos100 inch which makes a big difference

pickup is a fair bit heavier as well which I think helps.
Don't forget though. If you go down the disco route you'll need about 7 in stock 😉
 

Drillman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Don't forget though. If you go down the disco route you'll need about 7 in stock 😉
Yes there is that, probably why The things are so expensive nowadays

Im assuming there a bit like gold bonds and will be released onto the market eventually (probably when head office realised how many of them there are in storage)
 
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dave mountain

Member
Livestock Farmer
Amazon or LC200, D4 is also good for towing but will ruin you in other ways. Pickups arent all that good for towing, although they are definitely better than a defender.
 

rusty

Member
I used to have a mk1 VW Touareg which was a great tow vehicle, certainly better than my current Navara NP300.
Front tyre wear and engine reliability became an issue though.
 

dave mountain

Member
Livestock Farmer
Nothing wrong, but a 4.2/4.5 landcruiser or even a 3.2 shogun is far more boss of a heavy trailer for pulling, handling and stopping it than any pickup. no weight on the back axle, no permanent 4wd, tinny 4 pot engine, drum brakes instead of discs, cart springs instead of coils etc etc. also when i borrowed a 2017 dmax and hooked up 3 ton it used more diesel than my 1996 4.2 on the same job, despite the GTW being about a ton less.
 

Dave W

Member
Location
chesterfield
Nothing wrong, but a 4.2/4.5 landcruiser or even a 3.2 shogun is far more boss of a heavy trailer for pulling, handling and stopping it than any pickup. no weight on the back axle, no permanent 4wd, tinny 4 pot engine, drum brakes instead of discs, cart springs instead of coils etc etc. also when i borrowed a 2017 dmax and hooked up 3 ton it used more diesel than my 1996 4.2 on the same job, despite the GTW being about a ton less.
Ran a 3.2 shogun for a couple years. It was good but no better than dmax.
current tow vehicle is a 3l lwb iveco daily flat bed. I'd pick that any day over any 4x4. Never known any pull and handle so well
97603DDB-E18B-451A-8B93-95F1563F97EB.png
 

dave mountain

Member
Livestock Farmer
Amazon or LC200, D4 is also good for towing but will ruin
Ran a 3.2 shogun for a couple years. It was good but no better than dmax.
current tow vehicle is a 3l lwb iveco daily flat bed. I'd pick that any day over any 4x4. Never known any pull and handle so well
View attachment 949116
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You havent tried an LC200 then

Granted shogun isnt the best but at least it doesnt wheelspin everytime you try and pull away with a heavy trailer like the dmax did

Nice iveco though, id be tempted if i wasnt always dragging the trailers over questionable terrain for the last bit of the journey.
 

Drillman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Nothing wrong, but a 4.2/4.5 landcruiser or even a 3.2 shogun is far more boss of a heavy trailer for pulling, handling and stopping it than any pickup. no weight on the back axle, no permanent 4wd, tinny 4 pot engine, drum brakes instead of discs, cart springs instead of coils etc etc. also when i borrowed a 2017 dmax and hooked up 3 ton it used more diesel than my 1996 4.2 on the same job, despite the GTW being about a ton less.
Think we may have had this discussion before but having driven a lot of tow vehicles over the years i find the Ranger 3.2 to be very good. That’s pulling fully loaded cattle trailers as well so the load has a habit of moving at times. Leaf sprung rear axle way better than anything on coils as well I’ve found.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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