Need good tow vehicle - 110/RR?

I must admit, i get beaten by big 10+ ton trucks off the line. they have the edge on me until i get into 4th gear (at 50k/hr), by then i have a few metres to make up but push straight past. but up to 50ks they beat me comprehensively. i spend half the time waiting for the bloody synchros to get there act together.

Sam.

-snip-

That's my problem. Pretty soon the government are probably going to tax the hell out of anything that is actually rated to tow my espresso trailer. I need something that can tow 2.5t and has a decent amount of weight. That leaves a transit probably as the only vehicle that isn't a 4x4 but is still large enough?

That would do me fine!

On or around Wed, 01 Jun 2005 14:22:01 +0100, Danny enlightened us thusly:

take note that the engine is big and heavy and non-standard, though; it should have had uprated front springs fitted. It may or may not be undergeared - the V8 discos, are, it seems to me, lower geared than the TDis at that vintage; or looking at it another way, the later 300TDi we have here shows lower revs than my "200" V8 at a given road speed.

I would also be worried about putting that power through a standard xfer and gearbox?

I've heard those engines are not so good due to the narrow rev-range..?

Regards. Mark.

On or around Wed, 01 Jun 2005 18:15:57 +0100, Danny enlightened us thusly:

I think it said it was an auto, and as such should be strong enough. Half shafts might suffer, I suppose, although not as bad as the Series motors, as you have 4 of 'em sharing the load.

Don't fret. Give 'em a while and they'll ban strong coffee as well....

Just the excuse I need to take my business abroad and sell espresso in France or Spain (or Hungary, given the TV programme on cheap property there this evening!!!) ;)

To tie these together, the later RR Diesels had the 200Tdi engine. This has a lot more power and a lot more torque than the VM unit fitted to most RRCs. I have an 89 RR with a 200Tdi retro-fitted, and it tows 2 tons of boat and trailer with no problem.

-- Pete

Thanks. I used a Def90 for a few weeks whilst my 110 was having a new engine, and with it's 2.5TD engine it pulled the trailer fine, but was very smokey and lost power as the weeks went by. I eventually diagnosed the dreaded blow-by as the rocker breather was pouring out smoke and oil. I assume the 200Tdi would be better than this circa '90 engine?

On or around Fri, 03 Jun 2005 19:58:55 +0100, Danny enlightened us thusly:

TDis are good, generally. A few of 'em overheat and damage heads, but that's mostly due to englect and not due to any specific design faults.

I can offer you a 3.5 V8 disco, with LPG?

I would be interested (once my remortgage is sorted and I can sell the Jeep) - alas, LPG is not available anywhere in Portsmouth, apart from the dealer who installs LPG kit here (Autogas, I think). Southampton has about 7 LPG garages, the nearest to me is about 30 miles :(

On or around Sat, 04 Jun 2005 19:56:19 +0100, Danny enlightened us thusly:

bladdy odd. nowt on the LPGA list either.

'tis odd, here in rural cornwall I have 3 within about 15 miles.

Regards. Mark.

And even I have an LPG outlet down in the village not quite 2 miles away. Donno where the next nearest is though, probably Carlisle 20 odd miles away.

Probably , though it's a bit of an unfair comparison since the 2.5TD was clearly on its way out. Before I bought the Rangie I had a 110 with a 2.5 TD, and the 200Tdi has more torque and more power. There are probably more Discos running around with this engine than RRs though.

-- Pete

Thanks.