what should I buy for towing 4t

walter859 · 07-07-2014, 01:03 AM

I'm after some advice on what to car to buy to tow a boat that weighs 3.5t, I'm thinking about a 87 f250 with 460 big block and 3 speed auto.
The budget is about 25k.

Cheers

chevypower · 07-07-2014, 04:58 AM

diesel rigs are the way to go for towing, but petrol can make sense if you don't do much driving with it and want to save on the purchase price. An F250 460 will definitely pull it with no problems. Great rig, and you can always put a Cummins in it later if you get sick of paying for fuel.

Yellow_Festiva · 07-07-2014, 07:34 AM

Light truck in diesel?

rdmr · 07-07-2014, 08:42 AM

What about a land rover disco, don't they tow 3.5-4t?

Hulsty · 07-07-2014, 09:16 AM

You want to tow it or tow it legally?

smoo · 07-07-2014, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdmr

What about a land rover disco, don't they tow 3.5-4t?

A Disco trying to tow 3.5 t (or anything) will see more time on the trailer than in front of it.

xa_jg66 · 07-07-2014, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smoo

A Disco trying to tow 3.5 t (or anything) will see more time on the trailer than in front of it.

Same goes for a Disco not towing anything

Franco Cozzo · 07-07-2014, 10:41 AM

Whats the max legal tow capacity of F250/F350.

They would be able to do it legally, but I'm not sure about the earlier ones regarding capacities.

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d.../?Cr=0&sdmvc=1

http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de.../?Cr=1&sdmvc=1

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d.../?Cr=2&sdmvc=1

Theres a few 2001 F350s under $30K now.

If the boat weighs 3500kg, the trailer would be a gooseneck/5th wheel type trailer I'm assuming?

If you can stretch the budget by $10K this has airbags on the rear:

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d.../?Cr=5&sdmvc=1

**Kingsley** · 07-07-2014, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hulsty

You want to tow it or tow it legally?

I'm curious to know that too. Reason why is an elderly couple were stranded here in the Hunter recently when their insurance company refused to honor their claim after their 4wd and caravan were written off in an accident. The insurance company were refusing the claim based on the driver not holding the appropriate heavy vehicle licence for the combined weight of the vehicle and caravan when hitched together.

Cashie · 07-07-2014, 10:47 AM

An F250 will tow it, not sure if legal...
Years ago we had one with a 351 that used to routinely tow around 5 tonne of semi 5th wheels (on the bed and a large tandem trailer), wouldn't have been legal, even back then..

TC200six · 07-07-2014, 11:02 AM

The upgraded tow package for the early 2000's F-250 was limited to 4.5t. They are rated much higher in America. What's the load limit for a vehicle that only requires a car licence? That's where the issue of legalities arise if the trailer weighs more than 4.5 tonne.

mac_man_luke · 07-07-2014, 11:12 AM

Looks like 4.5T is max tow weight in a car licence.

Franco Cozzo · 07-07-2014, 11:13 AM

I think you can do much more than 4.5 tonnes on an F350 as long as its a 5th wheel/goose neck trailer? I think it comes under GCM.

I'm not 100% sure though.

Boza · 07-07-2014, 11:39 AM

why not make something like this just watch
http://youtu.be/TRGFdmj2fOo

Vesper Martini · 07-07-2014, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walter859

I'm after some advice on what to car to buy to tow a boat that weighs 3.5t, I'm thinking about a 87 f250 with 460 big block and 3 speed auto.
The budget is about 25k.

Cheers

Its going to be a pretty big boat at 3.5 tonne, how big is it?
If your not towing that often you may be better off hiring a small truck each time. rather than buying an F250 you wouldn't otherwise use.

snowcone · 07-07-2014, 04:24 PM

Navara is rated to tow 3.5 tonne.
I regularly tow over 3.5 tonne with my 02 Explorer.
Bought an 02 Landcruiser to replace the Explorer and it couldn't get up to 80km/h at full throttle with the load so I kept the Explorer and sold the Landcruiser

snowcone · 07-07-2014, 04:27 PM

I regularly tow over 3.5 tonne with my 02 Explorer.
Bought an 02 Landcruiser to replace the Explorer and it couldn't get up to 80km/h at full throttle with the load so I kept the Explorer and sold the Landcruiser.

Biggest problem with towing these weights is I used to keep snapping 50mm tow balls which are only rated to 3.5 tonne.
There is a machine shop in Melbourne that makes 50mm tow balls that have been tested to 12 tonnes so I now have 2 of them

Crazy Dazz · 07-07-2014, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by walter859

I'm after some advice on what to car to buy to tow a boat that weighs 3.5t, I'm thinking about a 87 f250 with 460 big block and 3 speed auto.
The budget is about 25k.

What is your TOTAL mass including trailer?
What type of trailer?
Also, how, when and where do you want to tow the boat?
(Hauling it up your boat ramp and a few hundred metres to home, is a much different proposition to towing it a 100km to a country port.)

DoreSlamR · 07-07-2014, 10:08 PM

F250 would be the popular pick amongst the "C" class licences I guess..

My 5 tonne Isuzu truck was only rated to tow 4.5 tonne, wouldn't even know it was pulling anything. I've also seen quite a few big boats being pulled by similar sized trucks too.

XR Martin · 07-07-2014, 10:41 PM

Fuso Canter 3.5 with the 4.9L TD and 5th wheel the boat.

Or a Chevy/Holden Suburban with the 6.5TD
http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de.../?Cr=1&sdmvc=1

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d.../?Cr=1&sdmvc=1

XR Martin · 07-07-2014, 10:48 PM

Actually go the whole hog and get a Ram with the V10

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d.../?Cr=2&sdmvc=1

Franco Cozzo · 07-07-2014, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Or a Chevy/Holden Suburban with the 6.5TD
http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/de.../?Cr=1&sdmvc=1

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/d.../?Cr=1&sdmvc=1

Avoid, my GMC Sierra had that 6.5L engine, they have some serious design flaws apart from being an old school design, and cooling is one of them in those GMT400 series vehicles.

Especially in a Suburban as they are a mix of parts too. I'm pretty sure Suburbans run center mount turbo 6.5L.

That 6.5L is more of a light duty diesel engine.

I'm assuming a boat weighing 3500kg is going to have a trailer thats not your normal type that goes onto a hitch hanging out of your rear bumper?

chevypower · 08-07-2014, 01:05 AM

Don't get a Discovery to tow 4 tonnes, I don't care how strong the chassis is and how beefed up the springs are, the wheelbase is too short to pull 4 tonnes safely. The longer the wheelbase and wider the track, the more control you will have over your trailer.

mik · 08-07-2014, 04:30 PM

A tow truck of some description with a big diff and dualies wouldnt be bad, it would be geared for towing as well...... win, win, not sure about the licence though.

TC200six · 08-07-2014, 08:24 PM

The F-250 is usually the first model with the beefier Dana rear diff, unless I'm corrected. And that's what the OP said he was thinking of.

I've found sites that say this about towing with car licences in Australia:

Quote:

The passenger Class ‘C’ vehicle licence permits you to drive a motor vehicle up to 4.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), with or without a trailer weighing 9.0 tonnes GVM or less. These regulations are unified across all States of Australia. For more details check with your official State Motor Vehicle Licence Authority.

Does that mean you can tow a trailer weighing up to 9 tonnes with a car licence? I'm finding this confusing.

Franco Cozzo · 08-07-2014, 09:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC200six

The F-250 is usually the first model with the beefier Dana rear diff, unless I'm corrected. And that's what the OP said he was thinking of.

I've found sites that say this about towing with car licences in Australia:

Does that mean you can tow a trailer weighing up to 9 tonnes with a car licence? I'm finding this confusing.

I think so, it comes under the vehicles max GCM which would be gooseneck/5th wheeler.

XR Martin · 08-07-2014, 10:04 PM

Its Combined mass of no more than 9t on a car licence.

chevypower · 09-07-2014, 12:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

Its Combined mass of no more than 9t on a car licence.

It had ambiguous wording, I was thinking a 9.0 tonne trailer. No wonder the F250 is only rated at 5 tonnes towing capacity in Australia then (compared to almost 8 metric tonnes for the US). In America, you only have to use a CDL if the trailer you are pulling is over a certain threshold (not based on the capability of the vehicle). That threshold varies from state to state. I think that is why there is a big variance in the tow ratings between the US and Australia for the same vehicle.

zilo · 09-07-2014, 01:35 AM

I think my Landcruiser 4.5L turbo diesel could easily do it.

Owning an oil rig would be required though...it would get about 3k's to a litre....on a downhill cruise...

Crazy Dazz · 09-07-2014, 04:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TC200six

The F-250 is usually the first model with the beefier Dana rear diff, unless I'm corrected. And that's what the OP said he was thinking of.

I've found sites that say this about towing with car licences in Australia:

Does that mean you can tow a trailer weighing up to 9 tonnes with a car licence? I'm finding this confusing.

What you can tow isn't controlled by your drivers licence, but by seperate regulations, which basically say you can tow whatever your car is stipulated as equipt for (up to a particular limit.) And the trailer must comply with certain regulations to be licensed.

So basically if you car is less than 4.5t GVM, you can drive it,
If your boat is within the licensed ATM of your trailer, you can carry it.
And if your car's manufacturer says it can tow that trailer, then you can tow it.