I'm tempting fate again by looking at shinies

RichMayo · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:45 pm Post subject:

I thought that was only the 3.0D and that's 3000kg capacity from my googling. Thought the bigger engines were 3500kg? Listed on Toyota site as Land Cruiser V8 - and it looks plenty shiny...

RichMayo · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 4:53 pm Post subject:

I think the recent Grand Cherokee has the right towing capacity and a fancy enough 4wd system too ... and again it looks shiny Smile

** GED ** · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:13 pm Post subject:

you said you wanted a snow plough......

RichardD · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:12 pm Post subject:

RichardD · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:22 pm Post subject:

RichMayo · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:31 pm Post subject:

Just looked at the jeep website. Says 3500kg in grand cherokee, specs, weights section. Think some of the petrols models pre '11 have less than 3500.

RichardD · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:52 pm Post subject:

I'm on my phone so websites are pants.

Cheers, I'll take a look at that as a much needed 3rd option.

mike328 · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 10:08 pm Post subject:

** GED ** · Posted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 11:31 pm Post subject:

RichardD · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 7:06 am Post subject:

Well spotted. Now just point that out to my local council and we're sorted.

It's always fun when there's massive cross thread pollenisation Rolling Eyes

RichardD · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 9:27 am Post subject:

Back on this topic .....

Good call on the Grand Cherokee, it looks lovely and of course I can now drool over the SRT with the hemi engine Cool

(although it has ZERO towing capacity because of the central exhaust)

Towing: it says "up to 3500kg" and after talking to a dealer its only the bottom spec model with the lower engine power that doesn't have 3500kg towing capacity.

I'm passing the dealer tomorrow at some point and will take 30 mins to take a wee look. Can't/don't want to afford a new one so I wonder how old I'd need to go to get one for less than the £24k trade price my 110 is.

More options are always good Cool

Although .... I've been playing around with the seat on the 110 and some of the junk, sorry, accessories I've got cluttering the place up and now I've got loads more space and its all much more comfy Wink

RichardD · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 12:12 pm Post subject:

Back from a vaccine delivery via the 'local' Jeep dealer ....

If I was coming from a Volvo XC then the Grand Cherokee would be a shoe in. What a lovely car and there some mega deals on but for me the sloping rear door means you lose 30% of the boot space for boxy luggage. It may have 3,500kg tow capacity and low range with an open central diff but it definitely in the 'car with skills' section rather than jazzed up van with windows.

Then I sat in the 4 door Wrangler ......

BRILLIANT. Okay its too small and the removable plastic roof will be noisy on motorways and the roll cage gets in the way, its too small in the back for adults and it's pretty yet ugly but it totally floats my boat.

If the new Defender is going to be a slightly bigger version of the 4 door wrangler with the reliability of the Hilux then they will take over the world.

So, I need enough cash to buy a 2 door Wrangler for the sheer thrill of it, an old Shogun as a tow barge to pull my 90 Challenge Truck, a boring family winter hack ....

Now, why does the Wrangler 4Door have only 2200kg towing capacity? Some say it is the crappy OE towbar fixing, other say its simply a typo and its really 3,200kg ... now that's another thread.

** GED ** · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 1:03 pm Post subject:

told you the wrangler was nice Razz

and the new ones dont make you look like you are wearing comfortable shoes....

RichardD · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 1:45 pm Post subject:

It's good in the pics but in the flesh it is so much better. The one I saw is olive green with a US Army star motif and it looks seriously fun and funky.

I'm so taken with it I'm trying to figure out how to justify having a 2 door just for the sheer fun of it. I may have to test drive it 'just for elimination purposes' Cool

RichardD · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 2:34 pm Post subject:

Oddly enough, Witter's site says their Wrangler tow bar is rated to 3500kg as are the other big 4x4s but bars for smaller cars are rated to 1500kg.

So are Jeep missing a trick?

mike328 · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 8:57 pm Post subject:

there's lots of talk here about towing capability, but not much about what goes on with the rest of the truck, utility wise...what kind of chassis and recovery/anchor points does the jeep have up front in comparison to a defender? could it be made into a pickup if required? or crew cab? can you buy a dog guard or full bulkhead conversion? needs and uses obviously change over a vehicles life in ways we cant imagine and I think the amount of aftermarket support in add on attachments available for landrovers is far superior to what you can get for a jeep...for a random example; what would happen if you're local council replied to a letter "sounds like a good plan, can we arrange a meeting with regards to your request....but do they even make a snow plough to fit a wrangler?" Wink

** GED ** · Posted: Fri Feb 27, 2015 11:09 pm Post subject:

mike328 · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:25 am Post subject:

^^ perfect I like it Very Happy

RichardD · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 6:27 pm Post subject:

Right. I think I've been patient enough and I've given the 110 and Landrover every chance but what I found last night has made my decision for me. I have a serious scunner on.

I got home, jumped out the car all happy it was Friday and I had a weekend of playing with guns, beer and fettling cars in a nice warm garage when something made me look down at the sill. **** - RUST ... on a 2 1/2 year old car, there is rust inside the sill coming from under the paint next to the seat box. I look around the rest of the sills and there's more rust where the rear door seal has worn through the paint. Ok, it will be fixed under warranty when they sort out the damned mess their monkey made last week but that is not the point. Enough.

This morning I went to Landrover who could only find me a basic Disco for silly money so I went off to Mitsubishi to look at either a LWB or SWB Shogun and again rule out an L200. I sat in the SWB Shogun and it is waay too small to back to the LWB. Very nice ... too nice really and do I need such a big vehicle. In chatting to the salesman I realised that I am half way between a Shogun and an L200. Last night I added up how many times I needed to put the rear seats down to carry a load (2 or 3 times) and how often do I do a long journey with back seat passengers (once or twice) so maybe I need to man up and buy a vehicle that suits me and everyone else can just fit in.

The dealer had a crop of 'ex-head office' cars, just in, with low mileage and in perfect nick including a few Shoguns and a few L200s. I spotted a bright (Aztec) red L200 Barbarian, in auto with extras and found it had done only 6500 miles in 18 months. Out for a test drive and it is far quieter than the 110 (what isn't) but not as quiet as a Shogun. The gearbox is great and the engine nice enough. It has all the toys I want, cruise, a/c, Kenwood tft screen BT stereo, reversing camera, Truckman top, load tray etc. I thought about a brand new one - not much more money but lots of extras and 0% finance but I kept a cool head.

So, a straight swap for the 110 (less almost all the accessories I've added) and they threw in an extra year's warranty, 3 free services, a full set of mats, reg number transfer, full valet and a tow bar. I collect it in 10 days once Landrover have fixed their last cock up!

If I don't like it I can sell it in a year but I'm happy with my choice. I'm sad to split from Defenders after almost 10 years but there we have it. The 110 has a residual value of 83% after 2.5 years/40k miles which is not shabby (and I do not care why) ad I've got an "as new" L200 for just under 30% off full price.

One risk I'm taking is the tow limit which is 2,700kg. The new ones have a 3 tonne tow limit and the only difference is a slightly uprated back axle so I'm happy that, if I'm careful to carry all the extra kit in the loadbed rather than the trailer then I'll be totally fine when pulling the 90. Of course there's no issue when taking the Alldays and I only need to worry about the technicality of mis-matched plated capacities.

jojo · Mud Obsessed Joined: 11 Aug 2007 Odometer: 5422

Yea well, looks good on paper etc., but why not do what you really want to do and get your cheque book out and get a new D4 before you regret?

J

RichardD · Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:15 pm Post subject:

** GED ** · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 12:42 am Post subject:

a rusty landrover.

who`d of thunked it. Rolling Eyes

what is the bed covered in?

RichardD · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 7:01 am Post subject:

There's a plastic load liner to match the truckman top including the tailgate cover. It'SPAM Mitsubishi so all covered by the warranty.

I'll post some pictures later, I've got to drop my v5c in to them to start the reg transfer

** GED ** · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 10:23 am Post subject:

the load liners rub the paint through and start the rusting process.

ask them about rubber coating the bed.

RichardD · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 11:05 am Post subject:

Good call.

I can get spray on stuff for about £20 so I do it myself if they won't.

Took me 3 hours this morning to take the 110 back to standard! Some things I will miss.

RichardD · Posted: Sun Mar 01, 2015 5:54 pm Post subject:

Just dropped in the v5 and asked what a fully specc'd brand new one would cost and the cost to change would be £9k rather than the £4k mentioned yesterday

** GED ** · Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 5:37 pm Post subject:

so just to clarify, is this a done deal?

jeepmadmike · Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 8:02 pm Post subject:

L200 thats a curve ball, but you get a lot for your money on a jap pickup, I got fed up with the size of my second navara, I liked the look of the L200 but that was 7 years ago and they had an engine which produced about 4hp so I didn't go there!