Cruisemaster's view of the new Defender as a heavy tow vehicle

As above:
‘Excellent service from Ian the dealer at Buckby Motors, a car in stock, wrong colour but in today’s market, beggars can’t be choosers, so we bought it
Went with the RRS instead of the Defender probably as there was no Defender in the shop and we couldn’t drive one. Needed to make a snap decision.
At least we have a car now, and what a car!
Best wishes all.

Ken

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Baytown

Wow, after experiencing the slackest customer service I’ve ever had in buying a $200K vehicle from a certain Range Rover salesman in Tassie resulting in canceling the order, we are now looking at buying a new Defender from either the opposing dealership or the mainland.

I’ve seen the Cruise Master video in question some time ago and it had me worried as we have a Zone
RV 20.6 Off Road actually on order since March this year, delivery due in Feb 2022 (#705, my second Zone) and I need a dedicated tow vehicle/work car for Robyn ASAP.

‘We are going into Launceston this morning and will drop into the dealership to see if they have a Defender to look over, book a test drive if able. We will need to spec up with the biggest 6 cylinder 225/650Nm 3L engine for towing, but effectively, geez this whole axle weight issue has me edgy.

I realise that we are being sort of anal and just skating around the edges of specific weight rulings compared to real world examples of what most people are actually doing out there on the road with their over loaded vans and tow vehicles etc, but it really is a very limited gene pool of options for quality tow vehicle, and re the Zone, I’m buying one of the lightest, best built vans that there is on the world market, and I will not carry much in either the vehicle or the van.

Let’s hope that the new Defender is ok for towing the 20.6 Zone. I want one!

New 2022 Defender Axel load Specs below.

Attachment 171492Attachment 171493Attachment 171494Attachment 171495

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Baytown

As above:
‘Excellent service from Ian the dealer at Buckby Motors, a car in stock, wrong colour but in today’s market, beggars can’t be choosers, so we bought it
Went with the RRS instead of the Defender probably as there was no Defender in the shop and we couldn’t drive one. Needed to make a snap decision.
At least we have a car now, and what a car!
Best wishes all.

Ken

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saw the pictures on the Zone FB group.. very nice :TakeABow:

Thanks Zilch!👍

Today we took our P400 5+2 off to a certified weigh station to see how and if we can pick up our new
Zone Base off road RV at the end of September. So the figures are based upon the following set up:

P400 110 SE with additional options (weight)
5+2 seat
e-diff
tow pack
front protection plate
RAI
fixed side steps
rear recovery eyes
expedition rack with awning and recovery boards
moi
wife
Tools and recovery gear (about 20 kg)
full tank of petrol

Vehicle weight fully loaded 2.78T, published GVM 3.25T
rear axle fully loaded 1.42T, LR permissible load 1.9T

target ball weight 280 KG (x 1.32 = 370kg on rear axle) + 1.42 = 1.79T, even allowing for 10% leeway,
that would still provide a reasonable buffer.

How glad am I that the CFO insisted on a 7 seater, the extra 100kg allowance on the rear axle/GVM
means I could squeeze the full 350kg tow ball weight including the multiplier and still be within limits.. just [bigwhistle]

It will be interesting to see the 130 rated weight figures once it arrives.

Hi all,

Understand this is an old thread but I have been back and fourth on all kinds of youtube videos and forums trying to get the answer.

I have a D300 5+2 on order and plan to tow a 2900KG at rest trailer. It will likely be at around 3400KG/3500KG mark with all the water tanks full and gear. When it comes to the hitch, do I need to buy a new hitch and tongue? What im getting from the post below is that the standard hitch is fine, fitted with a tongue similar to this which can be inverted so that it sits higher?

Hayman Reese 3500 Kg Secure Towing Kit


Really appreciate any feedback

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zilch

a few points i picked up from the videos they run, plus discussions i had with Andrew at Cruisemaster
and with Zone RV (Cruisemaster own a Zone Off Road with extended draw bar, plus other goodies attached
to the front).

Not all axles weights are the same, i have the P400 5+2 which provides up to 1900KG on the rear axle

I could not understand how they could not get a standard hitch to fit, i have an Hayman Reese tongue
fitted with a D035 which can be inverted and at on road height sits at 530mm, i think that is the sweet spot
So not sure why they had to fit an adjustable which sat totally proud of the rear, not sure if that contibruted
to the rear loading going up.

The Zone i have ordered should be coming in around 230KG on the nose, so even loaded up it should be no more than
260KG

I have gone through the iguide and cannot find any reference to reducing GVM by 200KG before taking into account
anything above 150KG as per the D4, possibly LR with their head in the sand or they just missed it :)

Pick up our Zone Base Off road in September, looking forward to getting out there with our Deffa

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by tbch2325

Hi all,

Understand this is an old thread but I have been back and fourth on all kinds of youtube videos and forums trying to get the answer.

I have a D300 5+2 on order and plan to tow a 2900KG at rest trailer. It will likely be at around 3400KG/3500KG mark with all the water tanks full and gear. When it comes to the hitch, do I need to buy a new hitch and tongue? What im getting from the post below is that the standard hitch is fine, fitted with a tongue similar to this which can be inverted so that it sits higher?

Hayman Reese 3500 Kg Secure Towing Kit


Really appreciate any feedback

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I got the Defender hitch with my D300 and it fits fine for my 5m boat trailer - much lighter than yours. It looks like any other hitch and tongue.
If you haven't already can I suggest you join the Facebook group Land Rover New Defender Owners Group - founded in Australia (sorry about the font!) It's a very active group compared to here - no disrespect intended - do a search on there then ask questions.

cheers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jwb

I got the Defender hitch with my D300 and it fits fine for my 5m boat trailer - much lighter than yours. It looks like any other hitch and tongue.
If you haven't already can I suggest you join the Facebook group Land Rover New Defender Owners Group - founded in Australia (sorry about the font!) It's a very active group compared to here - no disrespect intended - do a search on there then ask questions.

cheers

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Awesome thanks! I'll ask in there

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jwb

I got the Defender hitch with my D300 and it fits fine for my 5m boat trailer - much lighter than yours. It looks like any other hitch and tongue.
If you haven't already can I suggest you join the Facebook group Land Rover New Defender Owners Group - founded in Australia (sorry about the font!) It's a very active group compared to here - no disrespect intended - do a search on there then ask questions.

cheers

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Except that it is a "private group" unlike here where knowledge is shared and searchable.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tbch2325

Hi all,

Understand this is an old thread but I have been back and fourth on all kinds of youtube videos and forums trying to get the answer.

I have a D300 5+2 on order and plan to tow a 2900KG at rest trailer. It will likely be at around 3400KG/3500KG mark with all the water tanks full and gear. When it comes to the hitch, do I need to buy a new hitch and tongue? What im getting from the post below is that the standard hitch is fine, fitted with a tongue similar to this which can be inverted so that it sits higher?

Hayman Reese 3500 Kg Secure Towing Kit


Really appreciate any feedback

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do you know the required height of the hitch that the trailer company specs for it to be reasonably
level in terms of towing setup, Zone spec a height of 490mm unladen and 520mm ish when loaded,
hence why we have the HR tongue inverted with the D035 hitch, the van sits nicely at the right height

Attachment 187087