Thread: D5 tow-ball weight - can this be true?

Thanks BMKal - very interesting article. Well I guess I can feel a bit better after forking out the $$$$ for my current 18"compomotive wheels if I can reuse them in the future on a Disco 5 TDV6 !

Rang local dealer to talk about the 200kgs, they are trying to get it upgraded but do not know if they can. As I told him myself and many more will not be able to buy it if this stays at 200kg. Would be a huge mistake by Land Rover. Makes the decission real easy about upgrading. Also still no news on how tow hitch will attach.

Why would the D5 allow 18" wheels when the current RRSport will not? Aren't they much the same vehicles as before when the RR Sports were really fashionized Disco's? Isn't the D5 a volumized RRSport?

Originally Posted by 90 Rangie

Rang local dealer to talk about the 200kgs, they are trying to get it upgraded but do not know if they can. As I told him myself and many more will not be able to buy it if this stays at 200kg. Would be a huge mistake by Land Rover. Makes the decission real easy about upgrading. Also still no news on how tow hitch will attach.

Same as with the Range Rover Sport - its maximum for a non hybrid is 200kg tow ball weight. The hybrid is 150kg. Both though tow 3,500kg. I guess the allow monocoque is indeed different to having a chassis. The strange thing is that most people who tow recognise a heavy ball weight improves safety. Perhaps the trailer / towing smarts in these computer controlled vehicles handle trailer sway etc better than the old school. IMO 200kg is not much, but then, many Prados are limited to 250kg. Normally a 3500kg towing capacity though, would have a tow ball weight maximum of 350kg, or 10%. But not the Land Rover Sport. Which I presume is much like the D5 underneath.

Our Land Rover Liaison officer in the NSW Range Rover Club was told by Land Rover Australia that all Ingenium engined D5 for the first year will be single range only.
This went down badly at our last meeting.
So 200Kg with single range will be a great tow vehicle.NOT
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by PhilipA

Our Land Rover Liaison officer in the NSW Range Rover Club was told by Land Rover Australia that all Ingenium engined D5 for the first year will be single range only.
This went down badly at our last meeting.
So 200Kg with single range will be a great tow vehicle.NOT
Regards Philip A

I was at an Australian Off Road rally at Sheepsflat near Mt Bulla two weeks ago. Their trailers typically have a GVM of 2.2 to 2.5 tonne. And with ball weights often over 250kg - it depends on the layout and the options and gear included in the trailers.

There was a chap there with a VW Amarok which has a 2 litre diesel producing 420NM @1750 RPM, and 132kw. His had the 8 speed auto, which does not come with a low range. It's towing capacity was/is 3,000kg and a tow ball limit of 300kg. He said it performed great, and he has been all over.

The issue really is how low is the first and second gear IMO. The VW has a very low first gear, and likely a low second gear too.

The Land Rover's base 2 litre 4 produces the same power and torque as does the VW 2 litre diesel. While if one steps up to the SD version of the 4 cylinder, one gets 500NM and a lot more power. The SD would perform around the same as the TD V6 diesel in theory ... although for towing, many say capacity helps a lot if you towing something with some weight and aero drag. With big caravans, the preferred vehicle is not a 200 series Landcruiser, its a 5th wheeler 6 litre diesel sitting in a GM or Ford build thing.

I suspect for most the upper level SD 4 cylinder will do the job, presuming the gear rations are appropriate.

The ball weight though is a killer, and I presume that the all alloy monocoque is never going to last the way a chassis does. After all a chassis takes the stress off the body, and steel doesn't fatigue. Maybe for heavy ball weights, LR will come up with something different in the Defender class? And maybe in most of the world, heavy ball weights are uncommon? Perhaps in Europe, caravan ball weights are getting lighter? Maybe the same with horse floats?

I looked at sales volumes of the new all alloy Range Rover sport, and they increased over the previous chassis based vehicle by over one third. That's a huge marketing success. Clearly the lack of ball capacity is not affecting sales worldwide. Maybe LandRover don't see their market as towing 350kg ball weights. Such work is a very small minority probably. A shame since the air suspension makes life very easy - its amazing how fussed 200 series people are about their ball weights. Whereas with an LR, we can just about forget about it, the vehicle handles the changes in weight automatically. And attaching a trailer is a pieces of cake with that air suspension.

Originally Posted by Melbourne Park

I looked at sales volumes of the new all alloy Range Rover sport, and they increased over the previous chassis based vehicle by over one third. Clearly the lack of ball capacity is not affecting sales worldwide. Maybe LandRover don't see their market as towing 350kg ball weights.

You seem to think the current RRS has a low tow ball weight - the Aust spec is 350kg for all models except the hybrid (is that sold here yet).

[ame]http://www.landrover.com.au/Images/NEW_LR9651_15MY_RR_Sport_eSpec_Sheet_300x215_Con_L R_tcm296-126820.pdf[/ame]

Originally Posted by Melbourne Park

The ball weight though is a killer, and I presume that the all alloy monocoque is never going to last the way a chassis does. After all a chassis takes the stress off the body, and steel doesn't fatigue.

Planes are an alloy monocoque, have been since they stopped making them from timber and canvas, not too many of them fall out of the sky, and they have huge amounts of flexure in their frames, particularly the wings.

Fatigue is only an issue with poor design.