I have a 2021 Defender with the towing package. I installed the red arc controller and it works great. My travel trailer is 26ft loaded weight of 5000lb and hitch weight right on target. I have a weight distribution hitch I used on my previous vehicles and have attempted to use it on the defender. It has worked….but not well. I’ve towed it to Tahoe and back and also to Bodega Bay and back. Each trip about 200 miles round trip. I’ve used the leaf spring type anti sway that are built into the hitch and I’ve gone with out them as well. Both set ups I’m getting too much sway. The hitch pin to the center of the ball is approx 12 inches which I know is about 5 inches too long from recommended. But in order to clear the spare tire from hitting my electric trailer Jack it’s necessary. Just looking to see what other set ups people are using? Power wise the defender is amazing had no problem climbing the 7000ft up to Tahoe. What’s limiting me on speed is feeling uncomfortable with how much sway I’m getting. Also vehicle and trailer are properly leveled when hooked up. I’ve read in another thread an owner towing a heavier trailer 75-80 mph and can’t imagine how? The best it’s felt is going up hill at 65 mph. Driving through windy areas I was limited to 50-55 mph but I’m pretty cautious. Any tips would be appreciated. Thank you!

Set up.

 

No tips from me. Just liking the setup. Might be looking at getting a small trailer at some point in the future. Great to see/hear the 110 can handle it with ease. Plenty of hills and passes to get over around here.

 

I’ve been using the Hayes Electronic Sway Control, it’s pretty much plug and play (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hayes-Sw...1775/312242708). We have a 6k fully loaded travel trailer that we’ve been using it with; has worked pretty good. Have had a few instances where we felt it kick and it resolved the issue immediately. There’s another one by Tucson but you have to wire it into the brakes, I didn’t feel like messing with them so went with the Hayes.

we also had issues with opening the door, we removed the front mount electric jack and put on a side mount one. Super easy and has done the trick so far.

 

Doesn't look like you've got much space on the trailer tongue, but you could try relocating the hitch jack and pulling the hitch in a couple of inches. Could you slip the jack behind your propane tanks?

 

Do you have a brake controller on the trailer? I have a prodigy RF brake controller and wanted to see if that is an issue having both connected? I am thinking on adding the redarc brake controller so I don’t add anything to the trailer and potentially have a cleaner connection.

Also, what’s the distance between your pin and ball?

 

Nice set-up, Tasman blue is great. I just got my Defender and have 4 different trailers so it will be my tow vehicle for now. (installing the Redarc later today...) I won't be towing a travel trailer with it since we have a motorhome now but I used to tow travel trailers all the time with SUV's and pick-ups. I always found that the farther away the pivot point (hitch ball) is from the rear axle of the tow vehicle the less sway you will get. When you snug it up too close I find it reacts to trucks and wind more. Its also easier to back-up because it turns slower. I am sure the 'towing' experts out there will tell me how I am wrong but I've towed 1000's of miles with TT's and I purposely buy hitches with a longer shank for this reason.

Weight distribution - the air suspension on the Defender could be fighting against the weight distribution hitch. Might want to check this and check the manual? I used to have a Touareg with air suspension and never used the weight dist with the TT, towed like a champ and level and seemed to be shorter wheel base than the Defender.

Loading the TT. It looks like your TT may have a rear kitchen which puts a lot of weight in the rear. If all the weight is in the back of the trailer behind the axle this could also increase sway. I was always careful to evenly load the TT from and back. Clothes, propane, bikes, groceries, water, beer.... if its all in the back thats no bueno.

Just my 2 cents... Great to see people towing with these things, I look forward to seeing how this thing tows.

 

Thanks to all the informative contributors on this thread. This towing n00b has a lot to learn.

I also went with a 12" length ball to hitch pin.

Curt Variable drop hitch can be 12 or 11" depending on which hole is used.

 

If you are having problems setting up your rig, I strongly suggest you reach out to Airstreams | Campers London | Travel Trailers for sale (canamrv.ca) and get some advice from Andy Thompson. I and several Defender owners have made the trek to London Ontario to get our rigs setup and have been pleased with the results.

 

New Defender owner here. I was able to tow for the first time this weekend. The Defender did great on the hills towing a 20' wake boat. 4k pounds plus gear and 6 people. But I was surprised about the size or lack of size of the safety chain holes. I had to use the recovery hooks until I can get another solution. Also had issues with my trailer lights. Had to zip tie the plug in place to keep them on. Not sure what is going on yet. Need to see if it's an issue on the Defender or trailer side. Overall very happy with how it handled the boat. Just need to work out the kinks....

 

Everything I read suggests to not use a weight distribution hitch with the air suspension. I'm looking at a 5000 lb (loaded) off-road trailer, and it uses an articulating hitch (O365 something) everything I've read online suggest that is ok. It's only a 17' long trailer, 4960 GVM. This is the whole reason we went with the Defender (towing+off road without being a truck). don't want to be up around the 8k limit but figured 5k would be plenty.

anyone have an experience with the articulating hitches?