Advice on new car to tow caravan

[Jared01]

Hello all,

Just joined to forum!

My wife and I have always been campers and we have 3 kids who are 1, 3 and 6.

2 of our regular camping family friends have recently bought caravans (Jayco Swan and Jayco Expanda 16.49-3 OB).

We are now looking at buying a caravan and I have my eye on a Jayco Starcraft Pop-top 17.58-3 OB.


We currently have a 2008 Toyota Kluger which we are going to have to sell.


I am after some advice on what cars I should consider.

I have been researching 2007 Toyota Landcruiser Prado diesel, but not sure if suitable due to 2.5t towing limit

Recently starting looking at 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero (NT I think?) diesel which has 3T towing limit.


Are either of the 2 above suitable to tow this van and what other alternatives are there without spending too much (up to $30-$35K for the car).

Thank you in advance!

 

[Bushman]

Welcome to the forum @Jared01

The Pajero is a great tow truck and yes can go up to 3 ton, just need to be aware it has a ball weight restriction once you exceed the 2.5 ton (just 180 kg allowable on the ball), Pajero also has as a very reasonable vehicle payload capacity of 730kg from memory which is more than most of your current 7 seat vehicles, you may find you'll need to upgrade the suspension at a bear minimum add airbags to the rear if it hasn't already been done.

With that budget you may even be able to pick up a slightly later model maybe 2010-12 even with a few goodies already added

 

[warren cook]

Hello all,

Just joined to forum!

My wife and I have always been campers and we have 3 kids who are 1, 3 and 6.

2 of our regular camping family friends have recently bought caravans (Jayco Swan and Jayco Expanda 16.49-3 OB).

We are now looking at buying a caravan and I have my eye on a Jayco Starcraft Pop-top 17.58-3 OB.


We currently have a 2008 Toyota Kluger which we are going to have to sell.


I am after some advice on what cars I should consider.

I have been researching 2007 Toyota Landcruiser Prado diesel, but not sure if suitable due to 2.5t towing limit

Recently starting looking at 2009 Mitsubishi Pajero (NT I think?) diesel which has 3T towing limit.


Are either of the 2 above suitable to tow this van and what other alternatives are there without spending too much (up to $30-$35K for the car).

Thank you in advance!

Hi Jared01,

Welcome to the forum, plenty of advice to be found on here matey.

Will the new vehicle double up as the family car when not towing, and do you need to have 7 seats?

Do you plan to do any modifications to the new vehicle?

The only other vehicle I would throw into the mix is the Jeep Grand Cherokee. It has much better towing capacity, 3.5T and is a great family vehicle. I tow my 3T van with one and get 11.9L per 100k's return on the fuel.

You wont go wrong with any of the 3 cars to be honest.

Good luck, always here to help.

 

[JS4910]

Got to agree with Bushman on this one, although we currently have a 07 Rodeo Doublecab 4x4 with 3 ton tow capacity which will be well over our 17.58-1 OB requirements it is just about to hit it's 10yr birthday and is probably a bit underpowered for full time towing duties. We have had it 8 years and it only has 158K on it and I know I can get a re-map on the ECU and new bigger intercooler and exhaust but it still is a 10yo vehicle. The other main reason is cab space, with 2 kids in seats and a teenager it is VERY crammed in the back seat, even more now since bubs has gone from a capsule to full car seat.

I have seriously looked at ALL the new DC utes and although they are a bit wider in the body the cab still gets the sense of being very tightly packed with 2 full seats, plus the cost of adding a canopy $3K without any other extra's makes them a more expensive prospect.

We started looking at wagons and the list quickly diminished to just a few, some were not enough power (Patrol), or way to expensive (200 and Disco4), or just not enough cargo space (MU-X Colorado 7), so the list narrowed down to Pajero and Prado, and for us the Pajero has just too many ticks in the right boxes compared to the Toyota offering, so we are off Pajero hunting over the next couple of months and will hopefully have a new tug sorted either before the van arrives in December of shortly after.

Turns out this caravaning caper is a bit more expensive than first thought..............................................lol

 

[Jared01]

Thanks for the replies so far.

The car would be double up as the family car when not towing and we would want 7 seats to use when the in-laws visit

Pajero looks good so far but will take a look at the Jeep Grand Cherokee too.

 

[FiveInAVan]

We have the same caravan (2016 model) and tow it with a Prado (2015 model). Just be careful what extras you add to the van and car and not to overload either when loading up. We haven't had any issues towing and our Tare/ATM are under the 2.5 towing limit. We already had the Prado prior to buying our van so the limitations of the Prado is what helped us choose our Starcraft for our family of 5. We haven't yet made any modifications to the car but may look at beefing up the rear suspension at some stage. Our car was bought new, though. Best of luck.

 

[Billnjim]

I would seriously consider the Pajero - good for towing and an excellent everyday driver..........we upgraded to a 200 series earlier in the year but the wife refuses to let the Pajero go so that's now her daily drive. Your dollar will go further with the Pajero too as its not subject to the Toyota tax. I can't really comment on the Jeep Grand Cherokee but did notice in the caravan park on the weekend that if you didn't have a landcruiser 100 or 200 it was equally represented between Pajeros and Jeep Grand Cherokee with the Prado lagging behind three to one. It also seemed that the older you were them more inclined for the jeep you were.......not sure why - maybe seats are more spacious in the rear of the Pajero for families? Diesel is my preferred option for any of these vehicles.

 

[warren cook]

How is your research going, are you any further forward?

Forget about the Jeep if you need to have 7 seats as they only have 5 seat variant.

Maybe look at the Pajero Sport if you can get one for your budget. There may be some used ones around. It has better towing capacity then both Pajero and Prado at 3.1 tonne and is also more modern than both in the way of comfort and gadgets. Deffo worth a look.

 

[Bushman]

How is your research going, are you any further forward?

Forget about the Jeep if you need to have 7 seats as they only have 5 seat variant.

Maybe look at the Pajero Sport if you can get one for your budget. There may be some used ones around. It has better towing capacity then both Pajero and Prado at 3.1 tonne and is also more modern than both in the way of comfort and gadgets. Deffo worth a look.

Seems there maybe a few out there that will fit the bill after sale/trade of his current vehicle, like most of the 5/7 seaters with 3 tin lids (kids) will have to watch vehicle payload. but still a good option.

 

[Jared01]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

After researching quite a bit, I think the Mitsubishi Pajero looks like a winner for us.

It has the 7 seats, still comfortable for the wife to drive around the suburbs and they are a pretty good package price wise.

Looking to spend $30-$35K. Would love to get a demo model (NX) for mid to high $40K's but maybe we can upgrade again in a few years time.

Starting to look regularly on Car Sales.


I was confused about all of the models but came across the below forums which show the year model and corresponding N code (NT, NW, NX etc).

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/

NX model 2014 -
NW model 2011 - 2014
NT model 2009 - 2011
NS Model 2006 - 2009
NM - NP Models 2000 - 2006
NH - NL Models 1991 - 2000
NA - NG Models 1983 - 1991


Will try and get something with ~ 50,000 - 75,000Kms.

Looks like Pajero is the go for us.

 

[achjimmy]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

After researching quite a bit, I think the Mitsubishi Pajero looks like a winner for us.

It has the 7 seats, still comfortable for the wife to drive around the suburbs and they are a pretty good package price wise.

Looking to spend $30-$35K. Would love to get a demo model (NX) for mid to high $40K's but maybe we can upgrade again in a few years time.

Starting to look regularly on Car Sales.


I was confused about all of the models but came across the below forums which show the year model and corresponding N code (NT, NW, NX etc).

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/

NX model 2014 -
NW model 2011 - 2014
NT model 2009 - 2011
NS Model 2006 - 2009
NM - NP Models 2000 - 2006
NH - NL Models 1991 - 2000
NA - NG Models 1983 - 1991


Will try and get something with ~ 50,000 - 75,000Kms.

Looks like Pajero is the go for us.

That's a great forum and plenty of good advise on there. Paj is a great tug

 

[warren cook]

That's a great forum and plenty of good advise on there. Paj is a great tug

Good choice well done.

You will need a spare wheel lift kit added if it hasn't been already done to get it hitched up easily. I think the cost of those parts are approx. $200.

Let us know how things go or if you need any advice along the way, happy to help. Send me a link of a car your interested in and I can let you know how good the deal is.

Happy hunting.

 

[JS4910]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

After researching quite a bit, I think the Mitsubishi Pajero looks like a winner for us.

It has the 7 seats, still comfortable for the wife to drive around the suburbs and they are a pretty good package price wise.

Looking to spend $30-$35K. Would love to get a demo model (NX) for mid to high $40K's but maybe we can upgrade again in a few years time.

Starting to look regularly on Car Sales.


I was confused about all of the models but came across the below forums which show the year model and corresponding N code (NT, NW, NX etc).

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/

NX model 2014 -
NW model 2011 - 2014
NT model 2009 - 2011
NS Model 2006 - 2009
NM - NP Models 2000 - 2006
NH - NL Models 1991 - 2000
NA - NG Models 1983 - 1991


Will try and get something with ~ 50,000 - 75,000Kms.

Looks like Pajero is the go for us.

Exactly what we have done @Jared01 we ended up with a demo MY16 GLX with ARB BBar, Redarc Tow Pro Elite, MM towbar, spare wheel lift kit, and WDH kit $52K drive away and got an excellent price for my trade in.

Overall very happy we made the decision to change vehicles.......................................love that car!

 

[bigcol]

Overall very happy we made the decision to change vehicles.......................................love that car!

one gets the impression your happy with your choice @JS4910

dont know how I picked it...........

 

[JS4910]

one gets the impression your happy with your choice @JS4910

dont know how I picked it...........

It's the Mr Bushi catch cry, if you look closely at the advertising stand on the right side of the car in the pic you will see it there.................lol

I hope you didn't think I was being original.

 

[bigcol]

It's the Mr Bushi catch cry, if you look closely at the advertising stand on the right side of the car in the pic you will see it there.................lol

I hope you didn't think I was being original.

are you not glad you didnt buy the Toyboata Playdoh then.........

you would have to jump in the air in fright after seeing the sales invoice

 

[Jared01]

Good choice well done.

You will need a spare wheel lift kit added if it hasn't been already done to get it hitched up easily. I think the cost of those parts are approx. $200.

Let us know how things go or if you need any advice along the way, happy to help. Send me a link of a car your interested in and I can let you know how good the deal is.

Happy hunting.

Wife says budget is about $30,000

Would like to buy something with less than 100,000 Kms.


Can anyone please advise what model we should aim for. I assume only NT model is within this price range.

Am I correct or should we try and extend the budget a bit and buy something a little newer that possibly still has remainder of 5 year warranty left?

 

[NoWorries]

I traded my 2014 NW VRX for $40k with 30,000 klms on it.
I reckon you might find a GLX for around that money if you bargain hard.

 

[Jared01]

Do these deals look any good?

2012 Mitsubishi Pajero Platinum II NW Auto 4x4 MY12
10 months rego
110,000kms
roof racks and towbar
1 owner full service history
$31,000
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Mitsubishi-Pajero-2012/SSE-AD-4385120/?Cr=9

2011 Mitsubishi Pajero GLS NW Auto 4x4 MY12
108,000kms
http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Mitsubishi-Pajero-2011/OAG-AD-13925568/?Cr=8


2012 Mitsubishi Pajero GLX NW Auto 4x4 MY12
93,000kms
$32,000
Towbar
http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Mitsubishi-Pajero-2012/SSE-AD-4344521/?Cr=6

2013 Mitsubishi Pajero GLX NW Auto 4x4 MY14
$32,000
76,000kms
Towbar
http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Mitsubishi-Pajero-2013/OAG-AD-13563053/?Cr=4




Is it OK to buy this type of car with 110,000kms already on the clock? Being diesel I think it should be ok.

The first one seems like a good deal. 1 owner good rego etc.

 

[Jared01]

I called about the first car.

- Has 114,000Kms on the clock. Last service was due at 112,000. NEEDS SERVICE NOW
- Tyres need replacing in about 6 months
- Would accept $29xxx for the car
-Only used to tow box trailer


Does it sound like a good deal?