110 towing capacity - no where near 3500kg

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not so sure about a big caravan with all the weight at the ends.

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There is Nothing stopping anyone from making sure that all the weight of the van is NOT in the arse end of it.
Like I said before common sense is at a "Premium" in Aus[bigwhistle]

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Originally Posted by trout1105

There is Nothing stopping anyone from making sure that all the weight of the van is NOT in the arse end of it.
Like I said before common sense is at a "Premium" in Aus[bigwhistle]

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But where are you going to put the generator, 2 bikes, 2 spare wheels and firewood etc if not right at the back of a 3 tonne van? - then complain it doesn’t tow like it used to… [emoji38]

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Originally Posted by Homestar

But where are you going to put the generator, 2 bikes, 2 spare wheels and firewood etc if not right at the back of a 3 tonne van? - then complain it doesn’t tow like it used to… [emoji38]

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If its not on the back then the only place is on the front of the draw bar. :lol2: 700kg ball weight will make it tow better. :twobeers:

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Originally Posted by Homestar

But where are you going to put the generator, 2 bikes, 2 spare wheels and firewood etc if not right at the back of a 3 tonne van? - then complain it doesn’t tow like it used to… [emoji38]

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This is the very reason why I bought a 79 Series Workmate ute[thumbsupbig]

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Originally Posted by dirvine

As I said too much "stuff" in the car. Simple. What you are trying to do you need a proper truck type vehicle. For what you are wanting to achieve no "normal" 4wd Ute or passenger type vehicle is fit for that purpose. FWIW they can tow 3.5t in as such a van or campertrailer, even though they say in the ads they can tow anything that is 3.5T, which to some extent you have proved otherwise. Perhaps get a Unimog, that will tow what you want!

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Yeah but we ain’t towing for the trip and we are within weights……

So all good……I was kinda trying to point out that your rear axle weight will be you limiting factor.

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

Depending on the variant of the defender you have and the tow pack you have fitted,

roughly

3500 if you have abs
4000-4500 depending on which tow pack you have fitted.

Unlike the discovery the defender does not list a ball weight included in the vehicle loading and has a reccomended towball load of 75kg for the pre 99s and 150kg for the post 99's (from the rave copy of the UHB)

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While there might not be a max. Towball weight nominated for defenders, the manufacturer of my tow bar has it limited to 250kg

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Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

Totally agree.

10% is a fear/selling ruse by aftermarket people to sell stuff.
And by van manufacturers that cant control their weight distribution.

I mean EVERYONE needs slate benchtops... right?

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Is that set in stone?[tonguewink]

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Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

Depending on the variant of the defender you have and the tow pack you have fitted,

roughly

3500 if you have abs
4000-4500 depending on which tow pack you have fitted.

Unlike the discovery the defender does not list a ball weight included in the vehicle loading and has a reccomended towball load of 75kg for the pre 99s and 150kg for the post 99's (from the rave copy of the UHB)

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Hi Dave,
Both the LR owners book and the Hayman Reese tow bar for my 95 130 say 4000kg towing and 120kg ball weight.

Tony

We can quickly go down a rabbit hole discussing towing hearsay and rules of thumb. There are a lot of variables that come into play if you try to come up with simple advice. Length of towing A frame on trailer, relative position of towball to rear axle position, single axle trailer versus tandem and weight distribution. But before going down a rabbit hole, the OP point was that when fully loaded there is not much scope left for towball weight if you want to stay within the capacity of the rear axle of the tow vehicle. As for towing, stay within the allowed limits, set up good brakes on your trailer and load your trailer with the weight as close as possible to the trailer axles. I’ll stop before going to far down the rabbit hole.

To go further into the science of stability of towing combinations we have to have an understanding of what contributes to vehicle steering characteristics such as under steering and then we have to understand moments. After all that I am not sure that we would have a rule for all to use.

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Originally Posted by slug_burner

We can quickly go down a rabbit hole discussing towing hearsay and rules of thumb. There are a lot of variables that come into play if you try to come up with simple advice. Length of towing A frame on trailer, relative position of towball to rear axle position, single axle trailer versus tandem and weight distribution. But before going down a rabbit hole, the OP point was that when fully loaded there is not much scope left for towball weight if you want to stay within the capacity of the rear axle of the tow vehicle. As for towing, stay within the allowed limits, set up good brakes on your trailer and load your trailer with the weight as close as possible to the trailer axles. I’ll stop before going to far down the rabbit hole.

To go further into the science of stability of towing combinations we have to have an understanding of what contributes to vehicle steering characteristics such as under steering and then we have to understand moments. After all that I am not sure that we would have a rule for all to use.

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The rule you are looking for is called Common Sense[thumbsupbig]
If the trailer you are towing feels unstable simply stop and rearrange the load, It's not rocket science.