Towing 4000 kg with a defender

I think you'd have to be nuts to try and tow 4 tonnes with a 2 tonne vehicle. It's a very dangerous excercise in my books. Besides - bye-bye clutch.

For this purpose, God invented the V8 diesel F-350 and larger trucks.

good ol LR. I have a 00 td5 disco rated to 3.5 t.Son has a 97 v8 disco rated to 4t.Difference (acc to LR) is I have abs brakes and the 97 dont so he can tow 500 more.(go figure)
)) is auto and tows 3+t boat at highway speeds.Trailer is fitted with elec/hydralic break a away breaks which are keeped in top condition.I have to do this because of d*ckheads that HAVEto pass anything being towed then realise how fast we are going so they jump on skids after passing.:o

Thanks all for your replies they were very informative, a couple of answers to the questions;

1.) The boat is a sailfish 8.5 m long (see www.sailfish.com) weighing in at around 3.5 to 3.7 but with esky and fuel probably closer to 4 ton. (and yes you can come fishing next time you are in the Whitsunday district although the boat isn't coming until November

2.) Yes the 130 300tdi 1996 is rated to tow 4000 kg , why they dropped the rating after they increased engine size doesn't make sense. I am a little nervous about the load towed to car weight ratio but will wait now until the boat arrives to see how it handles before rushing out to buy some yank tank

3.) Most of my towing will be around 5 km max to the local ramp with the occasional 70 km stretch so speed isn't so important.

4.) I know Ford 250 are rated to 4.5 t, but all the Fords I've seen are pieces of sh*t and I'd feel safer in an underpowered Landrover, maybe if Toyota brings the Tundra to OZ I'd get one

Just did a quick comparison between the Tdi300 and the Td5 (both 130 crew cabs)
The Td5 is rated to tow 3500kg, its total combined weight is 7000kg and kerb weight is 2039kg.
Whereas the Td300 is rated to tow 4000kg, its total combined weight is 7500kg and has a kerb weight of 2058kg. The Defender manual states: trailers with overun brakes - 3500kg and 4 wheeled trailers with coupled (electric) brakes is 4000kg.

I have a 1999 130 Defender and have towed loads of 3000kg to Perth and back (900 odd kms round trip) and you hardly notice the weight behind you.

What is your definition of combined weight? :huh:

Trev.

Thank you all for your input. I'll be getting my boat in November this year and will post a thread with how the 130 performs fuel economy/speed etc. Currently the 130 is stock standard except for a straight through exhaust. I'll chat to my mechanic re benefits of fitting an EGT sensor and let you all know in November how it goes.
Many thanks