Thread: Towing with a Defender?

I've towed that weight with mine and stopping was the biggest issue. Pat

I've towed 2.5 tonnes behind my 300TDi and as Pat said, I reckon that's about the limit for me, especially trying to stop in a hurry. Under brakes on a corner you can feel it pushing you around. Not dangerously, but can def feel it's presence

130's are supposed to be able to tow 3.5 tonnes....

by the sound of it the brakes arent set up right if you can feel them pushing you round?

we have a couple of friends who have discoverys and tow 3.5t, slowly but once moving they are ok.. they have electric brakes and dont have an issue stopping

Steve

Yeah - no electric brakes on mine - just the overrun (?) type, and as they are very old they probably need adjusting.

my boat has the overrun type at around 1.5 - 2t i can feen the brakes pulling the car up a little.. with light braking. Its the way our friends have thier electric brakes set up also so that the braking is fairly even.

I dont know if this is right or wrong... so take the setup with a pinch of salt..

Steve

Towing laws are now pretty standard across Australia. You will need driver-operable trailer brakes, e.g electric, and break-away brakes, for when your coupling fails, and proof that your tow bar and towing hitch are rated for your trailer. Any newish towbar will have a rating plate showing maximum legal loads for that installation. If you are inside these ratings you should be OK but one would suggest a low coolant alarm and exhaust gas temp gauge would be very worthwhile.

My defender of the same vintage has a Hayman Reece towbar and it is marked at 4000kg and 120 kg ball weight. Now that 50 mm balls appear to be all rated at 3500 kg it is probably the limit for that set up.

The chassis on the Defender is one of the best setups going around for towing. The vehicle will handle the weight without a problem. Especially if the rear springs are heavy duty or if it has air bags.

Brakes - if the trailer has electric brakes and you're vehicle has a brake controller then you won't have a problem. Just remember that you're weighing in at over 5 ton so you will notice the weight difference.



The downside - it's a little engine and you need to look after it. It will tow the weight but it will feel it - another words going up decent hills will take its toll. I towed approx 3.5 ton back from Tassie to Canberra a couple of years ago in my 200tDi. It handled it fine but I was back in 2nd gear on a couple of hills just outside of Gundagai.


Cheers
Chris