Tow Vehicle & Rig Photos

[XStar08]

Mine is a diesel too and yes, you notice that there is a Star behind you but it is still ok to tow/drive. Especially with the 8 gear transmission which mine has. I could imagine that 'only' having half of the weight behind you (Prostar) you won't really notice.

My decision was to go with the expensive X5 because I need the car to travel as well and I did not want to have two cars, one for towing and one for the normal usage. It uses about 9 Liter per 100 km without and 10.2 with the boat behind so not much of a difference there.

[dihrdskir]

Originally Posted by XStar08

Mine is a diesel too and yes, you notice that there is a Star behind you but it is still ok to tow/drive. Especially with the 8 gear transmission which mine has. I could imagine that 'only' having half of the weight behind you (Prostar) you won't really notice.

My decision was to go with the expensive X5 because I need the car to travel as well and I did not want to have two cars, one for towing and one for the normal usage. It uses about 9 Liter per 100 km without and 10.2 with the boat behind so not much of a difference there.

No offence, but most of europe will fit into the back pocket of most US or AUS states. Power and torque figures of most deutsch diesel vehicles are awesome, but out here they don't last. Where the roads are paved and wide,BM's AUDI, VW are all wonderful motor vehicles, but on australian roads that go forever or off road toyota is king. BTW I am a GM fan.

[petermegan]

Originally Posted by dihrdskir

No offence, but most of europe will fit into the back pocket of most US or AUS states. Power and torque figures of most deutsch diesel vehicles are awesome, but out here they don't last. Where the roads are paved and wide,BM's AUDI, VW are all wonderful motor vehicles, but on australian roads that go forever or off road toyota is king. BTW I am a GM fan.

dihrdskir, hate to upset a fellow aussie, but the guy who works for me has a 5yr old Prado with leaking injectors. $3000 fix it job, a common problem apparently. He is not a happy fellow, his prado is his pride and joy. The Toyota's aren't as bullet proof as they used to be. Hilux's are also very lightly built nowadays compared to 10 years ago too. Have fun.

[musicmd]

Originally Posted by XStar08

Mine is a diesel too and yes, you notice that there is a Star behind you but it is still ok to tow/drive. Especially with the 8 gear transmission which mine has. I could imagine that 'only' having half of the weight behind you (Prostar) you won't really notice.

My decision was to go with the expensive X5 because I need the car to travel as well and I did not want to have two cars, one for towing and one for the normal usage. It uses about 9 Liter per 100 km without and 10.2 with the boat behind so not much of a difference there.

For a few years, I pulled my Sea Ray with a Volvo XC60, which was a great vehicle. At the time, my reading found that the Volvo XC60 and BMW X5 were comparable in that way - - - good tow vehicles which were a blast to drive when you weren't towing anything.

When I upgraded to the X-10, however, I needed a bigger tow capacity, so the XC60 went away and we got a Honda Pilot instead. The Honda is definitely more capable as a tow vehicle but not as fun to drive as the XC60.

[ttu]

Originally Posted by musicmd

For a few years, I pulled my Sea Ray with a Volvo XC60, which was a great vehicle. At the time, my reading found that the Volvo XC60 and BMW X5 were comparable in that way - - - good tow vehicles which were a blast to drive when you weren't towing anything.

When I upgraded to the X-10, however, I needed a bigger tow capacity, so the XC60 went away and we got a Honda Pilot instead. The Honda is definitely more capable as a tow vehicle but not as fun to drive as the XC60.

isn't the tow capacity of the Honda Pilot like 4500 lbs? i would think with the X10 and trailer you would be very close to the limit.

i liked the looks of the bmw x5 diesel but the touareg tdi tow capacity was higher so i went with that.

[musicmd]

Originally Posted by ttu

isn't the tow capacity of the Honda Pilot like 4500 lbs? i would think with the X10 and trailer you would be very close to the limit.

i liked the looks of the bmw x5 diesel but the touareg tdi tow capacity was higher so i went with that.

You're right about the Pilot - - - 4500 lbs. So, I'm right at the limit with the X-10 running along behind. However, the Pilot pulls it without a problem and (just as importantly), stops quickly enough when needed. I feel the boat back there but never feel like it is the one in charge.

Personally, I was interested in something with a bit more towing capacity, but my wife really liked the Pilot for its 8 passenger seating, economy and ride.

We also are a mere 3 miles from our regular launch site, so that helps. I did tow it 30+ miles to our winter storage place last Fall and the Pilot did just fine.

This Summer, we want to tow the boat to the nicer lakes just north of us and that will give me a better idea of how the Pilot does on longer trips.

[pmkkdx]

you must have the 4wd Pilot? We were leaning heavily towards a Pilot (2wd) when we upgraded my wife's 4Runner in 2011 but the 2wd model Pilot towing was only rated for 3500 lbs where the 2wd 4Runner was 5000 lbs ... main point that we stayed with the new 4Runner over the Pilot.

[XStar08]

Well, seems (again) that it depends on what country you are living in regarding the allowed tow capacity. For example over here the X5, Touareg, Q7, XC90, Landcruiser, Range, Defender are rated the same, 3'500kg meaning about 7'000 lbs which is the max. for non active braking trailers. To be able to tow an XStar you need to have 3500kg capacity. XC60 is not allowed to tow such loads nore are most of the other SUV's (not even the Nissan Pathfinder is).

I totally agree re the non real off road capabilities of X5 and Co. but that's not what I need and not what they have been built for. If I would live out in the fields/forrest remotely I would use a Toyota Landcruiser (older model) or a Defender.

That said I would prefer to drive around with a 911 instead of a Truck or even X5 but when it comes to towing on very well maintained roads for me the X5 is the best to have (not re the relation price/amount of car you get of course). I also test drove the Range Sport but it was not half as fun to drive as the X5. Not to speak about the BMW IDrive, if you had that once you will miss it even though Mercedes and Audi copied it (but the usability is far better with BMW's system).

[musicmd]

Originally Posted by pmkkdx

you must have the 4wd Pilot? We were leaning heavily towards a Pilot (2wd) when we upgraded my wife's 4Runner in 2011 but the 2wd model Pilot towing was only rated for 3500 lbs where the 2wd 4Runner was 5000 lbs ... main point that we stayed with the new 4Runner over the Pilot.

Yes, the 4WD Pilot is what we have. I was actually looking at the Toyota FJ Cruiser (because I love the look of it and the way it drives), but my wife wanted something with more seating capacity and the Toyota dealer had a used Pilot with 27k miles for a steal.

The Pilot has done admirably well towing the X-10 to date and my wife loves it for hauling around our boys. I have to admit that it is a nice vehicle to drive.

(I still wish I had the FJ Cruiser, but we settled on a good compromise.)

[musicmd]

Originally Posted by XStar08

That said I would prefer to drive around with a 911 instead of a Truck or even X5 but when it comes to towing on very well maintained roads for me the X5 is the best to have (not re the relation price/amount of car you get of course).

This makes sense to me. I have that part of me which would love to have a dedicated tow vehicle with Brahma-bull like towing capacity, but I have the reality of needing vehicles which meet other needs, as well.

However, our Honda Pilot does a nice job towing our X-10. It also hauls kids, camping gear, bicycles, skis, dog, etc., admirably well, and keeps our possessions dry. And, my wife would rather drive this than a pickup with greater towing capacity.

Me - - - well, I didn't get my FJ Cruiser to tow the boat (see my earlier post), but my wife's choice of the Honda Pilot allowed me to buy a VW GTI, which is a blast to drive around town.

I love to drive. Since I can't have dedicated vehicles for towing, for long trips, for performance, for hauling kids and gear - - - I think we have done okay.