PRED-ATOR Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 G'day folks, Recently i sold my 97 subaru legacy GTB and bought a 2002 holden vx commodore. reason for sale was i needed something with a bit more lower end torque to tow the boat with (boat is about 500-600kg with braked trailer). the car is a 5 speed manual. Ive noticed, to my disappointment that this commodore is just as bad as the subaru if not worse. What are the best vehicles to tow boats with under 40K? - understand there are many vehicle classes e.g. 4WD etc but i thought we could just throw some names out there regardless of class. Please help : ( Cheers, Stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fisherman36 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Hey stan, I tow my 4.75m ally boat with a 2009 VE commodore (6spd manual). I guess the weight all up is about 650kg. It tows it fine with many freeway runs. Cost me $32,000. Would have loved a turbo deisel prado but couldnt justify the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelrdoyle@gmail.com Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Hi Stan I'm towing a Quintrex Bayhunter Caprice 480 - about 500-600kg with a 2010 model Ford Falcon XR6 automatic. It's rated for up to 2300kg, and I've put the 2300kg tow bar on it. It's great - hardly notices the boat on the back. I just upgraded from a 1998 Ford Falcon Forte AU - which also towed well, though the suspension was a bit loose for my liking. I've noticed that on the big 6 cylinder cars, the tow capacity of the manuel is less than the automatic. I'm not quite sure why. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BFB Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Pred-a-tor, I am surprised that the commodore does not suit the purpose. Maybe it needs attention to. A six Holden, or any 6 cylinder vehicle, should not have too many problems towing a boat of your size. What problems are you experiencing as there are some issues when towing a boat that every tow vehicle might have a problem with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scaffsta Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thats very strange i tow a 510 trailcraft with a 2006 forester (non turbo) without any probs at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zdenk01 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Hi PRED-ATOR chose a japanese 4WD turbo diesel in manual, these have very good reputations. You wont regret it. I had a automatic commodore towing a 12ft tinny. ended up having transmission problems. I work for one those manufacutors & get to drive the whole range. I now have 1/2 cab quintrex. & the 4WD's are great. hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Hooker Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 You can go pass a common rail T/D these days... great on fuel when not towing but has enough pull when you are. Not sure about the used cars markets these days but shop around to suit your needs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafinx Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 (edited) I tow my 4.5m fibreglass boat with my 1999 vt commadore, only difference is that its auto, and i have to say i have had no issue what so ever with towing, the vx commadore has another 5 kw ontop of it, I believe if your going to tow a boat, your better with auto, because that extra load on the clutch with reduce the km you get out it not to mention its easier to use an auto at a ramp, because you got the incline as another disadvantage. Edited January 23, 2011 by Rafinx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steze Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Im towing my 4.5m runabout with an old 97 ford telstar 2.2 lite manual. I can say that this car is not suitable for towing but I only travel short distances so it basically does the job. Looking at upgrading to a commodore so i can tow on the freeway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thank you all for the comments. I have just bought this car and i think it does need some attention. to put it into perspective, this morning i was towing my boat and on the M4 i could even get the car to do 90km's in 5th gear. i would of loved to tow my boat as a part opf the test drive lol. I have heard that the c/r turbo diesels are great for towing, but do they lack power? or is it the torque which makes them such good towers. I have always had good feedback about holden commodores for towing so there must be a problem with mine, plus having a manual isnt the best. i drove off the ramp this morning with a cloud of clutch smoke - not happy jan. the car has only done 100k could it have lost that much power over such a short distance? or could this be a gear box/diff problem? any thoughts folks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Im surprised too that you are having problems towing that. It should be a breeze for a commodore. For that price range you can get a Nissan Navara D22 ST-R or a Nissan Navara ST, both 2.5 diesel turbo and under $40k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew399 Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 Thank you all for the comments. I have just bought this car and i think it does need some attention. to put it into perspective, this morning i was towing my boat and on the M4 i could even get the car to do 90km's in 5th gear. i would of loved to tow my boat as a part opf the test drive lol. I have heard that the c/r turbo diesels are great for towing, but do they lack power? or is it the torque which makes them such good towers. I have always had good feedback about holden commodores for towing so there must be a problem with mine, plus having a manual isnt the best. i drove off the ramp this morning with a cloud of clutch smoke - not happy jan. the car has only done 100k could it have lost that much power over such a short distance? or could this be a gear box/diff problem? any thoughts folks? Definately something wrong with your car mate, im leaning towards a transmission issue. Your commodore should be able to pull that with ease and it definately should not have lost that power in only 100k k's. What was the service history like? The common rail turbo diesels are good, with the most recent ones putting out similar power figures to their petrol equivalents. The only problem with common rails is they are VERY sensitive to fuel quality ie water in the fuel, which can, and does, happen at even the big servos, and the fix is quite expensive. Other than that they are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cut_loose Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 We tow our 4.6 meter alloy boat with a VZ commodore, no problems at all, been to some bad ramps never had a problem bringing the boat up, cruising down to Sussex last week we sat on 90 - 100 with no problem at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacky Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I used to tow my boat with a commodore VT but we had more kids so the wife said we needed a bigger car. I went for toyota Prado Man its the best thing i have ever done ( besides meeting my wife of course ). The best car i have ever owned . Now i put my boat in at a beach in Pittwater instead of paying fee's at the local boat ramp for parking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steze Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I used to tow my boat with a commodore VT but we had more kids so the wife said we needed a bigger car. I went for toyota Prado Man its the best thing i have ever done ( besides meeting my wife of course ). The best car i have ever owned . Now i put my boat in at a beach in Pittwater instead of paying fee's at the local boat ramp for parking. That is so awesome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helliconia Posted January 23, 2011 Share Posted January 23, 2011 I pull our 4.75m runabout with a Mitsubishi Verada 3.5l V6. Only time it's struggled was up Mt Ouzley near Wollongong, I thought the poor girl was gunna blow a gasket but she got there. I do tend to avoid steep ramps but she hasn't looked like she has any problems getting up the ramps so far. I think the front wheel drive helps as they're always well clear of the slippery stuff. We're planning to upgrade at the end of the year to a 4WD probably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Definately something wrong with your car mate, im leaning towards a transmission issue. Your commodore should be able to pull that with ease and it definately should not have lost that power in only 100k k's. What was the service history like? The common rail turbo diesels are good, with the most recent ones putting out similar power figures to their petrol equivalents. The only problem with common rails is they are VERY sensitive to fuel quality ie water in the fuel, which can, and does, happen at even the big servos, and the fix is quite expensive. Other than that they are great. I definately think it may be a transmission issue also. there is a crunching in first and second gear, i took it to holden and they said its a bit louder than normal, but nothing to worry about...it obviously is lol. i think it just might be this specific car because i got it for very cheap. im probably not going to spend any more money on it otherwise defeats purpose of cheap car. I now have a better understanding that it is probably not all commodores. i think i might opt for the auto this time. what type of diesels are reliable/powerful? e.g nissan navara? Thanks Dicko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 thanks everyone for their input, theres some really informative stuff here. Does anyone own a TRD Hilux? if so how do they perform with a boat on the end of them? Cheers, Stan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Whoa! TRD! Is there one for sale somewhere? They are hard to come by. They are a limited edition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DANDRE Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Mate, Towing a 700-800kg formosa with a BA Falcon with no problem. would agree with the others. something wrong with the car. went down to JB at average 95k/h with no issues. i noted though fuel quality had a significant impact. went down on vpower which was great. came back up on the local stuff and the car struggled. cheers. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafinx Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 obviously a large diesel 4wd would be the better option, and not to mention the fact that the super high low end torque they put out means that it does not matter too much on if its manual or auto, I believe its just the fact its manual, is the main issue, I work for holden (3rd yr apprentice) and my mate also has a vt commadore in auto, he tows his 4.8m boat on his and is not having any dramas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 i think the heard have spoken...time for a new AUTO commodore which wont break the bank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budzsta Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 You have to go Monaro, SS or a HSV... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudboy Posted January 24, 2011 Share Posted January 24, 2011 Go for a prado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted January 24, 2011 Author Share Posted January 24, 2011 thanks again everyone for all the info and support! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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