Towing vehicles

[Dennis]

[quote="Chris Wicks"]

I like the pictures Chris. The weather looks better than I usually have to put up with at Kielder.
With a launching site like that. There is no doubt that a 4x4 with low ratio transfer box is necessary.

Cheers

Dennis

[David Hudson]

Come on boys, this isn't rocket science. Towing and winching
has been a problem since Mons Meg was carted around the borders.

There are so many rigging and sail handling questions to discuss:

a) The elimination of weather helm when it blows.
b) Do we need a forestay, or do the various luff wires do the job?
c) So many comments on firling equipment but little progress.
d) Experiences with various mainsheet systems: ease of use, trim
efficiency.
e) What do our wives really think about portapotti's?

Bits that niggle:

a) Dennis has an ingress of water in his quarter berth when on
starboard tack.

Rodin

[Ru88ell]

What's the current verdict on the Freelander 2? Is anyone using one yet?

I've found an HSE auto with 21k on the clock for reasonable money.

[Dennis]

Hello Russell

I have looked long and hard at the FL2, and have come to the conclusion that it is definitely "up to the job".

My personal preference would be for a XS spec SD4 version, more power and auto as standard.

I have not jumped ship yet as I cannot bear to part with my D3, however, every time I have to fork out £425 for road tax I give it serious consideration.

I had a FL1 TD4 for 54,000 miles from new, with no problems whatsoever, only went to a D3 when we bought a 1800 Kg caravan. My first preference then was for a FL2, but LR could not give me an exact kerb weight (it was new on the market at that time) hence the D3.

Have look on here: http://www.freel2.com/forum/

If you want some interesting viewpoints (but be aware of [color="Red"]chicken george[color="Black"])[/color][/color]

Cheers

Dennis

CC19 #100 Mary Ann

[David Peck]

Hi Russell,

I’ve had a Freelander 2 TD4.e GS with manual box since new for one year now, so have only done about 6,000 miles to date. These have been trouble free and I find the car is nice to drive. As yet I have only towed my CC19 once for a short journey of approx. 30 miles from my yacht club to home. The car towed the boat well but the real test will be on the slipway when I first try to retrieve it from the water on a reasonable incline and later in a couple of months’ time, when I intend to tow it down to the Morbihan in Brittany.

The max towing weight for the Freelander 2 is 2000kg, which is a bit tight for a CC19 but all the experts seem to think it will not be a problem. I chose a manual gearbox thinking it would be better for towing but people on the Land Rover Stand at the London Boat Show had mixed views on it, some thinking the automatic would be better, others the manual was ideal? When looking at other similar vehicles, manual boxes gave higher towing weight values than the automatics. This is not the case with the Freelander 2 automatic, however, although the CO2 emissions are higher and the fuel consumption is less. Since I have had the Freelander, overall fuel consumption has been 36mpg which includes driving in the London area and some fast motorway driving to Brittany last year.

Choosing a suitable towing vehicle for a CC19 is not easy as it’s on the border line between needing a larger vehicle, like a Range Rover, with more than adequate towing ability but higher running costs and bulk for everyday motoring. The new Hyundi Sante Fe 2010 has 2500kg towing ability (but only with the manual box) is probably the nearest to ideal but I do not think it will quite have the same image as a Freelander HSE!

Regards
David Peck
CC19 Whistling Rufus

[Dennis]

Hello again Russell and David

The manual vs auto debate is an interesting one.
Manual certainly uses less fuel, but the auto should give a more relaxed driving experience.

My D3 is a manual, but there again it has a low ratio transfer box, this enables me to recover the boat on a steep ramp with no slipping of the clutch. Indeed, there is so much pulling power I don't even have to use any throttle.

However, if I did not have the low ratio transfer box I would opt for an auto. The auto transmission helps to overcome the lack of low ratio transfer box, there is no clutch to slip or burn out.

Significantly, LR only use automatic FL2s on their "Land Rover Experience" programme. I have been on these "courses" in FL1, FL2 and D3 they are great fun.

If I was to replace my D3 with the current D4 (wishful thinking) it would have to be auto, there is not a manual option.


If you are only going to be towing a few times a year, it probably does not matter.

PS David, how is that diesel installation going?


Cheers

Dennis

CC19 #100 Mary Ann

[Ru88ell]

I would have hoped that an FL2 would be very easy on. All of the CC19 towing I've done has been with a 140bhp VW Touran; it, too, is easy on the motorway, but does struggle a bit starting up hill, and did wheel spin on a wet Bucklers Hard ramp.

I'm about to change job and have a 17 yr old son. My cars are the Touran and a VW Golf 2.0 Tdi Sport - neither liked by the insurance companies for a 17 yr old. I want to swap for an FL2 and some little cheap thing that we can insure Jake on for reasonable money.

I've got a number of trips planned this year, including the one to Sanguinet south of Bordeaux, so need to get it right.

[GRIMSHAW]

We used to have a Freelander I until her indoors wrote it off while descending a hill in the snow and ice in December (dont touch the brakes ; use hill descent control!!!).It capsized and landed on its roof; her excuses about keel bolt failure were not accepted. That proved adequate for towing CC19 and horse trailer of similar weight but a bit underpowered. The new 150HP Freelander II is so much better in all respects and have so far towed both CC19 and horse trailer with no problems. Both our Freeos were/are autos .Being old fashioned I tend to drive in manual override, wife always in auto. Sometimes the auto gearbox (or whatever it is) seems to get confused as it sorts out the torque. Hill descent control can be used on all lower gears and not just bottom as in the FreeoI but doesn't seem quite so positive. The II doesn't use permanent 4 wheel drive and I'm worried that it might be too late to kick in the 4 once the fronts start losing grip. I hope this helps. Will post a pic of the inverted FreeoI in Sarie Marais album.

[Dennis]

...... The II doesn't use permanent 4 wheel drive and I'm worried that it might be too late to kick in the 4 once the fronts start losing grip..... .

Hello Graham

Sorry to hear about your FL1, I hope her indoors was not hurt.

If you want be reassured about the abilites of your FL2 4-wheel drive system you may be interested in this: http://www.billswebspace.com/HALDEX.pdf.

It is certainly comprehensive and a lot more complicated than the simple viscous coupling on your (ex) FL1.

LR only build 4WD vehicles (actually not true! they are introducing a 2WD FL2 this year) so it is fair to assume that the system they have fitted to the FL2 is well up to the job.

Cheers

Dennis

[GRIMSHAW]

Many thanks for the info Dennis....LandRover seems to have all bases covered with the Haldex. Her Indoors managed to crawl out of the upturned vehicle without a scratch which was just as well because the police car and ambulance called to the scene couldn't get near to the accident site because of the icey conditions.