I am relatively new to the Land Rover community (and brand new to this LR forum). I picked up a 2002 Disco about 6 months ago and I am going to trailering a 18.5 foot boat. I think the total weight with boat, motor, and trailer is going to be around 2600-2700 lbs. (Dual axle'd trailer w/ brakes) My question is this: does anyone have any experience with towing such a rig, and how much 'drop' do i need for the hitch? I was thinking a hitch (ball) with a 2 inch drop would probably be what i needed - but do i need any more drop than this? like a 3.5" drop?, (or even no drop at all??) I am assuming the trailer needs to be level. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks! Oh, and my Disco does not have the hydraulic suspension..

2002 Discover II SE

 

It veries depending on your trailer, it's length and most importantly your suspension, which if stock will be pretty weak.

 

I've towed more trailers than every one on the forum combined, all you will need is a 2" drop, if that is to low then flip the draw bar over and you will now have a 2" rise.
You will have almost no weight at all on the back of the truck so it will sit pretty level, the only thing you will need to worry about is going in and out of parking lots/driveways/etc. because the hand winch on your trailer may come in contact with your spare tire as the back of the truck drops (like when pulling into a steep driveway) and the tongue of the trailer drops towards the ground, the whatever its called that the winch is on that sticks up in the front of the trailer will be really close to your spare.
I always angle into/out of these types of drive ways with the truck and then straighten out and let the trailer do its thing.
If you have a hard shell spare tire cover it might be best to remove it before hooking up the trailer.
Also you will not be able to open the cargo door very far with the trailer connected.
So put your coolers and tubes and whatevers in the truck before hitching up.

 

I agree 2" inch drop. Do you have surge breaks or do you need to get a break control module for your brakes to work? If the tire is an issue, just take it off and put it in the trailer or or strap it on to the roof. You won't be able to get the rear door open though very far.
Good luck. A lot of people will freak out and say towing will destroy your transmission but in all reality just change your fluids on a regular basis and don't worry about it.

 

I agree with everything that spike said. I reglualy tow with my 03 disco a 18ft boat to Florida and back to Baltimore and a ATV on a trailer up to Vermont and back and have had no problems. I use a 2' drop and have never had a problem. I tend to tow at 65mph on the free way with the cruise control on. I have upgraded to akebono ceramic pads and recently put on EBC rotors. You might want to consider going to a motorad 180 thermostat to help with the cooling. Since doing mine I since temps drop by 9 degrees when towing.

 

Thank you guys for all the helpful info. I don't have the trailer in my posession yet so i don't have the measurements, etc., but I do know that it has surge brakes on it. I am not going to be towing long distances, and it sounds like a 2 inch drop will do the trick. I ordered a wiring harness kit from Atlantic British rather than fooling with jerry-rigging wire. Thanks again for all the input.

 

I haul my 18' Bayliner, skiis, boards, tubes, camping gear, three kids, a wife and a dog regularly with my air suspension-equipped 2001 series II Disco, and have never had a problem. The Atlantic British wiring adapter works like a champ. I use a two inch drop and cruise happily at 65 MPH. I use low range when pulling the boat out of the water, it seems to work smoother. The ONLY problem I run into (and it was mentioned earlier) is access to the back after the boat is hooked up. Just make sure the truck is loaded before you hook up to the trailer. My son threw the door open last year and smacked the boat winch pretty good.

The Land Rover dealer looked at me like I had just kicked a kitten into a wood chipper when I asked about towing. My usual independent Rover mechanic just rolled his eyes, told me to get the Atlantic British adapter and have at it.

cheers

 

Okay, the spare tire thing may not be an issue, I tow my boat about 4 times a week and never had a problem. I also have a swing tongue on my trailer so I can open my reat door all the way. Also, you can purchase an extended hitch reciever that will add another foot to your stock hitch mount. I do not use one for trailering but I do use one for my hitch bike carrier and it is great.

Drop ***** are cheap so if you need to buy another one to get it level then you are out less than $25. Also, if you are like me, you may end up having multiple trailers that need a diffrent drop than your boat.

Good Luck.

 

I used a 5.25" drop, but I really needed a 7" drop but I couldn't find one. The tonque was not level.

My truck did not like towing my 5800#+ boat. I am leaving it in dry dock to make life easy.

 

2" drop is perfect for almost all trailering applications that I've seen with my DII

I towed a 20' Yamaha (twin engine jet boat) probably 2500-3000lbs, SINGLE axle, NO brakes - and the rig was very stable. I actually had a trailer tire blow out on the highway (sucks with a single axle trailer!!) and never came close to losing control or even leaving my lane. I have however retained my SLS suspension (with the Arnott springs) which obviously helps big time when trailering.