Land Rover Sport Beware

[woodedareas]

I own a 2006 Land Rover Sport. I thought this would be a great vehicle to tow my new 25 Safari. I had the Land Rover dealer install a hitch and a brake controller which is not a common practice for Land Rover. Fotunately I was reading one of the Forums and learned of a diconnection problem involving an Airstream 28 and a Land Rover. After further investigation I realized that the hitch can not support my 25 footer. The dealer appoligized and will refund my money. So I have settled on a Ford 150 which can do the pulling with ease and safety.The Land Rover is a great 4 wheel drive vehicle but the company is far behind U.S. manufacturers in terms of towing. Thanks to this forum I possibly averted a very serious problem.

[BillTex]

Welcome to the forum!

As you have found out, towing ability is more than just hp numbers...
If you haven't pulled the trigger yet on that F150 you may even consider going with an F250. The F150 is still border line for a 25'er.
My opinion anyway, yes it is probbably within specs (double check) but towing a 25'er with a 1/2 ton is no picnic. Much more comfortable, and safe. with a 3/4 ton truck.

Good luck, Bill

[A-Merry-Can]

land rovers tow fine... in england. you should see their campers. i think ia BIG one over there is 18-20 feet. ha!

jp

[Happycampers]

Hello... We had a GMC half ton and it towed the 25' Tradewind and the 26' Argosy with ease EXCEPT on the mountains and we have since traded to a 30' Argosy and a 28' 5th wheel and the truck to a F250 Diesel and will never look back as far as ease of towing thru the mountains.. but a half ton will tow nicely if not dealing with mountains

[Melody Ranch]

Sorry about your experience with the Rover. BUT......the Forems had many comments on the unsuitability of a Land Rover for towing. Better look at F-150 in the Forems now.

[Janet H]

Also consider keeping the rover as a daily driver and buying a used full sized van as a tow vehicle. Built on truck chassis, available w/big engines , loads of em available and CHEAP.

Just a thought..

[Jim Clark]

Originally Posted by woodedareas

I own a 2006 Land Rover Sport. I thought this would be a great vehicle to tow my new 25 Safari. I had the Land Rover dealer install a hitch and a brake controller which is not a common practice for Land Rover. Fotunately I was reading one of the Forums and learned of a diconnection problem involving an Airstream 28 and a Land Rover. After further investigation I realized that the hitch can not support my 25 footer. The dealer appoligized and will refund my money. So I have settled on a Ford 150 which can do the pulling with ease and safety.The Land Rover is a great 4 wheel drive vehicle but the company is far behind U.S. manufacturers in terms of towing. Thanks to this forum I possibly averted a very serious problem.

I tow my 25-foot Safari with a F150 Supercrew. The truck is adequate for the task but is on the borderline. I don’t feel it is necessary to trade the truck but when the time comes I will go with an F250 Diesel. If you are buying now you may want to kick it up a notch. The F150 will do ok on the flat and small hills, but will work hard otherwise. I tow with OD off.

Jim

[AZstreamin]

I love Rovers they are excellent off road vehicles. I'm glad you came to this realization about her towing ability before you found out the bad way. On the F150 –vs- F250 decision I'd offer a couple of benefits we've found with the F250 PSD
Integrated telescoping tow mirrors (no need to strap on the after market mirrors)
Tow Command and Integrated Trailer brake system. (no need to add a brake control)
The Diesel engine... what can I say it’s a work horse. Fuel costs more but you make up for it in fuel economy.
The ability to climb any mountain anywhere in this country. This in my opinion gives you more freedom from worry about traveling anywhere. Seriously consider where really want to travel, Alaska? Canadian Rockies? Colorado? Will this be your last Airstream or is a 30' next on the wish list? All things to think about.
Good Luck
Safe Travels.

[Fyrzowt]

I towed my 25' Safari to yellowstone and back with no problems at all with my '96 Chevy Tahoe - a 1/2 ton chassis, 350 engine. Towed like a dream.
If money were no issue I WOULD opt for the F250/2500 with a diesel engine, but we did great with the Tahoe.

Although Land Rover make great off road vehicles, they have one of the worst reliability records of almost any 4x4's on the road. I say this having worked for Land Rover out of corporate headquarters in Lanham Md. for a number of years. I traveled the U.S training sales when they brought Discovery to the States. I trained at the factory in the U.K. as well as the U.S. and later supervised construction of Land Rover Centres from Chicago to Tampa. I love Land Rovers but they don't make very good tow vehicles( except for the 101 Forward Control) and you better have deep pockets to own one for any length of time.

[TinShack]

2006 F150 (5.4 V8) tow ratings range from 7900-9900 pounds depending on vehicle type, wheelbase and axle ratio. GVWR rating for AS 25' Safari is 7300-7500 pounds depending on model. If your F150 is a 5.4 V8 with a 144.5" wheelbase and either a 3.73 or 4.10 axle ratio, and not a Harley-Davidson package, you should be fine. I would make sure it has a transmission cooler and oil cooler. It may tow a little slow up steep grades.

I towed a 7000 pound 5th wheel with my F150 for 5 years and it did just great. With a running start it would tow 55 mph up a 5% grade....providing nobody pulled out in front of me and slowed me down.

I would go with the F250 Powerstroke diesel if you can swing it. You'll be much happier with the towing.

[dmac]

I tow my 2003 Safari 25 with a 2005 F-150 4X4 Supercrew and the 5.4 liter engine, 3.73 gearing, and tow package. It works just fine... even in the mountains... with one exception: I installed a digital transmission temperature gauge and it reads too high (210 F) when climbing long mountain passes in the summer. I will be adding an electric fan to the existing factory transmission cooler before my next trip... others have reported 20 - 30 F temp drop with a fan.

The new Safari 25's have a GVWR of ~7,300 lbs, while mine is rated at 6,300 lbs. My truck is rated to tow 9,200 lbs. Don't get the Harley Davidson package, as it reduces the tow rating to 5,100 lbs!

See http://www.fordvehicles.com/assets/p...series9-18.pdf

The F250 would be nice for towing, but seemed to be overkill for the other 90% of the time I use the truck for errands, driving to work, etc... YMMV

[Silvertwinkie]

The F-150 will do just fine. I'm glad you realized the LR wasn't up to the task. I know first hand how hard a pill it is to be all happy, have the HP and torque, only to find, it's not gonna do it. Been there, done that....now have a Suburban.....though I have to admit, I got a lot of folks saying, wow, that Super Sport pulls that 25'? and it looked neat, unlike the bus that tows it now, but it is safer and I couldn't be happer having done it....you will too.

When we gonna see you at a midwest rally....you're right down the street from me practically.

[TIMEMACHINE]

We tow our 06 Safari 25FB/SE with a F250 PSD and wouldn't even consider a F150. It may be legal with a light load, really light, but if you put anything in your truck bed and load the AS for a trip, my bet is that you will surpass the legal limit in some category. You might get away with a F150 with an older 25' AS, but not the 07 25'. If you have a Rover my guess is the step up to a F250 from a F150 is not a problem.

John