Towing Advice with D3

[Rockylizard]

Gday...
We have a Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto which we have now had for about 2 months. We tow a 23ft Golden Eagle van - 2700kg.

The D3 tows it effortlessly and we are quite impressed with its ability, economy and comfort. Not having to muck around with a WDH as we had to with our previous vehicle has been good as well.

We have come up from Victoria and have been vanning around outback NSW - Griffith, Balrandald, Mildura, Wentworth, Broken Hill and Menindee - and have been towing in Drive using cruise control at 85kph/1900rpm and getting between 14ltr/100km and 15.5ltr/100km. The D3 seems to have no problems with this speed and drops back when it sees fit and uses around 2500rpm up most hills.

Interested in advice from other D3 owners on the suitability of towing in Drive with cruise control. Does the 6-speed ZF gearbox have the durability etc for this task?

Cheers

Julie & John

[Duck's Guts]

Good question.
I'll also be interested in any responses.

[CSBrisie]

certainly no issues for me towing a heaviliy laden Kimberley Kamper; have towed that at least 10,000kms often with cruise and never an issue in 85K,
cheers

[Pat]

Van weighs 3.2 Ton. On highway I use the cruise control & run at 90-95Kph, no problems in towing, cruise control will disengage if it feels a problem. 23k of actual towing in last 2 years.

[sniegy]

With towing on a regular basis with a reasonably heavy trailer, I would STRONGLY recommend servicing the gearbox. Hint Hint......:)

Search on the D3/4 section to see what is on offer.

It will give new life to your gearbox, it loves fresh fluid.

Cheers.

[CaverD3]

Agree with sniegy, gearbox flush more regularly when towing will prevent issues with the box.

See:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/d3-d4-rrs/105951-atf-group-buy.html

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - ATF Group Buy? (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic51270.html)

[TDV6]

We tow an off-road van at around 1900rpm approx 93kph. We have been around OZ, plus various other trips in the last five years. Generally I leave it in cruise control and auto but if I see a long hill coming up then I put it in sport mode and drop back a gear to 4th to maintain momentum up the hill.

We have had a steel pan fitted to the auto plus ATF oil change, which improved both how the car drove and fuel consumption while towing.

The auto box wont let you put too much strain on the gears, let it do its job and enjoy the scenery that's passing bye.

Regards,

Ryall