He also seems to be in the age...or mentality... group that just has to drag a 3.5 ton 'anchor'...complete with washing machine and dryer...up every steep as ****e mountain goat track or every beach with soft sand just waiting to swallow ya tyres etc or through every river around the joint.

I've never driven on a beach....without or with a caravan and l'm mid 60's.
I 've watched plenty of youtube videos of caravans getting stuck on beaches
Why would you?

It was a very biased read - yes, I actually read the linked article.

There were a lot of factual errors on several vehicle's features.

Short answer to "Best tow vehicle" - What suits you, your budget and Regulations.

Bicyclecamper wrote:

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I see a lot of late model Jeep Grand Cherokee's around, more then normal, they all seem happy with them.

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Very, very happy with mine! 

Bicyclecamper wrote:

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I see a lot of late model Jeep Grand Cherokee's around, more then normal, they all seem happy with them.

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     Unlikely that anybody who has forked out big dollars for a new car will say that its no good. 
     And jeep has low towing capacity, although Cupies present car has only 2500kg tow capacity, I believe?
     Later today I will have a close look at the list provided, but a cursory view has revealed inaccuracies, as suggested by Possum.Cheers

Cupie wrote:

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I have pondering a possible replacement for my faithful old 4.2efi GQ Patrol so I did a bit of a search on the Net & came up with this interesting site.

What I was really after was a simple spreadsheet listing all the likely candidates with a comparison of all of the relevant ratings.  But it is of course not just that simple.

This guy seems to have done a lot of research (perhaps not too much caravanning experience though) and much of what I wanted is buried in a ton of information.   (I haven't yet looked at his other postings but I did note in passing a recommendation for the 300 Series Cruiser).

 Thought that I would share this with you knowledgeable lot& seek feedback.

 https://offroadexplorer.com.au/4wd-reviews/best-suv-for-towing

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  Because it would take literally days for me to discuss the options, I will say only that although there are some errors in the reviews, in the main there is a lot of helpful information provided. 

The listing of rear axle weights is a major positive, and the suggestion that the towball weight be multiplied by 1.45 to get weight applied to car's rear axle is very helpful, although not necessarily accurate. At least it explains the physics.

The field is open, Cupie, as almost all those cars can tow your van, but the list certainly is not exhaustive. 

Dave (Belmont Bear) has a less-open market as several of the listed cars cannot safely tow his 3100kg van, but he seems to have a sufficient understanding of weights to be able to sort the Men from the Boys, figuratively speaking. Cheers 

 

 

yobarr wrote:

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Bicyclecamper wrote:

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I see a lot of late model Jeep Grand Cherokee's around, more then normal, they all seem happy with them.

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     Unlikely that anybody who has forked out big dollars for a new car will say that its no good. 
     And jeep has low towing capacity, although Cupies present car has only 2,500 ton  tow capacity, I believe?
     Later today I will have a close look at the list provided, but a cursory view has revealed inaccuracies, as suggested by Possum.Cheers

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 Actually, my 1996 GQ is a 4.2EFI & has a tow capacity of 2.8 which is just right for me.

-- Edited by Cupie on Wednesday 16th of August 2023 11:23:57 AM

yobarr wrote:

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Cupie wrote:

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yobarr wrote:

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     Unlikely that anybody who has forked out big dollars for a new car will say that its no good. 
     And jeep has low towing capacity, although Cupies present car has only 2,500 ton  tow capacity, I believe?
     Later today I will have a close look at the list provided, but a cursory view has revealed inaccuracies, as suggested by Possum.Cheers

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 Actually, my 1996 GQ is a 4.2EFI & has a tow capacity of 2.8 which is just right for me.

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 Hi Cupie, Could I respectfully ask you to check your compliance plate as all my records for this vehicle show GVM 2800kg and towing capacity of 2500kg, for GCM of 5300kg. 

In 1997 GVM was increased to 2960kg, but tow rating remained at 2500kg for GCM of 5460kg.

If I am indeed incorrect perhaps you could take a photo of the compliance plate, hiding the serial number etc, and post the photo here so that my records can be amended. Cheers

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  We have discussed this issue in the past & I was under the impression that you had accepted the 2.8T rating for the .2EFI mode.  Pls feel free to correct me if I am wrong in thinking that.

 

I'd just love to know what Constable Plod has in his data base & its source, or indeed where you source your data from.

 

I have tried in the past to find confirmation for my figures without much success.

 

 

There is no reference on the Compliance plate or owner's manual about GCM but the GVM is shown as 2800. 

A plate on the Factory Tow bar quotes GTM as 2800kg braked. That may of course just refer to the towbar & not the vehicle.

As well, Gregory's Workshop Manual #509 in the 4.2efi supplement Specifications section states "Towing Capacity with Trailer Brakes for Station Wagon with manual transmission is 2,800kg (other models - 2,500kg)".  In the absence of any other publication on the matter that I can find, I accept that.   

BTW, I don't think that way back in 1995 not too many people worried about this topic.

 

I will send you an eMail with the stuff that I refer to above.

https://www.carsguide.com.au/nissan/patrol/towing-capacity/1996