Thread: What gear to tow a caravan in?

Congratulations Bruce on the new vehicle.
The gearbox is a 6 speed no matter which of the 3 options you choose to drive in
Normal, Sport or Tiptronic/Manual mode.
Note that the 6th gear will only engage after 80Kmh is reached.
Sport will hold on to the lower gear as the revs are kept up to give you that "Sport" feel.

I have towed a lot of stuff over the years (albeit not that weight) & my opinion is for the D4 is leave it in drive on the flats & subtle hills, then shift to sport in the steeper, longer hills.
HTH.
Cheers.

Thanks Pete. Hope you had a fantastic holiday and looking forward to next years break.
Best wishes
Bruce

I tend to drive in Sport mode when towing our van, even when doing the speed limit so the gearbox doesn't labour.

Do I know for sure whether or not this is the best thing to do for the gearbox?
No but I would rather use a few more litres of fuel and put, what feels like anyway, less strain on the gearbox.

I do put it in drive though sometimes, usually in the country, when the road is less demanding and the speeds you can drive at are higher.

cheers,
Terry

Bruce

Good to see you have a post here. The one on the caravaners forum will be of limited value as the Toyota rednecks will arc up soon.

I just leave mine in drive the gearbox is pretty smart anyway and set its self to the right gear most of the time.

I sometimes go over to sport mode and then manual shift.

Thanks guys,
Strange that there is no suggestion or recommendation in the owner's manual. Probably to counter any possible claim of "..but your book said...".

For Mowog,
I saw you reply as well on the Caravan Forum. Will just wait and see. I can just ignore any useless comments, as only those that drive or have driven the Discovery with a van would likely speak with experience, i.e the WDH post.
Best wishes
Bruce

If you want to throw a cat in amongst the pidgeons on the other site just cut and paste my earlier emailed reply from the technical manager from Haymen Reese who said that D3/4's don't need a WDH and that should get them screaming the house down...

cheers,
Terry

Someone over there will say I wouldn't tow with a.... because of the limitation..... blah blah blah...

Terry, I have been told that the gearboxes are made for hard work ie towing etc.
The advice I was given is "stick it in drive and let the vehicle do the rest".
Cheers, Craig