Thread: Anyone know the max tow ball weight for 110 landrovers?

Originally Posted by mark2

If there was no other traffic on the road, I might agree with you, however the inability get through an intersection in a safe time, the total lack of any reserve power, the inability to maintain a reasonable speed on any sort of a gradient, long queues of traffic following are all unsafe/undesirable situations.

Comparing with a truck is not realistic due to gearing, torque and the fact that a truck is designed for this purpose. Most modern trucks dont hold up traffic, A 2.5 liter powered Land Rover towing 3 or 4 t definitely will. Not sure what would be worse, being stuck behind it or driving it!

I don't see your point.
Any towing vehicle is a slug. When comparing the power/weight of a landrover towing at capacity (say 130hp with 6 ton all up) it is far better than the modern trucks which you claim don't hold up traffic (500hp with 44ton all up).
It is power to weight that defines your speed uphill and accelerating on the flat.

Watch a loaded truck crossing an intersection, have a calendar ready to time it.
Follow a loaded truck up a hill. See if you need low range to go that slow.

IMO towing or anyone else driving below the speed limit is not a safety concern. The safety concern are the people who pass in downright dangerous locations.
It is not the slow vehicle which creates a line of traffic, it's the person second in line who can't or won't pass. This means the third person has two vehicles to pass, a significant physical and psychological barrier.

Originally Posted by Dougal

I don't see your point.
Any towing vehicle is a slug. When comparing the power/weight of a landrover towing at capacity (say 130hp with 6 ton all up) it is far better than the modern trucks which you claim don't hold up traffic (500hp with 44ton all up).
It is power to weight that defines your speed uphill and accelerating on the flat.

Watch a loaded truck crossing an intersection, have a calendar ready to time it.
Follow a loaded truck up a hill. See if you need low range to go that slow.

IMO towing or anyone else driving below the speed limit is not a safety concern. The safety concern are the people who pass in downright dangerous locations.
It is not the slow vehicle which creates a line of traffic, it's the person second in line who can't or won't pass. This means the third person has two vehicles to pass, a significant physical and psychological barrier.

I'm not sure what your point is either. If its trying to justify the inconsiderate holding up of traffic by using an underpowered tow vehicle, you still havent convinced me.

My point is simply that there are far better tow vehicles out there for a 3 or 4 ton load than a 2.5 TDI. A manufacturers rating of 3.5t does not mean this is a realistic, safe or considerate proposition in modern traffic.

gee Id hate to be you behind an army convoy....

mogs have less ponies than a tweaked tdi300 and empty weigh more than a fully loaded landrover with 3t of trailer behind it....

and macks only have 275hp which is about 2.5times more power but they weigh 6 times as much....

lets not forget the overladen towing 6x6 workshops....

Having a slow vehicle isnt dangerous, Idiots who dont know the road rules or have any common curteosy are.

Actually I've never had a problem with army convoys. I spend a LOT of time on the Bruce Highway and so does the army, on the way to Wide Bay, Shoalwater etc and for the most part they maintain reasonable speeds and are very considerate of other road users. Neither do I have a problem with trucks, Series 1's etc when they are also driven considerately. I'm still not convinced by power to weight comparisons as torque and gearing make up for lower power figures when it comes to pulling a load.

I cant tell you how many times I've seen amateurs in underpowered tow rigs try to speed up on overtaking lanes for some perverse reason or fail to pull over or slow down when appropriate to let traffic past. Consideration goes both ways.

Anyway, regardless of what individuals views are on how far courtesy extends to other road users, the main point is that a small capacity diesel towing 3.5 tonnes on public roads is less than desirable for many reasons which should be obvious.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

Idiots who dont know the road rules or have any common curteosy are.

here here..

Originally Posted by mark2

I'm still not convinced by power to weight comparisons as torque and gearing make up for lower power figures when it comes to pulling a load.

You need to work on your physics then.
The power you have on tap and the weight your pulling defines absolutely your hill climbing speed.
Poor gearing can only reduce that speed, not improve it.

anyway, back to the original Q.

11/98 Defender, first registered '99 has a 4000kg max rated towbar, with a max. static towball weight of 120kg as per the rating plate. OE Oz towbar.

This may have been retrospectively revised to fall into line with the TD5, as most manufacturers were petitioned to increase them in the last few years as the towball weight should be 10% of the rated towing capacity, and none of the big 4WD's were, making most technically illegal towing what people put behind them in Australia.
It was a bit of a bunfight with the manufacturers unwilling to budge, and the consumer being the meat in the sandwich, as usual.

TAZ,

the ball weight is something I spent a bit of time investigating as I have a 1997 Disco and did have a 21ft Roma Van with a plated ball weight of 190Kg. As far as I'm aware the Tdi and Td5 Disco and 110 Defenders are the same for towing.

There's 2 things you need to be aware of,

a) Whats written in the LR Manual
b) The compliance plate on your towing hit.

For a Tdi Disco in the manual the relevant words are

(from Towing and Load Carrying section)
The recommeded trailer nose weight limit is 150Kg. The nose weight plus the combined weight of the vehicles load carrying area and rear seat passengers must never exceed the maximum rear axle load.

(& in General data)
Max rear axle weight 1650kg
Kerb Weight (unladen weight +full fuel tank +75kg driver) 1040Kg

I had a lawyer friend of mine read this and he confirmed that the first statement is a recommendation and not a firm maximum, the issue is around the axle loading. So as long as you don't overload the 1650kg number your sweet.

Now the compliance plates on your Tow kit. When I bought the Disco new I had a Haymen Reece fitted , it said MAX 150Kg. I subsequently bought a KMAR rear step which had a 120Kg limit.. Then I bought the caravan and this is when I realised I had a problem. Luckily the TOW hitch ARB sell (Tow Master) is plated to 200kg.
Legally I'm OK for the caravan.

For a TD5 I don't have a manual but I believe the wording in the manual is different and it talks about 250Kg as a maximum, not recommended so you can't go above that. Also I've seen a lot of TD5 Disco's and Defenders with 250Kg on the TOW Hitch.

Darren