Newbie

[henrodstone]

Hey guys,

I'm a newbie and I'm considering buying a 2003-04 Discovery, at least an SE, maybe an HSE if I can find one of my liking. I've got several questions, being how practical are they, how well built are they, and how well do they work in day-to-day commuting. I'm a very active member of the BSA, but if I have to haul patrol gear, I have a trailer to take care of that, I would reserve the interior for fellow passengers and their and/or my personal gear. Speaking of towing trailers, how many pounds of gear can these vehicles trailer? and finally, I've read all about the so-called "bad reliability" so can anyone give me some maintenance guidelines to keep my future vehicle as reliable as possible?


Thanks!

 

[joey]

First welcome to the forum.

Second... Practical all depends on how you plan to use it. Fuel economy isnt the best, but for day to day driving and the ability to go almost anywhere... they are great.

Towing 5500lbs with trailer brakes

Reliability is all in how you take care of them or ignore them in most cases. This isn't a fill it with fuel and never check anything else vehicle. (as most shouldn't be treated this way) Check fluid levels often change plugs once a year drive and enjoy.

 

[henrodstone]

Thanks for the reply, I found a post that had a link to the dealer's checklist of service requirements over 7,500 mile intervals so that was very helpful. I'm not sure whether our trailers have brakes, so how much can they tow without brakes? And as far as practicality goes, I camp out with the BSA about 8 times per year, and at 1 of the camp outs, I have to take two 16L x 32W x 13H footlockers along with folding chairs and a large backpack. The council provides sleeping quarters. And the other 7 camp outs, we bring large backpacks, tents, folding chairs, sleeping bags and air mattresses. And all of this stuff is my personal gear, and as I said before, all troop gear such as patrol boxes, folding tables, canopy's, lanterns, propane tanks, and flags, I'll probably only be hauling a fifth of that stuff, because other people have trailers, and they have more heavy duty Tahoes, Ford Expeditions, trucks like that.

Excuse this post if it's a bit long, just trying to make everything crystal clear.

Thanks!

 

[joey]

I have put more than that in my D1 so shouldn't be an issue if only a few times a year. Trailers without brakes... I wouldn't go over 2000lbs including trailer, this is just my opinion and experience. But then again I would tow any trailer with any vehicle over 2000lbs without brakes on the trailer as it will become no fun at some point.

But it sounds like most of this will fit in a smaller trailer with no issue and not weigh that much. As far as the Tahoes and Expeditions and trucks being more capable... if you mean towing heavy weight I would agree... if you mean getting to and from anywhere I would say you will get there long before them and not tear up your vehicle doing it. I would recommend the 04 D2 though as it was the last year for the D2 and it includes the center diff lock again... the 03 doesn't have it. If I were to buy a newer one it would be the 04.