Thread: D3 Disappointment - Unable to Tow Van

It just so happened i have just read the latest 4wd monthly mag and they had a article on towing camper traliers they went to a proper offroad tralier towing course and one of the points listed was that the new 2.6t Discovery 3
has an offroad towing capacity of 1t it had a list of other cars with what the you could tow i got to admit thats not much.


Mark

Don't know the specs, but talk to Discomaniac. He has a D3 and a nice large van he lugs around with it.

Not sure about this as it relates to the RR but does a D3 lock into road height when a trailer is plugged into the trailer socket.

Can anyone advise whether this is the same with a D3.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Mark86

one of the points listed was that the new 2.6t Discovery 3
has an offroad towing capacity of 1t it had a list of other cars with what the you could tow i got to admit thats not much.

Same as a Disco1

Originally Posted by Owners Handbook

Maximum permissible towed weights V8i & Tdi On-road Off-road
Unbraked trailers 750 kg .................................................. ........ 500 kg
Trailers with overrun brakes 3500 kg ........................................ 1000 kg
4 wheel trailers with coupled brakes * 4000 kg ......................... 1000 kg

The problem as discussed by Rover salespeople is not the towing weight of the van, but the height of the towball. It is, as they state "your towball height is far above that permissable by 'the Australian Standard". The D3 will not accept a towing hitch that will tow at this height.

I can not hitch-up the van and use it on any roads at all if using the D3.

A standard height caravan hitch is okay, I believe as it comes in at around 420cm to the top of the tow ball.

Welcome to my nightmare. While I do not have a offroad caravan, my coupling is slightly higher than a standard. There is an Australian Standard (4177) dealing with towball height (note not hitchreceiver). Most 4wd have the hitch receiver set high under the bumber bar and the hitch drops the ball down to the standard height; this allows you to tow offroad vans with their higher coupling by using an appropriate hitch. For whatever reason, Landrover chose another design that has the hitch receiver set low. The manual then says you can only lift the ball 10cm - still too low.The hitch receiver also blocks the spare wheel so you have to take the receiver off to get to the spare wheel. Incredible!!.

All is not lost. On the Australian part of the UK Land Rover forum,there is discussion about Haymann Reese having tested a new design. Link is http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/austra...land-vf13.html.

I have written to landrover - no reply. I also took the issue up with Standards Australia - no reply. I suggest you contact HR and add your voice to the work they are doing.

Regards

Originally Posted by Phantom

The hitch receiver also blocks the spare wheel so you have to take the receiver off to get to the spare wheel. Incredible!!.

That wasn't a problem for the original type fitted to the D3. It was the UK version & it fitted nicely, not like the rough, prototype apppearing version that is fitted now.
For some reason, all the early types had to be replaced for the current square gooseneck type.

I have seen a few cars that have overcome the drawbar height issue by replacing the "genuine" gooseneck for a taller one (or a lower one just turned upside down).