Thread: Towing hitch rise and drop restrictions

This is the LR height adjustable / fixed kit:

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY 4 HEIGHT ADJUSTABLE TOWBAR BRACKET TOW BAR HITCH KIT | eBay

Originally Posted by mowog

There have been 2 cases that I have heard of where the hitch dropped out.

One was due to a casting fault that stopped the hitch locking correctly.
The other was user error where the hitch wasn't fitted correctly I can't recall the exact reasons.

Overall the failure rate of the D4 towing system is well below the count of other brands with cracked tow bars and hitches that fall off due to substandard bolts.

The casting fault is definitely not a "one off" - but can be easily fixed.

Mine had this problem from new - the hitch would not push all the way "home" when installing, and as a result of this, the locking pin was only just catching on the lip of the latch position, and would also not click in fully to the "locked" position.

Mine never fell out - but I could see how it could have quite easily.

The fix was to take a little material off the top end of the hitch with an angle grinder to allow it to travel fully up into the top of the receiver. This required only a very light grinding - probably not much more than the thickness of the paint.

After doing this, the hitch now easily pushes fully up into the receiver and the locking pin now clicks fully into the "latched" position. I have never had any problem with the LR hitch since doing this - it is installed and removed on a fairly regular basis, and is easy to install / remove.

I can see how the unwary would easily be caught out by this problem though. It was only when I stick my finger into the back of the "latch" one day and discovered that the locking pin was not in the position that it should be in that I realized there was a problem. I imagine that this is something that many people would never check.

Provided that the latch is working correctly and the locking pin is fully engaged, I cannot see any way that the OEM towing hitch could ever "fall out". I make a habit of physically checking the locking pin every time that I install the tow hitch to make sure that it has locked "fully home" - I'd suggest that others do the same. Once you find the hole that this pin goes into, it's very easy to slip a finger in from behind to check that the locking pin is in the correct position.