Discovery 5 towing a caravan

[sevans0301]

I am considering getting a Discovery 5 for towing a caravan with a GVM up to 3.5T. I currently have a Landcruiser 200 series which does the job fine but the ride in the Cruiser with or without the caravan is simply too harsh for someone with chronic back pain. I have been for a couple of test drives in a D5 and the ride was much better than the Cruiser. I am wondering what the ride comfort would be like in a D5 with a caravan on the back considering that the air bags would likely be at a higher pressure to level the car up, and also because the car's tyre pressures would need to be higher to cope with the higher speeds of outback travel and the greater load of the caravan on the car.

[shack]

All good points.

I don't have a D5 but the points you raise regarding more pressure to maintain ride heights, and yes.. That will equal a stiffer ride.

In my experience with other air suspension Land Rovers, whilst the ride will be worse than with nothing on the back, it will still be much better than a coil sprung vehicle.

Someone else with the setup you are looking at will be able to give you some more info.

Cheers

[Numb Thumbs]

I tow around 2 tonnes and have noticed no change in ride comfort. I do not need to raise tyre pressures from my usual 32/35 psi in my 275/55-20 AT tyres regardless of towing, driving around town or doing a Melbourne/Sydney/Melbourne run om the Hume. Some owners run 40 or even 50 psi and then complain about the ride. I get the same 4 to 5 psi pressure increase after an hour or so regardless of what I am doing - the TPMS lets me know.

The Australian Facebook owner's group is full of people who like to tow 3 to 3.5 tonnes. They all seem to be extremely happy - check it out.

Cheers
Numb Thumbs ;l)

[BradC]

My old man had a 200 with a GVM upgrade and he used to tow a >2.4T block of flats. I have a stock D3 and I've towed his block of flats, in addition to our little 1.6T tin tent.

The biggest difference in ride comfort I've found was based around suspension position and travel. His 200 is really harsh with a light load due to it being toward the top of its travel. As the load increases (cargo and TBW) the ride gets nicer. Adding the WDH bars screws around with it because it moves the load a bit between the axles. There's a sweet spot in there somewhere but I've never bothered looking for it.

On the other hand, the D3 just accommodates whatever you put on/in it and the suspension remains in its sweet spot. I do put an extra 4PSI in the back tyres when towing and loaded, but pull it out again as soon as I get to where I'm going and unhitch.

I put 330kg of lead acid batteries in the back of the D3 the other day to take to the scrapo. I felt they were there in the same way I'd notice extra passengers (more intertia under braking and corners). 330kg in the back of the 200 series with the GVM upgrade changes it from a pogo stick to mostly tolerable.

Despite the extra maintenance, the air suspension in the discos goes a long way toward mitigating all the bull**** you need to go through on a fixed suspension vehicle to make it simultaneously useful and comfortable.

[TonyC]

How much weight do you have in the car when travelling?

I find I hard to believe that you can't get a 200 series to ride well, at at least one loading point.
If it's had a GVM upgrade done, then it probably got stupid stiff springs in it, unless it's heavy.

If towing the van is it's primary role, then it needs to set up to do that.

Hook up the van, plus the normal travelling load and get it weighed.
From there finding springs and shocks to give a good ride, and level, front to rear, stance and sensible ride hight at that loading should be possible.

If you go the D5 route look carefully at your rear axle load, AFAIK you can't do a GVM/Axel load upgrade on a D5.

Tony