Towing 4000 kg with a defender

[SnapHead101]

Hi all,
New to this forum. Does anyone have experience towing a boat (or load) around 3.7 to 4 ton pref with a 130 defender. I've had a 130 for years (rated to 4000 kg) and am about to buy a boat with a towing weight around 3.8 ton. Can the 130 do it?

[George130]

I havn't tried but was given the impression it can fo it not probs. May not be the fasted trip though.

[110county]

Not sure about the 130's but a good friend of mine with an isuzu powered county tows his 3.5 tonne house boat between Port Agutter (Augusta) and Adelaide each year without any probs besides being really slow. Can only just hold fourth on the flat and I mean just. I used to tow my 3 tonne boat with my county and never had any probs also. Just use low range on the ramp and take it easy and allow ppppllllleeeennnnttttyyyy of braking distance. Suppose it may depend on which gearbox you have, have heard that some of the early LT77 5 speeds where weak. So really I have no idea.
What kind of boat? Can I come fishing https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/09/470.jpg?

Luke

[dobbo]

I regularly tow close to 3t in my disco with relative ease (electric brakes) I don't thik 4t (braked) would be a problem for a 130.

I am no expert though

[spudboy]

George - have you been drinking? They were 2 slightly indecipherable sentences!!

Anyway - I can't comment past 2.5 tonnes really (which can be done without any worries apart from l..o..n..g braking distances), but I imagine the car will pushed around A LOT with 4T behind it, making steering interesting and stopping even more interesting.

My 130 is rated at 3500Kg towing capacity (Hayman Reese setup) so probably wouldn't ge game to try 4T.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

legally......i dont think so......


capabilty wise......yes......just make sure the trailer brakes are working......

[George130]

George - have you been drinking? They were 2 slightly indecipherable sentences!!

Anyway - I can't comment past 2.5 tonnes really (which can be done without any worries apart from l..o..n..g braking distances), but I imagine the car will pushed around A LOT with 4T behind it, making steering interesting and stopping even more interesting.

My 130 is rated at 3500Kg towing capacity (Hayman Reese setup) so probably wouldn't ge game to try 4T.

Ops should have checked the spelling. Hiline pointed out that the 130 can. I have only towed 3 ton. That was from Sydney to Canberra and it didn't notice the load till the top poped on the campervan (One of those L300 mitsubies) at 100kmh.

[Tusker]

And pray you don't have to do a hill start at traffic lights..

It's worth practising shifting from lo to hi on the move for these scenarios

Regards
Max P

[spudboy]

This is more info than you probably need, but here is a table of maximum towing weights for various 4x4s. The defender can only do up to 3500Kg, so I think 4000Kg is going to be too much.


(The table is sorted in descending wheelbase) Wheel placementEngineClaimed Max Towed Weight Claimed l/100kVehicleWheelbaseFront TrackRear TrackkW PowerNm TorqueTowballOff RoadOn RoadActual Max Towed WeightWeightGVMGCMCityHwyAvgMadeFord F250 7.3401317361729175684
?
450045004500314642199071N/AN/AN/ABrazilVW Transporter T5 (See notes)340016201620128400100?
?
25002000?1905N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AGermanyHolden Rodeo30501520152596294?200020002000186829003750N/AN/AN/AThailandToyota Land Cruiser 78318014351420122380?350035003500205033006800N/AN/A11.7?Nissan Patrol 3.0297016051625118380 (M)354 (A)200-3503200(M) 2500(A)3200(M) 2500(A)2500(A) 3200(M)23703000N/AN/AN/AN/AJapanNissan Patrol 4.2297016051625114360200-3503500(M)3500(M)3500(M)24403080N/AN/AN/AN/AJapanRange Rover288016291626130390250100035001000 - 350024353050N/A14.49.411.3UKVW Touareg2855164516572307501403500350028002470N/AN/A16.69.812.3Czech RepublicToyota Land Cruiser 100285016201615150430?35003500350026803260N/AN/AN/A11.0JapanBMW X5 (2004)2820157615761504802702700270027002105N/AN/A12.08.09.4USABMW X5 (2003)2820157615761354102702700270027002170N/AN/A12.38.29.7USAMercedes Benz ML270282015551555120400?26502650265021752870N/A12.48.0N/AUSASsangyong Rexton282015501540121340?22702270227020452550N/A12.68.49.9South KoreaLand Rover Defender (Manual)27941486148690300250100035001000 - 350019283500N/AN/AN/AN/AUKToyota Prado2790157515759634325025002500250021702900N/AN/AN/A12.6JapanMitsubishi Pajero DiD278015601560121373250250025002500222028105310N/AN/AN/AJapanSsangyong Musso27551510152088256
?
25002500250019772520N/A14.59.311.1South KoreaHolden Jackaroo2760145514601183332502500250025002125N/AN/AN/AN/AN/A?Audi Allroad C5275715741585132370?2100210021001825N/AN/AN/AN/AN/AGermanyJeep Grand Cherokee269015111511120400?3500350035001989N/AN/AN/AN/A9.7AustriaJeep Cherokee264915241518110360?2800280028001956N/AN/AN/AN/A9.9USALand Rover Discovery254015401560101340250100035001000 - 350021422880638012.79.010.3UK

[spudboy]

OK - that didn't work so well. Here's the link:

http://users.bigpond.net.au/mbg/Trips.htm

The table is at the bottom.

[Omaroo]

I think you'd have to be nuts to try and tow 4 tonnes with a 2 tonne vehicle. It's a very dangerous excercise in my books. Besides - bye-bye clutch.

For this purpose, God invented the V8 diesel F-350 and larger trucks.

[tracker]

good ol LR. I have a 00 td5 disco rated to 3.5 t.Son has a 97 v8 disco rated to 4t.Difference (acc to LR) is I have abs brakes and the 97 dont so he can tow 500 more.(go figure)
)) is auto and tows 3+t boat at highway speeds.Trailer is fitted with elec/hydralic break a away breaks which are keeped in top condition.I have to do this because of d*ckheads that HAVEto pass anything being towed then realise how fast we are going so they jump on skids after passing.:o

[SnapHead101]

Thanks all for your replies they were very informative, a couple of answers to the questions;

1.) The boat is a sailfish 8.5 m long (see www.sailfish.com) weighing in at around 3.5 to 3.7 but with esky and fuel probably closer to 4 ton. (and yes you can come fishing next time you are in the Whitsunday district although the boat isn't coming until November

2.) Yes the 130 300tdi 1996 is rated to tow 4000 kg , why they dropped the rating after they increased engine size doesn't make sense. I am a little nervous about the load towed to car weight ratio but will wait now until the boat arrives to see how it handles before rushing out to buy some yank tank

3.) Most of my towing will be around 5 km max to the local ramp with the occasional 70 km stretch so speed isn't so important.

4.) I know Ford 250 are rated to 4.5 t, but all the Fords I've seen are pieces of sh*t and I'd feel safer in an underpowered Landrover, maybe if Toyota brings the Tundra to OZ I'd get one

[Sly]

Just did a quick comparison between the Tdi300 and the Td5 (both 130 crew cabs)
The Td5 is rated to tow 3500kg, its total combined weight is 7000kg and kerb weight is 2039kg.
Whereas the Td300 is rated to tow 4000kg, its total combined weight is 7500kg and has a kerb weight of 2058kg. The Defender manual states: trailers with overun brakes - 3500kg and 4 wheeled trailers with coupled (electric) brakes is 4000kg.

I have a 1999 130 Defender and have towed loads of 3000kg to Perth and back (900 odd kms round trip) and you hardly notice the weight behind you.

[disconut]

What is your definition of combined weight? :huh:

Trev.

[SnapHead101]

Thank you all for your input. I'll be getting my boat in November this year and will post a thread with how the 130 performs fuel economy/speed etc. Currently the 130 is stock standard except for a straight through exhaust. I'll chat to my mechanic re benefits of fitting an EGT sensor and let you all know in November how it goes.
Many thanks