Towing travel trailer with Discovery

[roverlover]

Does anybody have any experience towing travel trailers with a Discovery, 2003, with 18" wheels? I now tow a short travel trailer with this vehicle and want to get a longer one, a 23 ft Air Stream. Does anyboy have any experience with this? Please reply.

Tom

 

[Chongo]

Towing

Hello Tom, When My wife found the discovery she liked, I noticed a healthy looking trailer hitch assembly underneath, which rivals some of the best I’ve seen in mass production. Although it is a very stout hitch assembly, the weak link is the amount of available horsepower you have. This is the determining factor in how much you can tow reasonably. I don’t know the factory specifications, but most of them are biased to make the manufacturer look good. As a good rule of thumb, I only push equipment to 75% of capacity. This is a safe and sane figure to work with almost anything……….. including torque wrenches.
I don’t see why the Discovery can’t pull 2,000 lbs, but remember one thing, the harder you work it, the lighter your wallet will get.

Good luck, I’m sure someone will know the factory ratings, and post them. Then I’ll know what the ratings are too.

Best of luck………….. Chongo

 

[wolf]

I know the Brits work their Discos really hard - many of them towing 5000 lbs unbraked - but they also run them with diesels as well. I towed a U-Haul car-carrier (2000 lbs minimum) carrying an old 1984 long box Suzuki (add another 1700 lbs) up through some serious mountains in British Columbia for approximately 500 kliks (5000 foot climb up from the Coast). It was slow going up hill but what really suprised me was that the V8 did not guzzle that much more than normal - I was getting about 14 mpg hauling 3700 pounds plus - up hill! I would not recommend that one do this on a regular basis though - its just to say that LR's can really tow if they must!

 

[joey]

Roverlover... weight aside, keep one thing in mind. The rover is a short wheel based vehicle. At 23 feet of trailer you will be okay, if you go say 25 foot without a good sway system... you will not enjoy the trip at all. Check out some of the camper forums and you should find a length equation... I forget what it is of the top of my head, but the Rover shouldn't pull more than 24 feet IIRC.

Also keep in mind that the trailer hitch has a lower tongue weight then most longer trailer will allow.

Just some food for thought... Most I have pulled was almost 6700 lbs of brick and trailer without trailer brakes... up the mountains in WV only had to pull it for 45 miles, but it wasn't the most fun I have ever had.

 

[wolf]

Roverlover... weight aside, keep one thing in mind. The rover is a short wheel based vehicle. At 23 feet of trailer you will be okay, if you go say 25 foot without a good sway system... you will not enjoy the trip at all. Check out some of the camper forums and you should find a length equation... I forget what it is of the top of my head, but the Rover shouldn't pull more than 24 feet IIRC.

Also keep in mind that the trailer hitch has a lower tongue weight then most longer trailer will allow.

Just some food for thought... Most I have pulled was almost 6700 lbs of brick and trailer without trailer brakes... up the mountains in WV only had to pull it for 45 miles, but it wasn't the most fun I have ever had.

Hi Joey;

Yeah - I have heard of these sorts of incredible towing feats; have not tried that yet myself though; but the point is, the Land Rover can do it - but you just would not want to make a habit of doing that (your brakes cannot have been happy)!

 

[adgunn94]

I have to agree with the Land Rover's lack of towing ability; I pulled a Mercury Tracer, on a U-haul Car dolly, approximately 3500-4000 lbs total load, for a distance of 320 miles, over 2 mountain ranges. Very slow going up any kind of grade, over heating issues caused many delays in my trip. Once on flat ground, could pull 70 mph. just no grades.

HENCE my farewell to Land Rover fourms. I traded my Rover in this weekend. I needed somthing with a little more power. I cant knock my little Rover, it was a good ride, and served its designed purpose well. Time for me to move on. Traded for a 1997 F 350 Crew Cab w/ a 460. it should handle my " little camper " 6600 lbs empty, 30" toungs pull.

Thanks for all the help. Good luck. Maybe I'll get another someday...really like to try the 4.6 L engine....