Defenders have a max tongue weight of 771 lbs, not 820. The tongue weight is based on the construction of the vehicle and the designed max weight for the rear axle. It doesn't matter what the receiver's designed max weight. Your tow weights are all the lowest of the entire chain (truck, hitch, ball mount, coupler, trailer). Good design is to have all the components a bit above the lowest for some margin.

 

That 771 lb rating listed in the owner's manual is universal across all models of Defender. If you decode your VIN you will get the tongue weight rating for your specific build. My VIN decode specified 820 lbs with the towing option. I believe that all 110 P400 builds with that option would have a rating of 820 lbs.

 

I don’t know where you are getting that data from, but my 2020 with factory hitch is 771. Like all other p400 vehicles.

 

I believe you are mistaken. Tongue weight is 10% of the towing capacity.

8201lbs is the US spec for the 3.0L P400. Aussie specs max out at 3500kgs for all trims it seems. (7700lbs) There are some jurisdictional variances.

https://www.landrovernorthscottsdale...wing-capacity/

Plenty more info like this out there

Here's another cut and paste from another site.

2022 LAND ROVER DEFENDER TOWING CAPACITY & PERFORMANCE SPECS

With so much versatility and towing prowess found on the 2022 Land Rover Defender, it’s no surprise that it has impressive engine options underneath the hood. However, rest assured that no matter which Land Rover Defender engine option you choose, you’ll have plenty of performance to enjoy on your Boca Raton travels. To help you with your research, let’s go over the 2022 Land Rover Defender towing capacity and its performance specs for each engine:

2.0L P300 I4 GASOLINE ENGINE

• Towing Capacity: 7,716 pounds
• Horsepower: 296 hp
• Torque: 295 lb-ft of torque

3.0L P400 I6 GASOLINE MHEV ENGINE

• Towing Capacity: 8,201 pounds
• Horsepower: 395 hp
• Torque: 406 lb-ft of torque

5.0L P525 V8 GASOLINE ENGINE

• Towing Capacity: 7,716 pounds
• Horsepower: 518 hp
• Torque: 406 lb-ft of torque

And here is another

HOW MUCH CAN A LAND ROVER DEFENDER TOW?

The Land Rover Defender towing capacity varies by configuration. But you can count on being able to tow well over 7,000 pounds regardless of the version you choose. So how much can a Land Rover Defender tow when equipped with the i6 MHEV engine? Here are the performance specs:

2023 Land Rover Defender Towing Capacity by Engine

• 2.0L P300 i4 GAS – Up to 7,716 pounds (Defender 90 or 110)
• 3.0L P400 i6 MHEV – Up to 7,716 pounds (Defender 90) or 8,201 pounds (Defender 110)
• 5.0L P525 V8 GAS – Up to 7,716 pounds (Defender 90 or 110)

TLDR 8201lbs for the P400 in US and A

Tongue weight is 10% of that 820lbs

 

No, tongue weight is NOT 10%. That is normal for US manufactured trucks. That is not what the Defender is designed to. Your manual specifies the tongue weight, gross train weight, and max trailer weight.

Use those values to be safe.

 

OK I will.
Thanks for the correct information. I guess I was over simplifying it and your info is spot on. I was wrong.

From LR USA.

Unbraked trailer (lbs) 1,653§
Maximum towing (lbs) 8,201§
Maximum coupling point (nose weight) (lbs) 771‡‡§
Maximum vehicle and trailer combination (GTW) (lbs) 14,810§

The maximum coupling point (nose weight) only applies to trailers with overrun brakes, without overrun breaks the maximum coupling point (nose weight) = 330 lbs. Furthermore, the coupling point (nose weight) must not exceed 10% of the gross caravan or trailer weight. For further information, please contact your preferred Land Rover Retailer.

 

I used the VIN decoder listed in the tools section of this forum. It lists the technical spec "Wt Distributing Hitch - Max Tongue Wt.820 lbs 820.0 min 820.0 max". If the tool is providing bad info, the admins should be informed.

 

Yes, all the trailer info on that page is wrong.

 

I noticed your ball mount looks different than mine. Is that a landrover defender air suspension specific one? Mine looks much lower. My model number is vlpey0116. Mine looks like it’s too low even with the defender at its highest suspension.




Is this the right ball or should it be higher

 

Your hooked up photo looks like your hitch has too much drop.

level you trailer on its jack, measure the distance from the ground to the bottom of the coupler. That will be the distance you measure from the ground to the bottom of your ball (or add 2 5/16 inches to get distance to top of the ball).

level trailer is safer. A little bit of lower front of trailer is better than hitch up.