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Best T31 for towing

3K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  Ahto42 
#1 ·
So currently I have a T30 which I hope is repairable, it's not then I need a replacement car which i would start with looking at the T31.
I need to tow a 5 birth caravan 1445kg unloaded and a small trailer for tip runs and general moving stuff but not both at the same time!

Looking at both manual and automatic in diesel just wondering what is the best model of engine to what I need to do?
 
#2 ·
I haven't towed with my manual T31 as haven't had it long ,it's the 148hp one ,I have a trailer full of rubbish for the tip next week though :smile: .I haven't seen any auto models about more than 148hp, but manual models seem to came in both 148hp or 170hp so you would have a bit more help with towing with the 170hp model .I am sure someone with an auto who tows regular will be along shortly. I would say the T31 will be better than my old 06' T30 dci though just by the general performance and handling of it while driving at the moment anyway ,will let you know :thumbs:
 
#4 ·
I tow a small trailer with my diesel auto T31, mainly for taking stuff to the tip, but I also tow a caravan. My caravan is an old one though, which tend to be lighter. It weighs under 1,000kg laden and my X Trail barely knows it's there, so I often find myself checking the mirrors to see if it still is! :cool:

Incidentally, that small trailer is a nightmare to tow, as I can't see the darned thing and I can't feel it on the back either.
 
#6 ·
Ahto42 said:
Ahto42 said:
Diesel
automatic 150hp 1350kg.
Manual 150hp 2000kg
Manual 170hp 2200kg.
But i have towed like 2tons with the auto :roll:
Doesn't surprise me at all to be honest. The way mine tows 1 ton it feels like it could cope with far more, easily. Nissan don't seem that confident about their auto box, which does rather surprise me. It is a huge difference in the towing weights between the auto version and the manual.
 
#7 ·
I am looking for the auto side of things because my wife can only drive automatic so then we can have 2 cars to share and my left hip is starting to give me gip so being up and down the box when towing the caravan is making going away not too much fun!
I know when I was looking for my current x trail I spent weeks looking for a diesel automatic to then discover they didn't exist in the T30!
 
#8 ·
fasthearse said:
I am looking for the auto side of things because my wife can only drive automatic so then we can have 2 cars to share and my left hip is starting to give me gip so being up and down the box when towing the caravan is making going away not too much fun!
I know when I was looking for my current x trail I spent weeks looking for a diesel automatic to then discover they didn't exist in the T30!
I had exactly the same thing! I was looking for a diesel automatic for ages before I realised that they weren't available in T30 versions. I'm glad I finally found just the T31 I was looking for though, although it did take me over a year. Nearly two in fact. I too have a bit of a dodgy left hip, probably from all the gear changing I did when I drove coaches for years! They were nearly all manual boxes back then.

I wanted a diesel for towing my caravan, and I haven't bought a manual box car since back in the 80s, and I didn't have that one long before going back to automatics. I got my first auto back in the early 1970s, and I'll never go back again!
 
#10 ·
Looks sadly like you're going to be out of luck if your van is 1425 as you'd be over the limit for the auto sadly at 1350kg. Although it would tow it you'd be bu66ered for insurance. Can't think why it is so much less than the 150 manual and can only be down to the auto box; same with engine tune limiting 150 to auto's.

I can tell you the clutch on my T31 Facelift is incredibly light. Last week my son borrowed mine in snow to get his partner to work for EAAA. I ended up with her 2010 Audi A3. The clutch on that gave me leg ache!

Not long after buying mine and before it was tuned we hired a car trailer to collect a BMW 530 my son had bought but needed some work for MOT so couldn't be driven. Car weighed in at just under 1600kg and after a few calls I managed to get a trailer that would take the weight and still come within limits - trailer weighed in 500kg with winch. I hadn't had the car all that long so it was good to get used to this long trailer behind when fetching the car - approx 60 miles. Car loaded easily and after making 200% sure it was strapped down off we went. Firstly I was shocked how easily we moved off and after about 5 miles I felt comfortable with this big load behind me. It drove incredibly well and at no point did I find it worrying. Only downside was car delivered around 32mpg but cruised easily at 50. So it's worth considering as I'm sure others will have a light clutch.
 
#11 ·
Oh ******!I think that put pay to that idea then of a T31 then I need something to be able to tow the caravan and the whole idea of changing to auto is so I have a car my wife can drive if she needs to borrow and when we are on holiday I don't have to do all the driving she cant tow becshe she has not had he license long enough.
Had a quick look at a Mazda cx 5 online that has a 2.2 diesel auto and the data on that says its rated for 2000kg for towing braked
 
#12 ·
Yeh it seems weird as the same gearbox in Renault can tow higher loadings. When you consider the cars capability it's a real puzzler and shuts off a large section of the market to them. It's the same for the T32 as well. 1500kg auto and 2000kg manual.

The Freelander though can tow max 2000kg even in Auto form so T31 170hp is better with an additional 200kg. We'd not have been able to collect that car in a Freelander lol
 
#14 ·
Norfolk Jim said:
Yeh it seems weird as the same gearbox in Renault can tow higher loadings. When you consider the cars capability it's a real puzzler and shuts off a large section of the market to them. It's the same for the T32 as well. 1500kg auto and 2000kg manual.

The Freelander though can tow max 2000kg even in Auto form so T31 170hp is better with an additional 200kg. We'd not have been able to collect that car in a Freelander lol
Yes it is weird. When I think I once moved an 8 ton coach, probably admittedly only about 15 yards, with a Mk2 Cortina automatic when a more powerful manual Mk3 Cortina couldn't budge it an inch.................. I had a temperature gauge on the gearbox and it didn't even overheat, and it didn't appear to suffer any other ill effects either. That same Cortina of mine was also used to recover a broken down Landrover on a transporter trailer from just outside great Yarmouth to Kings Lynn. Did the job no problem at all. Yet an automatic 4x4 X Trail can't tow more than 1350kg??? I think my old transporter trailer on its own weighed nearly that.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I ordered a cvt cooler that has the oil lines. When it arrives then i will tri to adapt it to the transmission to install the aux oil cooler.
It does not raise the towing mass in the documents (with my driving licence I can tow 1325kg), but I know that I will use an overweight trailer sometimes and I want that the oil does not overheat.
Tiki Treiler Keevis 327-DLH 3.27x1.5 40 cm ääred + plastkaas Similar to this trailer.
 
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