Is a freelander 2 capable of towing?

H

Hannah&Alfie

New Member
Aug 12, 2009
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Wolverhampton
Ok, so I am VERY confused....:confused:
After reading a lot of threads regarding suitable vehicles for towing, i am still at a loss.
I currently share a mini with my mum and we are thinking of replacing it as im basically ruining it travelling to the yard everyday and mum feels it's not safe down the lanes in winter so we are looking in to getting a new car.
I am new to horse ownership and have never been to a show or anything but mum made a valid point of getting a 4x4 that we can tow with (just to futureproof ourselves) Originally we were going to get a sexy rav4...until we did some more research and discovered it is completely incapable of towing a trailer plus horse...
We are now looking at a freelander 2 which has a maximium towing weight of 2000kg and depending on the model, kerb weights starting from 1770kg. is this sufficient enough???
This would be a car that we would be using day to day, so fuel consumption, insurance costs, being able to park it easily etc also need to be considered which basically rules out the big heafty 4x4's.
Theres a man at my yard who owns a honda CRV and loves it and still pulls 2 horses with it, im sure this is not legal? but claims it pulls with ease?
Can anyone shed some light on this please? ive gone completely brain dead looking at 4x4's and all different weights, i just dont know whats what anymore! :confused:

Sorry so long! lol!
 
We tow with the Freelander 2 diesel auto which is at the weightier end of the scale, we have a Cheval Libertie trailer max 2000kg - that's the important bit you need a max tow weight of 2000kg or less. The unladen weight of the trailer is 730kg an my pony weighs approx 400kg. We do take another sometimes and have a load max of approx 900 kg. We decide on this vehicle as we needed a compromise of a good long distance vehicle as we tow a caravan many miles - my idea of getting a defender was not greeted well. :D
Fairly economical, sensible size for parking etc, the freelander 2 is leaps apart from the original freelander and has been likened to a baby disco.
 
I think if you are sensible and got a lightweight trailer and only towed one horse you'd be ok. We towed with our Frontera sport once and my husband said it towed fine, I was a bit unsure. In the end I just went for a disco as it has the highest towing capacity. T'is a minefield out there!!
 
Yes you will be fine if not towing anymore than the weight advised. If its one horse and trailer tho I dobt you will be close enough to the limit to cause problems.

Nikki xxxx
 
So depending on the trailer, in theory it should pull one horse with ease? Ive been told that a diesel and an automatic is better for pulling? is that correct, or will a manual do just as good a job? Your right Bobbin...It really is a minefield! lol!
 
Diesels have more grunt and go through less fuel so easier on the pocket also more reliable if towing int eh wet etc with less chance of it cutting out due to flooding.

I tow with a freelander 1 td4 and we tow Kia - 500kgs 15h welsh D x and my ifor 505 @ 905kgs which ading tack and hay comes to about 1500kgs all in all.

Ours tows fine over any terrain.

Nikki xxxx
 
Thats great! thanks for the replies guys... I really like the freelander 2, so would have been gutted if you had said it was no good!
God help me trying to park the thing though! i struggle with the mini! lol! :D
 
Just remember if you buy a one horse trailer like and ifor 401/406 then you dont have to get it downrated but if you get a 505 then you will have to ask the dealer to plate it at 2000kgs for you to be perfectly legal.

The dealers can do this for you no bother!!

Nikki xxxx
 
H&A,

Rav4 TD4 2.2D has a max tow weight of 2,000kg and a reasonable kerb weight. As with the Freelander, it just depends on the model.

Good luck!
 
Hannah&Alfie said:
So depending on the trailer, in theory it should pull one horse with ease? Ive been told that a diesel and an automatic is better for pulling? is that correct, or will a manual do just as good a job? Your right Bobbin...It really is a minefield! lol!
Click to expand...

Just one thing, my husband says he would rather not tow with an automatic because you are not in charge of gear changes up a hill etc. I know plenty of people do tow with them just fine though.

Hope you get what you want!!
 
I am currently looking at a Freelander to buy so I can tow my horse.
The max weight for the freelander that I looked at was also 2000kg.
My ifor williams 505 has a unladen (empty) weight is 1400kg and my horse is about 650kg. we will JUST be over the combined limit for the car but as long as the engine torque (pulling power) is sufficient then it will be fine. we lookin at diesel, 2.0l 16v and apparently (according to my bf who is into all that stuff) should do the job
 
I can't remember where it is, but there's a sticky about this.

Its not whether your car *could* tow the weight, if your car is [theoretically-based on MAX weight of trailer] over-weighted it won't be insured.
 
This is a subject OH and I had loads of discussion about recently. Basically I was going to change the car and get a small SUV. Looked at loads but very difficult to balance economy and towing capability:rolleyes:. As I often tow 2 at around 500kg each with an Ifor Williams at 905kgs I would have been on the maximum. We are lucky we run a Land Rover as well, so we changed that to a Land Rover County with extra seats and bought a Ifor Williams tow pack for our saddles. I know I' ll never exceed 3.5 tonne capacity:D.

If you are only ever going to be towing one horse I would say lots of SUV's will cover it but take care if you think you may ever want to increase.
 
PERSONALLY and as I always say, I would never use any type of freelander/rav to tow. I like to tow with a vehice that is more than capable of towing, not one thst is only just able to
 
Freelander

We used to have a Freelander to tow our old Bayhill Trailer with a 420 kg cob and it went brilliantly. I was very happy with it, just choose a lightweight trailer and stick to one horse and you will be fine. Did try 2 short distance, wouldnt do it again, just within the capability by law, but didnt feel right, but it was another big cob!!

Good luck it gives you so much freedom. Ours was Diesel.
 
Finn1985 said:
I am currently looking at a Freelander to buy so I can tow my horse.
The max weight for the freelander that I looked at was also 2000kg.
My ifor williams 505 has a unladen (empty) weight is 1400kg and my horse is about 650kg. we will JUST be over the combined limit for the car but as long as the engine torque (pulling power) is sufficient then it will be fine. we lookin at diesel, 2.0l 16v and apparently (according to my bf who is into all that stuff) should do the job
Click to expand...

BUT the weights that matter are the MAX LAIDEN WEIGHT of the trailer versus the MAX TOW WEIGHT of the car. 505 vs freelander is 2600kg vs 2000kg, illegal as the max laiden weight of the trailer exceeds your cars capabilities, whether you tow it fully loaded or not. you could get away with a cheval as some of theri models are 2000kg. The freelander/towing debate has been done to death, have a search and you'll find lots of threads on it. there was one not all that long ago.
 
Freelander 2 is a great towing car you wouldnt now you have anything behind you, it is very different compared to the freelander 1. I would highly recommend one so much cause we have 2 of them.
 
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