Proposed Ford Falcon as Tow vehicle

[drep]

We intent to buy a light weight Caravan with a mass running order of about 1500 kg and a fully loaded weight of around 1800kg.
The tow vehicle we are considering is second hand dual fuel Ford Falcon 2006-2008 with up to 100,000 km on the clock. I am on a budget of around $8000-9000 and consider a Ford Territory to expensive.
Should we buy a sedan or a Wagon?, is there a difference in fuel consumption between a sedan and wagon?
As a dual fuel Falcon would be a vapor gas injected, could the gas system be upgraded to liquid gas injection? If so any ideas of cost and if it is successful.
Would it be worthwhile to have a transmission cooler put on and any other suggestions to avoid overheating would be appreciated.
Was told a Falcon BA is low and can wipe out front by hitting a standard size kerb in a carpark just by parking and rear can bottom out. Any ideas or suggestions?
What type of tyres would be suitable for long range towing?
We intent to buy a heavy duty tow bar, we believe the Falcon is rated at 2300kg, any suggestions on tow bar make and model would be appreciated
As there are a number of Falcon models what model Falcon should we go for?
Thanks

[ryeman]

For rugged reliability go wagon, LPI too expensive for a cheap car. IMO
Cooler definitely!

[mcnews]

FG has more clearance in FPV models, I definitely know that much.
Towed a van about that size across Australia behind BF F6 ute no problems.
But the Territory is far superior tow vehicle, it drives like there is nothing behind it...

[bigsta]

mate of mine uses a AU3 falcon SR wagon to tow a 2 tonne euro caravan.

ive driven it on the highway, tows great i found there is too much sway for me at 110 but around 80-90 it goes great.

He brought for $3000 no rego had to spend about $4000 on it with rego, towbar, service, bypass cooler and unfortunately had a problem with he brakes which cost a fortune to find out the calipers were on backwards from the start.

I should point out that this a new van which has its own traction control system and anti sway thing built into the hitch.

He has previously towed with a Merc e class wagon (boat) hilux, VE commodore and yes a VW 1.2L golf (1200 KG Caravan)!

He loved the VE and only had it for a few months before he decided to get a bigger van and was shocked that the VE has a 1600KG tow capacity, he loved that one but said the IRS made the van float a bit.

He reckons the Falcon is the best tow car of the lot, is firm as when towing he gets around 11-12L/100KM and the wagon part is hugggee, it is quite low the SR but he has not had bottom out problems, he has fit a bypass cooler which is must with any falcon 4 speed, the leaf suspension at the back of the falcon wagon is perfect for towing and can still carry heaps in the back.

I personally think the territory would go better as its more weight up front, i have only towed a 1200KG boat and box trailer with mine though and found it great to tow with.

tried to add a pic but its not working so well, here is a link to the falcon and caravan. http://www.fordforums.com.au/photos/...ppuser=2158875

[bigsta]

BTW you mentioned you have not brought your van yet.

Had a fair bit of exp with vans of late and want to warn you off Jayco, the swift conquerer in the pic above is unbelievably good and was $58000 brand new 8M long.

Another mate of mine who tows a jayco van with a Colorado and he is a legal fight with jayco now about collapsing, floors, bunk beds and twisted chassis etc which was twisted from the start. Stay away from Jayco, heavy over priced and rotten service he is now fed up with vans as each time he starts a holiday they dont get far before something happens.

In regards to the twisted chassis they tried telling him he turns left too much which is why the tires only last 500KMs....what a joke.

[ryeman]

Try doing Oz clockwise......

[bigsta]

Originally Posted by ryeman

Try doing Oz clockwise......

lol

[Itsme]

Word of warning when towing, your tow vehicle should be bigger and heavier than your caravan if possible as stated by bigsta when he mentioned trailer sway on his mates AU falcon, a warning he should pay heed to as his weight distribution is wrong and accident is waiting if he is not careful.

I just sold my FG ute for this very reason as it was not handling my caravan correctly and upgraded to a more suitable vehicle.

[mik]

a lot of it is set up, even a poorly set up big vehicle can get into trouble.

[bigsta]

Originally Posted by trublu

Word of warning when towing, your tow vehicle should be bigger and heavier than your caravan if possible as stated by bigsta when he mentioned trailer sway on his mates AU falcon, a warning he should pay heed to as his weight distribution is wrong and accident is waiting if he is not careful.

I just sold my FG ute for this very reason as it was not handling my caravan correctly and upgraded to a more suitable vehicle.

Yeah that is my opinion largely too but its not entirely correct really, my mate justified the use of the falcon because the caravan has its own stability control system and in euroland they regularly use little tiguans and crap to tow this.

When i say sway i mean the feeling you get when the van gets pushed by a cross wind or truck etc its not unsafe and you still get it with a bigger car but to a lesser degree perhaps but yeah i dont like that feeling at all, but yeah i would not be doing over 90 in it really unless its all normal and straight not the F3.

When he was young his mum pulled a van around NZ with a ford meteor....lol

IMO a AWD terry is a better option but there is nothing wrong with the falcon for doing that.

[ryeman]

Small FWD towing in Europe/UK normal.

[XRtowcar]

Should we buy a sedan or a Wagon?, is there a difference in fuel consumption between a sedan and wagon?

Up to you, wagon probably has better suspension for towing.
Personal choice. My XR6 tows a 1650 kg van just fine.

As a dual fuel Falcon would be a vapor gas injected, could the gas system be upgraded to liquid gas injection? If so any ideas of cost and if it is successful.

If you get vapour injection, just stick with that. Will have to replace the entire system to go to Liquid injection, $4600 plus.

Would it be worthwhile to have a transmission cooler put on and any other suggestions to avoid overheating would be appreciated.

BA Falcon , YES. Goto Repco and get a PWR kit to suit a BA Falcon.

Was told a Falcon BA is low and can wipe out front by hitting a standard size kerb in a carpark just by parking and rear can bottom out. Any ideas or suggestions?

Dont drive over anything tall.

What type of tyres would be suitable for long range towing?

Probably just good quality Bridgestone ER92 or Goodyear NCT, whatever you think looks nicer.
Talk to a tyre retailer.

We intent to buy a heavy duty tow bar, we believe the Falcon is rated at 2300kg, any suggestions on tow bar make and model would be appreciated

Genuine Ford or Hayman Reece with weight distribution hitch and load bars.

As there are a number of Falcon models what model Falcon should we go for?

Fairmonts are nice. Depends what you can get for the price.

[XrRabbit]

I have a ba falcon xr6 and its not bad the *** end isn't that low so you can reverse park without much problem and then just don't run into kerb and you will be fine. I don't have any problems with speed humps or anything. Just don't hit them very fast

[mike_nofx]

Are you able to fit a heavy duty tow bar to a Falcon with a gas tank below?
I believe the tank may be in the way.

[mash again]

Towed a 1450kg/1800kg loaded "Jayco" half way round Australia twice and never had any problems with it. Used an AU wagon first time, towed fine but was heavy on fuel, Prado second time, was on LPI gas so cant compare fuel but the SUV type vehicle does it so much better. Wagon will do it and is the pick from falcons, or ute due to the leaf springs IMHO.

[mcnews]

I should also not that our Territory is the seven seater, thus has firmer springs at rear end, and it also has the small air bags inside the coils.

[madwag]

This might help you

http://www.caravanworld.com.au/lates...eid/58179.aspx

[mik]

a good thing about getting the wagon would be with the live axle, i think you would still be able to buy air shockers for it which instantly fixes any rear end sag, i would`nt think twice about running the wagon.

[ryeman]

For cheap rugged reliability go the wagon.
The sophisticated IRS is potentially problematic long term on a limited budget.
Get the cooler!

[poppa smurf]

I've towed vans all over Aus now for the best part of 30 years, including 2 "circuits" and a fair bit of desert work.....

I've now got a BA falcon towing an 18' Jayco Heritage, 1850 kilo, single axle.....an exceptionally good, well built, solid, reliable van as I have found most Jaycos to have been

the falcon handles the van very well at 90 kilometres per hour with reasonable economy (16.5 ltrs per 100 average on our last trip)....the BA has plenty of torque and the weight so as to not be thrown around by the van

if you go the BA then you will need the heavy tow pack with weight distribution bars and transmission cooler

I have not found the height of the falcons front or rear end to be any more of a problem than any other vehicle I've owned

wagons have the leaf spring setup at the rear so may be better at holding the weight but I have no problem with the weight distribution bars set correctly

[drep]

The Caravan I am buying has a ALKO anti Sway hitch, toilet and shower, single axle, unladen 1400kg, loaded about 1800kg. Internal lenngth 5.6m External length 7.3m. Thanks for all the informative replies.
Drep

[ryeman]

Check out the van forums, lots of good info there also...BOL

[Gobes32]

The wagon has much better manners on the road when hauling a load. With your budget I honestly believe the wagon to be a better choice. Also, and I may be shot down for this, but for reliability purposes, a AU Series 2 or 3 may be a better choice over a BA. 5-8k will get you a fantastic AU wagon but only a average BA. Food for thought.

[poppa smurf]

I'd agree with the above!.....still see a lot of them out there.....very reliable

[mik]

yes well maintained the AU`s are a good unit, have nothing but praise for mine, and as a tow vehicle with the stiffer suspension in the AU xr models, they are bloody good too, when we did our trip up north of nearly 5000 k`s my passenger often remarked you don`t even know your towing a van, except for running in direct or when you where at the petrol bowser towing something with the earo dynamics of a kenworth ,
personally i would`nt even have minded a v8 on gas for towing either, as i suspect when on cruise there would be minimal difference in fuel consumption, only speculating though.