SHETLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION

I will be buying my 1st shetland 570 near the end of the year to use at loch lomand next season.I have a place to store my boat but will need to use the slip at balloch when i want to go out. my question is what would be the best car to buy to toe and slip her in.Im thinkin an oil burner no matter what and ive got a shortlist of 3 cars, a rover 75 cdti trourer,a rav4 and a freelander.

does anybody have any experiance of toeing using these cars and are they ok to toe a boat of the 570 size.

any help would be great guys :)

I tow a Family four with a Renault Scenic Petrol engine though so poor mpg ! But am awaiting my new car in June which is a Ford Kuga 2.0 Ltr Turbo Diesel which is four wheel drive, 163 bhp, with a 2100 kg max towable load rating . Boat ,trailer ,and all ancillaries weigh in at 1380 kg so will have plenty in hand !

We have a Kia Sorento and its ideal. Previously we have also used a suzuki Grand Vitaria and a Rav 4

@ladydawn. I work at a ford dealership in glasgow lol. I like the kuga but i think the 1st gen is a better looker and remember to blast it on the motorway to aid the dpf regen.

@admin. Im kinda swaying between the 75 and the rav. I have a zt-t 190 at the moment so i know what to expect with a 75 and it comes with a bmw engine which is pretty bullit proof but dont know what it would be like to toe/slip a boat. I know nanty about rav4s tho lol but i asume rightly or wrongly that its a 4x4 so must be better for what i need ;)

Me female. Cars have to be comfortable and a good sun visor mirror so I can put my lippy on. Yada yada yada. hubby rates the Rav, it did what it said on the tin

“its a 4x4 so must be better for what i need”

It depends where you’re gonna launch and retrieve. Excuse me if I’m teaching a Grandmother to suck eggs, but bear in mind that the steeper the slope and the higher the water, the easier it is to float the boat on and off (my rig is a 4 Plus 2 on an Indespension Super Roller Coaster 5.5). The rear wheels of the tow vehicle should be in the water as far as possible without water getting into the hubs (or rear axle if you go for a Land Rover). In these ideal circumstances, any decent FWD vehicle will get off the slip.

BUT, Balloch is pretty tidal and if you’ve had to reverse a long way down before you can get the boat on the trailer, the slip will be wet and slippery and could catch you out. I’m biased ’cos I’ve got a Defender to move the boat, but if you can stretch to a Freelander you won’t regret it as far as towing, launching and retrieval is concerned.

Peter

We towed a 535 very happily with Honda CRV's mk 1 and 2, we have towed our 570 with CRV' mk 3 a shogun 3.5 petrol, a mitsubishi pickup and currently a Mercedes saloon 3.5 diesel which performs wonderfully, in all instances regardless of the vehicle when necessary we use a rope extension from trailer to the tow bar but of course it always depends on the individuality of he slip. Making sure the boat and trailer are fitted/balanced correctly and that the vehicle is within the parameters of what it is going to be towing are obviously the key factors, good luck, and always be prepared for an audience when you are launching or recovering, inevitably they seem to appear from nowhere by the bus load!!!! Dee and Martin
I perhaps should also add we have an indispension roller coaster trailer that is spec'd for a heavier boat than our 570, and Martin works on the basis when ever we are recovering that the trailer should not be too deep in the water, ie let the boat momentum, the water and the winch do the work, I am generally on the boat whilst Martin is by the trailer, slow and steady works for us, having said that wind regularly plays a major part of blowing you off your aim, not to mention with our old trailer the wire winch snapping as Martin was winding her on and slashing his arm open.... Of course all in front of a bus load of observers! All in a days boating!

cheers peter for the advise,my mate uses an old volvo for towing his bayliner capri and seems to think that a 75 will be ideal for what i need. I on the otherhand am a bit unsure on his "you dont need a 4x4 ya plum,your wasting your money" statment lol.
Either way ive got a while to think about it and to see what the other folk are using at the lock this year :)

Hi

the slips there are great and we have launched a 570/ blackhawk with the following cars

Mazda 6 estate
Ford Mondeo
Renault Laguna
Nissan Primera

All have been fine for loch lomond and 90% of other places. Dont get me wrong i would love a 4 x 4 but fuel costs are silly for us and hence any big family with good MPG will be used instead!

So if you can afford the running costs of the 4 x4 go for it but for what you are doing it is a nice to have no a must have.


Dave

Im thinking to stick with what i know as i can get a 75 cdti tourer for peenuts nowerdays and they are pretty bullit proof with a tourqy engine too. :)