Reply With QuoteBy chance are you using a weight distribution tow hitch assembly?
I am making enquiries as to whether anyone else has had this problem. My 07 Disco 3 v6 petrol came with a towbar, tongue and ball all neatly packaged in the passenger side rear. Up until June last year that is where it stayed until numerous trips to specialists in Brisbane and the overinflated motel prices influenced us into buying our 19ft 6in caravan which weighs 2.5t fully laden, food, clothes, water etc whilst the tow bar is rated at 3.5t. As we have only ever done highway driving (though the past couple of years the Bruce Highway is more of a goat track) and have no dramas with towing our van until last month. We had started for home and pulled up to refuel at BP Caboolture North we heard a clunk but on inspection could not find the cause, however as we reversed away from the bowsers and just put the car into drive the tow bar snapped clean in two just behind the key lock leaving the van attached only by its chains and wiring harness. Very scary when you think what might of happened if it let go on the highway. Has anyone had this happen to them? Why do they make such an item from Cast, shouldn't it be high tensile steel?
ChatterBox
By chance are you using a weight distribution tow hitch assembly?
No, just the stock standard setup, however as we could not get a genuine replacement quickly and needed to get home to yet more doctors we have had a Hayman Reese Heavy Duty 3.5t Tow Bar fitted to replace the original and the car handles this as well as the original. Only other damage caused in the incident was the pulse buster for the led lights breaking and the sudden development of a suspension fault which necessitated a new compressor and relay for the air suspension but this may have been co-incidental. Ball weight has always been okay too as we check it with a guage regularly.
Some photo's in addition to the tale of woe.click on red x. Cheers
Admin
no pics showing
Our Land Rover does not leak oil! it just marks its territory.......
click on the x marks the spot, cheers.
Wizard
Subscriber
Master
By the look of that corrosion the assembly has been carrying large cracks for a while. Must go and have a close look at mine.
yes, have not taken the towbar off since we got the van, which has done 5 trips to Brisbane and back (5x3200klms)with the van since June 2010. While we have heard the odd clunk, inspection showed nothing loose or worn, but the broken section was not visible under the bumper bar until it broke entirely, appears to be a flaw in the cast for it to fracture in this way.
Swaggie
The new design that started with the D4's will be much stronger as they don't have the hollow centre section.
MY21.5 L405 D350 Vogue SE with 19s. Produce LLAMS for LR/RR, Jeep GC/Dodge Ram
VK2HFG and APRS W1 digi, RTK base station using LoRa
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