maxtherotti Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 hi all as you may know i have a disco but i need a motor with more interior space!! so im looking at either a vw transporter or a merc vito but i need to know what they tow like? tow item is my caravan so 26foot and 1900kg ill be looking at the older models due to budget restraints so 638 model vito (fwd) or early t4 transporter also does anyone have one they want to do a deal with my mint 98 disco es tdi manual ??? thanks rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason110 Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Our boat club used an ex-AA T4 to tow a rowing boat trailer, it was loaded with about 450kg of boat and gear the boat trailer was a dirty great big twin axel thing, that weighed a fair bit!! It towed pretty well, it was a 2.8 td I believe with about 130k on the clock can't say much else sorry, was only a passenger! Jase Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iomlt Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 a friend of mine had a Vito (new one) with hd clutch and uprated tow pack option (i believe there are two options) and with a near maxium load on a braked trailer the clutch would slip up steap hills.... :S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactus Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 Vito is carp at towing..... Why do you need more room than a Disco??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtherotti Posted February 10, 2010 Author Share Posted February 10, 2010 because my dog cant lie down in the back anymore also dont help as it has rear aircon fitted tho Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Twig Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 We have the newest Vito's at our Uni, have no prob with those, fully loaded with 9 people + kit inside, then trailer with 9 kayaks/surfboards on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 The old FWD Vito is not good at towing! The New RWD Vito is very nice and I have towed 2500kg behind me with no problems, The Ultimate is the Vito I have now, 4WD 115D 150hp and 330nm torque from nothing up! Actually tows as well as my 318 Sprinter up to my personal 70mph limit, easily safe at that speed! Drove it last year to Italy with a 1800kg car inside my covered trailer, over the mountains and up the hairpins, and it drove perfectly!! highly recommended!! Lara PS. Mine is an Auto with tiptronic! Wonderful box!!! and no clutch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtherotti Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 so have you used the older 638 (fwd version rwd is the 639) for towing then lara? why is it no good? and yours sounds ideal but too expensive for my wallet tho rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppy Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 The clutch in my 90 died just before Christmas - Me and two colleagues recovered the Ninety 25 miles to my mechanic with a works Vito. (X Reg, FWD with i think the 1.9 engine). Had no problems at all, pulled like a train. ...and this was during the cold snap with horrendous icy conditions towing a disabled (and laden!) LR up some very steep gradients. Bit scary for me in the ninety though! I should mention though that, even though in my experience the Vito's engines are bulletproof, the bodywork - especially on the old models is very fragile. Door locks and catches in particular are very prone to failure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forkrentfitter Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 older cdi engined vito.s are a real lottery,akin to a p38rr.glow plugs fail and snap as you try to remove them,injectors leak,electrics play up,paint falls off,gear change linkage goes sloppy,immobilisers are unreliable,heater motors fail,they are built in spain not germany,t4 transporters as a 1.9 are gutless,most are only 88 bhp,the 2.5 is better,such as the ex aa ones,they suffer gearbox failures though,don,t ask me how i know all this though.all joking apart you would be better off with a ssangyong/daewoo musso for what you are wanting to do and take the rear seats out,they run a 2.9 merc td engine,£2000 will buy you a year 2000 one,the daewoo came with the first 3 years servicing included in purchase price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacr2man Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 (edited) 1900kg is going to be right at upper legal limit for these vans , and t4 a bit low on power, AA ones were chipped to about 120 . A sub 7.5 ton dual cab might be a better bet for a lot of towing without pushing everything to its limit , which tends to create expensive maintenance. JMHO ps just a thought would a 130td5 dchcpu do the job ? Edited February 12, 2010 by tacr2man Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtherotti Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 1900kg is going to be right at upper legal limit for these vans , and t4 a bit low on power, AA ones were chipped to about 120 . A sub 7.5 ton dual cab might be a better bet for a lot of towing without pushing everything to its limit , which tends to create expensive maintenance. JMHO ps just a thought would a 130td5 dchcpu do the job ? cant go for a large commercial dont want to look too pikey lol starting to think maybe a 110 csw or a landcruiser will be better pick up is no good tho swmbo wont allow the dog to be in the back lololol rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 Hi there, Yes, I had a front wheel drive 112 manual originally, was the most expensive thing I ever bought (except the Landy ;o) Repairs after repairs!! about 3 gearboxes, clutches all sorts, And for towing it was all over the place unless we loaded the back with about 200kg and right up front of the load area!! otherwise the wheels had no grip / steering etc The new ones are Sooooooooooooooooooooooo much better, and the 4wd auto is a marvel!! Lara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtherotti Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 your 4wd auto sounds ideal and way out of my budget lol i need to clarify i know exactly what a 638 vito (and 639 up to 2007 for that matter) as i used to be a merc commercial tech and was a merc service 24 tech too so im fully aware of the leaking injectors/pumps etc and dash faults etc etc o and rust (will remind me of a landy ) i just needed to know how they tow big loads it sounds like they wont really be suitable for my needs tho so how much more interior room is there in a 110/landcruiser/p38/surf over a disco?? thanks rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 have you discounted a shogun? they offer quite a bit of boot space owing to them being a proper 7 seater. best of all they seem to be really cheap at the moment. Have toured a somewhat tired 1991 v6 round iceland, which had 390000km on the clock and apart from a few fuses it was fine. i'm led to believe the diesels are either slow, 2.5, or thirsty, 2.8, so maybe the v6 is the one to have. we managed 20mpg over about 350km (first fill up), much of which was off road and i was quite surprised by that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtherotti Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 have you discounted a shogun? they offer quite a bit of boot space owing to them being a proper 7 seater. best of all they seem to be really cheap at the moment. Have toured a somewhat tired 1991 v6 round iceland, which had 390000km on the clock and apart from a few fuses it was fine. i'm led to believe the diesels are either slow, 2.5, or thirsty, 2.8, so maybe the v6 is the one to have. we managed 20mpg over about 350km (first fill up), much of which was off road and i was quite surprised by that. i had one of them not too long ago and all tho they drive ok fuel consumption was shocking (v6 24v)and spares prices was high too rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
callum Posted February 12, 2010 Share Posted February 12, 2010 hmm, been there and tried that then. maybe its why they're cheap. in their favour there are plenty in the scrapyards for bits at least. unfortunately, i think with your disco, you have one of the more efficient 4x4's of that era. can i ask what mpg you got on road with your shogun? was it running larger than standard rubber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxtherotti Posted February 12, 2010 Author Share Posted February 12, 2010 my shogun was a 96 p reg 3000 v6 auto running 33x12.5x15 tyres (only mod) and i never got better than 21mpg even if i drove like a nun made the bmw 740 i sport auto i got rid of for it seem practical at 26mpg the disco does 35mpg on a run and 30mpg round town still knocks in 24/26mpg towing rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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