Thread: Weight Distribtution Bars on Disco 3

Hi guys,

I 'm the preson resposible for this most interesting discussion and I thank you all for your input and hope it continues. I tend to agree with the article by the "Man who knows about towing" from my own extensive previous experience in towing with other vehicles. I have been towing my 3 tonne caravan with a Haymen Reese WDH over the short time I've owned my new Discovery 3 without realising Landrover say no to doing that. I have since contacted the dealer in Wodonga who in turn contacted LR and their position is not to use a WDH because of their towbar (ie the bit that initially attaches to the car) but that they are working on it. So they do recognise a problem. When I broached the issue of safety and insurance there was no satisfactory answer so I have been given a number to phone at LR Australia which I will do tomorrow. I will report the outcome on this forum but expect the same answer from LR as is in their manual, which ofcourse does not fix the safety issue of having a vehicle that is quite unsafe due to the weight being mainly on the rear wheels and not distributed evenly over the whole car. This may be fine until something goes wrong.

My 2c comes from a different perspective, the 3 point linkage system on a tractor and more specifically the draft control.
Massey Ferguson invented this system and it basically consists of two lower arms which act as a tow and pivot point and a top arm which is attached to the tractor to allow it to lift an implement.
When you are ploughing there is a ram which can move the top link in and out to allow changes in weight transfer between the plough and the tractor and exert maximum control over the depth of the implement.
A weight distribution hitch works in much the same way, it uses the towbar as a pivot point and moves the centre of weight distribution forward from the towball towards the centre of the vehicle. This means that the load centre behaves more like a 5th wheel trailer where the weight of the trailer is evenly distributed across the wheels on the towing vehicle as well as the trailer.
A D3's air suspension would compensate for the weight on the towball by increasing the pressure in the rear suspension and would make the trailer level. This would not transfer any of that weight forward on to the front wheels however and would not be as effective in making the rig stable as a weight distributing hitch.
Are some large caravans designed to have a load distributing hitch fitted and hence have higher towball weights than say a car trailer of the same size?

Regards,
Tote

Whilst my experiences are not with a D3 nor any other air-suspensioned vehicle, I can certainly vouch for the stability advantage of using a WDH whilst towing a horse float that could rock the back of the vehicle and change the effective weight on the tow-ball and rear suspension. Without the WDH the rear-end would rise and fall on undulating roads, whereas with the WDH the car and float drove as a single unit, without feeling like an articulated vehicle at all. It made for a much more stable combination when travelling at faster speeds, even on smooth roads without undulations.

What gets me is that only those who have first hand knowledge of Defenders, Series vehicles, D1's & D2's tend to post technical things about those vehicles.

But everyone who doesn't own one (LR techs aside) is an expert on the D3. What gives?

Originally Posted by RonMcGr

Mate,

With a Freelander, you will never have to worry about towing a Caravan

400nM of torque, 2t towing capacity. She'll tow just fine when I get around to putting a towbar on it. Besides I'm a bit young for a caravan.

Originally Posted by peterpam

Hi guys,

I 'm the preson resposible for this most interesting discussion and I thank you all for your input and hope it continues. I tend to agree with the article by the "Man who knows about towing" from my own extensive previous experience in towing with other vehicles. I have been towing my 3 tonne caravan with a Haymen Reese WDH over the short time I've owned my new Discovery 3 without realising Landrover say no to doing that. I have since contacted the dealer in Wodonga who in turn contacted LR and their position is not to use a WDH because of their towbar (ie the bit that initially attaches to the car) but that they are working on it. So they do recognise a problem. When I broached the issue of safety and insurance there was no satisfactory answer so I have been given a number to phone at LR Australia which I will do tomorrow. I will report the outcome on this forum but expect the same answer from LR as is in their manual, which ofcourse does not fix the safety issue of having a vehicle that is quite unsafe due to the weight being mainly on the rear wheels and not distributed evenly over the whole car. This may be fine until something goes wrong.

I think I know the reason.
BMW AWD have the same problem.
The spare wheel on a BMW is in the centre, underneath the vehicle. The tow bar has no lateral support, i.e. A steel support running under the vehicle to stop up and down movement.

This is from my Caravan Forum:
(From a Caravan Park Owner)
Tonight we have a customer who is very concerned about his BMW X3 and the HR tow bar. He is driving a 2006 BMW X3 that has been fitted (by BMW) a HR tow bar. He is towing a 16 ft Regal single axle caravan that weighs 1650 Kg and has a ball weight of 148 Kg.
He was on his maiden trip from Victoria to Queensland and when up in the sunny place noticed that the towbar was squeaking as it rubbed against the bumper. Closer investigation showed that the twobar had failed and the mounting had cracked on both sides. The towbar was replaced under warrenty. On the return he was not sure if the new one would be any better so for some of the trip removed the WDH bars. At Moree today he decided to fit the WDH bars so the handling would improve, however when fitting them noticed just how much the new tow bar flexes when the WDH is connected.

Before purchasing the car he had the saleman come to his house and showed him the van and its weights so that he could be assured that he had a tug that was fit for the purpose. Needless to say he is currently NOT HAPPY.

My own observations are

That based on other towbar mounting systems the two bolts on either side that attach the bar to the ends of the chassie rails seem to be way under engineered.

The cracks that have appeared in the first tow bar have been caused by the twisting from the WDH as they are on the bottom of the mount.

The second bar that is now fitted has started to bend at the bottom just like the first bar after only about 500 Km.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The easiest solution is to put the spare back on the door and fit a decent tow bar.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Bushwanderer

Hi Ron, Don't be superior. If you have some FACTS, state them.

Best Wishes,

Nothing "Superior" about it at all, Peter.
FWIW, here are the facts on the entry level Freelander.

Freelander, 1,951cc, 82 kW (4000 rpm), 260 Nm (1750 rpm), weight 1555kg, towing weight 2 Tonne!!!!

In your dreams! Maybe down hill with a tail wind

More suited to a 6x4 trailer, in Australia!

Originally Posted by djhampson

400nM of torque, 2t towing capacity. She'll tow just fine when I get around to putting a towbar on it. Besides I'm a bit young for a caravan.

400nM of torque????

What did you put in it?
A V8?