Why not fit the removable tow hitch and then when you are off road driving you can just take it off.

 

The NAS/Australian hitch is always removable. It's the square 2" receiver seen in all the pics above. A much more sensible, solid solution than all the silly solutions offered in Europe - especially when it comes to accessories such as bike racks. They slide / lock in place just the same as a trailer hitch and, as such, are much robust than balancing everything on the ball (which is sort of like building a pyramid upside down... ).

 

There are certain vehicles that always seem to hit the trailer hitch offroad. The Discovery 2 is one of them. The L663 Defender 90 or 110 is not one of them. The overhang is so short behind the wheels it's really quite fine. I'm sure a 130 would drag its *** and hitch all over the place given the different length of the vehicle.

 

My thoughts as well. If I'm hitting the receiver I'm sure I'm hitting the muffler at that point. Probably an easy test to place a 4x8 sheet of plywood on the ground touching the back tires. Now lift up the plywood and see what hits first.

 

The ***-end of our 130 never touched last year on Colorado’s Governor’s Basin, Engineers Pass, Imogene Pass, or Corkscrew Gulch….but likely considered lightweight to all the mudders out there…..😎

 

The hitch always saved me on Land Cruisers and 4Runners, but the departure angle on the Defender is awesome. Still, I am fine with the hitch taking one for the team if needed.

 

Love the hitch sliders! Great work @GCSchmidt , @robn , et al. I think I need to get the one GCSchmidt posted because it looks way more B.A. than the recovery mount I put in there. Just my 2 cents, but if you scrape your tow hitch on an ascent angle, you get my high five for a "job well done". I put that in the "not very often" category. As other's post, I think (emphasis on "think") you'll likely be fine on anything other than hard granite. But like all things, YMMV. Me, I try to play "off roader", but that's likely out of my league.

{EDIT: Thanks GCSchmidt for the link! Just ordered...}

 

Thanks....the pictures I posted was when it was new...now...it has been well used and defiantly taken a beating...it has held up very well. I have done a few recoveries with a kinetic rope with it as well...so much better than a D-ring shackle mount and the radius on it didn't damage my soft shackles.

 

I picture it shaking its fist at its attackers.