Thread: Can a Disco 4 tow a van with 350kg ball weight... I think not fit for purpose..

Originally Posted by haydent

i was just pointed to this Tow Ball Download weight confusion with state legal where it does refer to them as equalising hitch
pity there's not more detail there as to why, if they think its just not necessary or something else

My gut feel is that it must interfere with the trailer sway control part of the stability control system, but I can't quite work out how.

My grandfather built his own sway bars and tried several prototypes over the years. His explanation was by re-distributing the weight (raising the back of the car) there was more weight on the front wheels which helped both the stability of the steering but also the distribution of weight on the wheels across the whole train.

When I started towing his van with my Volvo station wagon, the sway bars made a significant difference to the stability of the setup, particularly in gusty conditions. When I hooked it to the D3 I figured the self-leveling effectively did the same thing, so never used them and have never had to.

Now, at the same time, the van weighed about as much as the Volvo, where it's about 1T lighter than the D3 also. He did a couple of laps towing it behind a 70 series, and he needed the bars for that, so it isn't entirely just weight related.

Originally Posted by Graeme

You misread my post. I didn't state to raise the vehicle, rather to select off-road height with a door already open which inhibits the height change and inhibits self-levelling. That means that the rear will sag under the eatra weight which allows one to gauge how much lift to provide with the WDH. Once that has been set, cancel the raise request by selecting normal height then close the door.

yes i did

Originally Posted by DieselLSE

My gut feel is that it must interfere with the trailer sway control part of the stability control system, but I can't quite work out how.

ive thought about this too, but weight distribution isnt really a anti-sway device

Originally Posted by BradC

My grandfather built his own sway bars and tried several prototypes over the years. ...He did a couple of laps towing it behind a 70 series, and he needed the bars for that, so it isn't entirely just weight related.

neat

back on the original topic, ive looked into some other cars, and in terms of fit for purpose from the maker, a toyota LC 200 series is not much better, being pretty close to gvm limit with just a full tank of petrol, 2 passengers, and a bull bar, without even towing! and ive heard of weighing companies that wont even book you in unless youve had a gvm upgrade as they know that youll be over when towing without even checking

the benefit of the LC200 is though that you can get gvm upgrades , which while legal, might be pushing it a bit much some might say, and thats part of why they sell for 50k+ vs a D4 at 15k for a 10-15 year old car ...

Originally Posted by haydent

neat

Way to miss the point. You keep using your WDH. Just for ****s sake stop spamming it across every towing related necro thread you can find on the forum. The rest of us with air suspension seem to manage quite well without one.

Sorry, to upset, i must have missed your point, it seemed in favour of them. Im not meaning spam, im actually posting my results that ive been investigating and discussing about in these threads for some time

Look, I'm sorry. I've had a **** couple of days and I think you copped it.

My point was my grandfather started working on his sway bars in 1964 when he discovered his Holden used to get a sway up due to the lightness on the front wheels. 50 years later his 70 series, and my fathers 200 series still had/have the same flaw.

Our self leveling vehicles don't have that issue, and the manual says "don't do that". So while what you have works for you, again the manual says "don't do that".

Frankly my plug in tow hitch looks fragile enough without adding torsion bars to it where the manual says not to. That and seeing you necro and 8 year old thread just popped my valve.

So again, I apologise.

Maybe just maybe it's the standard and might I add very average factory design hitch on the D3 and 4 that is the issue with WDH's and why LR recommends not to use them and they may work fine with an aftermarket hitch
personally I'm not going to get a WDH because as stated previously and after towing 1000s of km the D4 doesn't need one other than the rear axle numbers and that's a legality issue not a performance or safety issue
bring on the GVM upgrade thread !!!