Thread: Discovery 4 towing hitch issues

Hi,
First off welcome to the forum.

Second I'll say that I'm not a caravaner, and I have not towed one, but have towed plenty of other things. Also I don't own an air suspended Land Rover

My understanding is that Land Rover say don't use a WDH with air suspension, do a search here and you'll find some "robust discussion" on the matter. One of the things that seem to come out of these discussions is that a Mitchell Bros. hitch will give you a better/more standard tow bat height than the LR one, I would imagine that you could fit tongue that gives you the height you need.

Mitchell Bros 4x4 & more - Online 4wd Store - Discovery 3 Hi-Rise Tow Hitch

I am making an assumption that a D3 tow bar will fit a D4.

I hope that is of some help.

Tony

What do you guys consider standard height?

I've worked off ~450mm to the top of the tongue.

Originally Posted by Dougal

What do you guys consider standard height?

I've worked off ~450 mm to the top of the tongue.

Just measured the 130, unloaded and on 33's, 430 mm to the top of the tongue, so I guess that would be about 400 when loaded and it's right with my antique 8X5 tandem.

I guess the next question is the ride height of an upsy downsy D3/4 RR? Or do you lock it to some pre chosen height?

Tony

Ivan

The Rapid Hitch fits directly into the LR receiver. The one thing with the rapid hitch is the pin that locks into the LR receiver is a touch narrow. I gave mine a quick skim in a lathe and its fine now. You can use a different locking pin if you dont have a lathe available. With hitch mounted in the down position the tail of the hitch can get close to the spare tyre. Thats also easy to fix with a grinder.

I just finished a 4000klm trip with the D4 and Rapid Hitch and van.

Wow a six month wait on a D4......I couldn't handle it...

I've added no value whatsoever to this thread but......6 months

I dont mind the wait but my trade in value is greatly affected, no fixed price can be offered, also the van manufacturers have a large number of orders to fill so a delay helps to get the 2 orders together. What a great xmas present!

Originally Posted by Lanesend

New member totally confused? After reading several forums and the FAQ section I still am unsure of the answers to the following problem. I have just ordered a new D4 - delivery in Dec. and also a 22' Crusader van - delivery Nov.The van will have a 6" frame, 15" wheels and a 2" riser, will this make the factory D4 hitch to low, if so do I change the towing specs. Cancel the factory tow pack and fit a local system ie. Mitchell / Rapid etc. Also is the wiring compatable with Aust. LED lights fitted to my new van. Please help as this is my first LR and I want it to right.
PS I currently have a Territory awd and a Jayco van with a HR WDH which I intended to sell with my Jayco, Y/N

Hi Lanesend. I can only comment from my experience, and I took on board others experience in this forum, before making my decisions.
(1) The D4 should come with the towpack as std. Mine did. You can't cancel it.
(2) Yes it is better than the D3, but is still quite low and now looks like a smaller version of the original plough.
(3) The LR OE towpack cannot be altered in tow height.

I bought the Mitchell Bros hitch. It is neat and sits at a good height. As it uses a std 50mm square HR ( Hayman Reese ) style receiver, any of the various Reese lugs will fit, even the adjustable head models. Yes you can use a WDH head for its height adjustability, but you do not need the WDH bars, and you should not use them. I would be very surprised if you cannot find a lug to provide the height you need. If you need more data, send me a PM with the height of your van, measured at the underside of your ball coupling. Make sure the van is level and on level ground when measuring. I will compare to my vehicle and advise the HR lug to achieve the correct height with the Mitchell Bros hitch.
There are other threads on the use of led lights in trailers, and how to link to the D4. As you will see, there is not much that cannot be overcome, and usually someone has already struck the same issue, and a solution found.