Trailer towing vehicle

[Rockmonkey]

I need to get a vehicle to tow a 2.5+ ton horse trailer. That is about all it will be used for so I don't care about fuel economy.
I'd also like something vaguely interesting.
Top of the list at the moment are Range Rover V8 (4.0 or 4.6) or Jeep Cherokee V8. I know the Range Rover is not the most reliable but spares are dirt cheap and it seems to be fairly well suited to DIY mechanics.
Any opinions or other suggestions? Budget is £3.5k so not a lot.

[tr7v8]

Plenty of WJ Grand Cherokees around that will do that for less money. Either a V8 or a 4L the latter being better for LPG if you want to go that way. I get 17MPG in my 4L on petrol solo.
Good WJ group on FaceBook.

[Rockmonkey]

Good suggestion. The 4.0 should give better performance for less fuel than the range rover.

[wack]

If you want to go into the jungle buy a Land Rover, if you want to come back, buy a Land Cruiser.

so they say, the land cruisers do seem to hold their money and there's plenty around with 250k+ on them

[V8RX7]

As you suggested - Grand Cherokee V8 4.7 - ideally get the High Output with an LPG conversion.

[Willy Nilly]

If that's all you would use it for, I would recommend looking at getting a trailer that has a 5th wheel so you can pull it from the bed of a pickup. They pull so much better than from the bumper, the difference is night and day.

Or ditch the trailer and tow vehicle and get a non HGV horse box, if you have the space and license.

[V8RX7]

Willy Nilly said:

If that's all you would use it for, I would recommend looking at getting a trailer that has a 5th wheel so you can pull it from the bed of a pickup.

They pull so much better than from the bumper, the difference is night and day.

5th wheel trailers are incredibly scarce in the UK

Agreed - although they cut the corner so can be a liability on some roads.

[caelite]

V8RX7 said:

Willy Nilly said:

If that's all you would use it for, I would recommend looking at getting a trailer that has a 5th wheel so you can pull it from the bed of a pickup.

They pull so much better than from the bumper, the difference is night and day.

5th wheel trailers are incredibly scarce in the UK

Agreed - although they cut the corner so can be a liability on some roads.

Ive always wanted to try a 'small' 5th wheel trailer. A haulage company my work does business with have a transit with a 5th wheel on it as a show vehicle (crew cab designed to look like a mini-artic with a sleeper), They wheel it out for car shows, it was at truckfest in Scotland with a long twin wheel beavertail on it with 3 cars (including a heavy looking ~2ton disco) on it. I'd estimate a 6ton load. Honestly not sure of the legality but it sure looked interesting

[V8RX7]

caelite said:

Ive always wanted to try a 'small' 5th wheel trailer. A haulage company my work does business with have a transit with a 5th wheel on it as a show vehicle (crew cab designed to look like a mini-artic with a sleeper), They wheel it out for car shows, it was at truckfest in Scotland with a long twin wheel beavertail on it with 3 cars (including a heavy looking ~2ton disco) on it. I'd estimate a 6ton load. Honestly not sure of the legality but it sure looked interesting

I've written about the Regs on here in the past - I went into it all when I bought a 28' American 5th wheel caravan, for many years they were illegal over here but the EU forced us to accept them.

I went looking for a 5th wheel car trailer but they are very rare and very expensive.

[48k]

Willy Nilly said:

I would recommend looking at getting a trailer that has a 5th wheel

Best of luck trying to find a 5th-wheel horse trailer in the UK.