D3 Standard Tow Bar Tongue

[powella]

Hi,

I am about to pick up my D3, 2nd hand, and it does not have the tongue and ball(I think tht is what it is called), I was wondering if anyone in NSW had a 2nd hand one they wanted to part with for a reasonable (unlike the brand new option) sum.

Cheers,
AP.

[WhiteD3]

I thought they came standard with the D3? Mine did.

[CaverD3]

D3 tow bar was designed by work experience boy. Have to remove the bar to get at the spare, it is too low and hits the ground even on a driveway. :mad:

Get ther Mitchell Bros one: DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - Towing Hitch (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic10853.html)

[Neil P]

...I am about to pick up my D3, 2nd hand, and it does not have the tongue and ball(I think tht is what it is called)...

Is this from a dealer or private sale ........ did you ask why it's missing ?

[CaverD3]

The tongue and ball does not come with the vehicle. Only the part that slots into the tow point.
The standard LandRover one is too low. The ball needs to be raised, so get a drop one and reverse it with the ball on top if you are going to go with the cr@p OEM system.
It is a standard HR type tongue.

[powella]

Is this from a dealer or private sale ........ did you ask why it's missing ?
It is a dealer one(but not a LR dealer), but I suspect it has never towed anything in it's life (or been anywhere near the dirt for that matter). :D

Also whilst I would love the change the tow bar to a better one, currently the funds need to go elsewhere.... and towing off road is not yet a priority!

Cheers,
AP.

[CaverD3]

In that case if you are only towing box trailers you could get a cheap one fron Super Cr@p or Auto Barn. If you are towing anthing else you will need to pay more from a specialist outfit.

If you see the back of this one the tongue goes up, you need to do this to get to standard trailer height.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2008/12/601.jpg

http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic12085.html?highlight=tongue&start=15

[johnc18]

The D3 towbar seems a strange design .
It hangs down low, it must affect departure angle, it doesn't look like it would handle rotational forces as well as a normal bar .
There must be some engineering reason for it .
Can anyone explain why the D3 towbar is designed/made like it is ?
What the rationale is ?
John

[CaverD3]

It was designed by work experience boy?

[powella]

The D3 towbar seems a strange design .
...
What the rationale is ?
John
I could be cynical, but the requirements probably were specced to the designer:
- must be capable of carrying the load
- must be a typical square hitch
(the cynical bit, upon release of the car, "we need this yesterday").
The bits they forgot:
- must minimise any impact to the departure angle(ideally no impact)
- must not prevent the functioning of the car in general (ie. must not prohibit the removal of the spare)

AP
P.S. I got a riser tongue from TJM with ball AOK.