Thread: max tow weight of LR off road

Sounds about right to me. The army rate them at about 1000kg up hill and down dale.
Would love to see a Landrover document stating that though. I don't exactly trust things published in magazines.

You will be right with that trailer on the Gibb River Road. If you're prepared to leave the trailer behind for the rough stuff it already shows you have an appreciation for what might be reasonable. Anyone with some mechanical sympathy will not need a manufacturer to tell them when it is ok to tow a heavier trailer. The rating on vehicles have a lot to do with what Manufacturers are prepared to provide a warranty for. The weight of the trailer will most likely limit where you can go way before the your vehicle manufacturers rating.

Which model Land Rover?

The P38A Owner's Manual says:

MAXIMUM PERMISSIBLE TOWED WEIGHTS (all models)
.........................................On-road ..Off-road
Unbraked trailers ..................750 kg .....500 kg
Trailers with overrun brakes 3,500 kg ...1,000 kg
Trailers with coupled brakes 3,500 kg ...1,000 kg

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Sounds about right to me. The army rate them at about 1000kg up hill and down dale.
Would love to see a Landrover document stating that though. I don't exactly trust things published in magazines.

My owner's manual doesn't mention reducing nose weight when off road, possibly because of the air suspension self-levelling?

The recommended maximum trailer nose
weight is 150 kg (330 lb). The nose weight
plus the combined weight of the vehicle’s load
carrying area and rear seat passengers must
NOT EXCEED the maximum rear axle load or
the gross vehicle weight (as shown in ’General
data’).

VEHICLE WEIGHTS
When loading a vehicle to its maximum (gross
vehicle weight), consideration must be taken
of the unladen vehicle weight and the
distribution of the load to ensure that axle
loadings do not exceed the permitted
maximum values.

Regarding vehicle weight mentioned in that article, I put my P38A on the weighbridge when I returned from my last camping trip. See the results here: http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-...st2281577.html

Page 56 of the Defender booklet states for off-road towing the maximum weights are:
Unbraked - 500lg
Overrun Brakes - 1,000kg
Fully Coupled brakes - 1,500kg
Towball weight off-road - 150kg

Australia only the maximum towball weight is 250kg.

I have the magazine and the editorial pretty much sums it up.

"It's interesting to note that the only 4x4 manufacturer we could find that reduces the towing capacity of it's vehicles for off road is Land Rover. And before all the Land Rover jokers have their say, you have to think the conservative Brits know a thing or two about making their 4X4's last many years."

Then goes on to say all the other makes should knock off some weight off road too.

I came to the conclusion a while back that Land Rovers & G-Wagons are for explorers and the rest are for tourists. Found a Polish expedition club online years ago and the Land Rovers and Merc G-Wagons are the only 4x4's allowed on their trips.

Yep, LR is being frank with its advice to consumers and other manufacturers are not telling it like it really is, which is why there are so many bent utes aroound the place.
Our camper weighs around 1200-1300 fully loaded and we have done lots of off-road use, including the Cape, so if the trailer is strong enough and your towball weight is not too high you should be fine. Just be careful you distribute your weight evenly over the trailer.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using AULRO mobile app

Is their a definition of off road ?
A lot of roads are badly corrugated and will rip you apart.
Conversely a lot of cross country, eg pasture , can be quite smooth.
I live on a nominally a national highway, in PNG , and its a dogs breakfast.

Get a 101 - 2000KG towing capacity - anywhere. (Military spec)

In civilian clothes I'm sure it would have a 4000KG on road rating, but that's not how the Military did it, so I'm stuck with 2000KG on road as well even though it could tow heaps more (but not very fast...)

It does sound like you are being sensible about the vehicle and trailers limits, so I doubt you'd have a problem.