sijui
Member Since: 03 Mar 2006
Location: Rosebank
Posts: 81
  
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the tow hitch is a horrible piece of work
I was hoping Kaymar would fix it with their rear bar but alas no
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 17th Oct 2006 9:24 am |
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Sib
Member Since: 19 Aug 2006
Location: Bath
Posts: 26
  
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I agree that the removable towbar is too low (at standard road driving height ). My local Ifor Williams man agrees too.
It is no problem when towing a single axle trailer or a laiden twin axle trailer or caravan but it is (we reckon) two inches too low and this is very noticable when towing an empy twin axle trailer as the rear axle wheels are hardly on the ground and it ecourages fish tailing to a rather scary degree.
I have since swapped to a single axle trailer as a result ( I was going to anyway but one trip with empty twin axle hurried my decision)
My advice for caravanners with twin axle rigs is to definately opt for the multi-hieght towbar.
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| 17th Oct 2006 8:01 pm |
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Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
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Mine is TA and fine. DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
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| 17th Oct 2006 8:39 pm |
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John O
Member Since: 10 Mar 2006
Location: Shropshire
Posts: 37
 
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I too can report no problems with a large (ish) twin axle caravan (Abbey Spectrum 520) - either when empty, or (very) full.
John O 
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| 17th Oct 2006 10:33 pm |
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lookatmema
Member Since: 24 Aug 2006
Location: Fife - it's a Kingdom doncha know
Posts: 47
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I haven't had any problem with the height of the detachable towbar - my caravan sits just slightly nose down, and tows great. Just a thought - is the height problem more with the 5 door coil sprung motors? They would have a tendency to drop on the springs when loaded.
BUT - the bar seems to loosen off slightly when crossing rough ground (farm track) for any distance. The green release handle drops slightly, and will not return under the pressure from the built in spring to fully lock the bar. I reckon the flanges will wear pretty quickly.
Ho hum, nothing's perfect it seems.
PS - 19.9mpg is my best. If you wait for it to go wrong - it's bound to oblige
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| 18th Oct 2006 8:52 pm |
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Pelyma
Member Since: 06 Jan 2005
Location: Patching, Sussex
Posts: 15496
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I do 22 with the van on the back (computer reading) DS3 TDV6 HSE - Silver with Alpaca (old one) Gone
DS3 TDV6 HSE- Silver with Alpaca (new one) Gone
D4 HSE Lux - Montalcino Red Gone
Porsche Cayenne V8 Diesel S
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| 18th Oct 2006 10:15 pm |
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Oily Hoyles
Member Since: 12 Oct 2006
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 32
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My disco pulls and pulls all day long no problem unlike the galaxy i had before!! but i would like the 29mpg we used to get unlike the 16.7mpg i had on one trip! Must say very few cars passed me either  it pulls ture and fast  Road Rallying guys keep it up all night!
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| 24th Oct 2006 1:41 am |
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Ronfltd
Member Since: 05 Oct 2006
Location: Highlands
Posts: 9
 
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For me the removable unit is too high. I tow a ten feet ifor williams twin axle tipper and the multi height hitch is ideal. The mutli hitch also allows fitting of a guard behind the hook (I always like to protect the bumper from getting knocked when I reverse to hook up)...makes things very easy when you're on your own. Also, the air suspension is great...when unhooking with a couple of tons on, just drop the jockey wheel and then lower the suspension... nip round to unhitch and that's it. No more graunching the threads on the jockey wheel. Also, the new disco has a much better first gear ratio for towing than my previous disco 2. Pulls away without having to slip the clutch at all. Drives like a dream and pulls better than my old (ubeatable until now) defender 200tdi used to.. 
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| 24th Oct 2006 6:41 am |
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azure111s
Member Since: 20 Sep 2006
Location: Wiltshire
Posts: 155
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Been towing a twin axle (obviously) Wessex Olympian horse trailer behind mine. Have to say that after ordering the car with a removable, I thought initially (ie. before hiching anything up) that it looked a little low when in normal road height. Hitched up the trailer though and it sits perfectly level Well pleased with it.
Have to agree that the air suspension is great for unhitching!
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| 24th Oct 2006 9:25 pm |
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cyclic
Member Since: 01 Apr 2006
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 33
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I find that my twin axle sits slightly nose down on the detachable tow bar and it can be difficult at time times to get the jockey wheel retracted enough to allow the van onto to the towbar. This is particularly the case when on uneven ground.
I get round this by setting the suspension to off-road mode, giving more height for hitching and unhitching. Towing is unaffected by the nose down attitude though and is extremely stable. www.busyoutdoors.com
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| 28th Oct 2006 2:55 pm |
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noizeman
Member Since: 14 Oct 2006
Location: Wirral
Posts: 133
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I've followed this thread with intrerest as I have a biggish, heavy caravan (single axle) and have orederd new D3 HSE with the removable tow bar. The LR accessory catalogue for the D3 quotes the height of the removable tow bar as 400 mm, while the multi-height bar goes from 350 mm to 500 mm, with one 'in-between' which I presume must be 425 mm?
The catalogue doesn't say, however, where the 400 mm measurement is taken. Is it to the centre of the ball, the bottom of the ball, or the top of the ball? With my caravan perfectly level, the bottom of the hitch is exactly 420 mm from the ground. Without knowing the reference for the quoted height, I can't tell whether my caravan will ride level or not.
And will the towball drop significantly when the car is loaded and hitched up? I've read somewhere that the suspension is self-levelling. Is this so?
This is of concern to me as we currently tow with a Nissan X-Trail (great car but crap for towing), which has a nominal towball height of 450 mm, but which drops so much when the car is laden that the jockey wheel of the caravan is only about 70 mm from the ground and 'bottoms out' when we go up the ramp on the cross-channel ferry.
Do I really need a multi-height towbar or can someone tell me what is the actual height of the removable tow ball, measured, say, to the centre of the ball, when the D3 is fully loaded (kids, luggage, bikes, 90 Kg hitchload)?
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| 28th Oct 2006 8:38 pm |
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cyclic
Member Since: 01 Apr 2006
Location: Aberdeenshire
Posts: 33
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I will measure up tomorrow and give you accurate results. However, I have no problems with 1.7 tonnes of twin axle and the outfit is very, very stable. It is a little nose down but this doesn't affect stability at all. I have to remind myself that I am towing at times.
The self leveling will bring the towbar back up to the original height. www.busyoutdoors.com
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| 29th Oct 2006 12:17 am |
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B16 KJR
Member Since: 10 Jul 2006
Location: Rosyth, Fife
Posts: 3005
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The measurement of 400mm is from the ground to the centre of the towball. My last car a Discovery 1 with heavy duty springs, had a ground to towball centre height of 450mm which dropped a little when the van was hitched. The caravan does sit a little lower on my D3, but you have to remember that there is now no drop in height, irrespective of the caravan noseweight. Also it is far better to have the caravan sitting slightly nose down as this will ensure stability at speed.
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| 29th Oct 2006 9:27 am |
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noizeman
Member Since: 14 Oct 2006
Location: Wirral
Posts: 133
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Thanks B16 KJR,
That makes sense. I thought the quoted measurement must be to the centre of the ball. I agree that a slightly nose-down stance gives more stability and if the back of the D3 stays level, then I think I can live with 400 mm as provided by the detachable ball.
For more clearance on RO-RO ramps and the like, I can always raise the suspension to clear the jockey wheel.
Noizeman
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| 29th Oct 2006 1:50 pm |
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Q8_LR3
Member Since: 29 Jan 2006
Location: Every where in kuwait!
Posts: 217
 
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The tow hitch is horrible, especially when trying to tow my boat out of the beach.. the trailer nose is always down and it's very hard to get the boat on the trailer. '05 LR3 HSE V8 - Adriatic Blue - Larini Exhaust System - Lamp Guards - Dual battery system - Hidden 12k winch - Rasta Sump Guard
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| 29th Oct 2006 11:04 pm |
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