To tow, or not to tow...
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#12
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Loveland, Colorado (Heaven)
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RE: To tow, or not to tow...
Thank you all for the replies. Upon further thought I/We have decided to just pay a company to ship the other car in an enclosed container. I fear the Disco wouldn't be too happy going almost 1800 miles pulling that much weight. Not really any hills at all on the trip, but I am concerned about the driveline on the Disco being worked too hard for that long. If it was say 500 miles I would, but I can't afford to break down half way to god country ;-)
Thanks again fellas!,
Brendon-
Thanks again fellas!,
Brendon-
#13
RE: To tow, or not to tow...
My 2 cents... too late again it would seem but worth considering for anyone else i hope.....
I have been towing large and heavy things with discoveries since the early 90's mostly in Europe with diesel Disco's - much nicer with more grunt. I have been in US for 2 years and have Disco II with Gas engine.I live in Florida and buy and sell Discoveries with dead engines - unfortunately they all seem to die around the Pennsylvania area and i have to collect them. I use my Disco with rear air suspension and a 4 wheel flat trailer with a brake controller for the electric brakes to pull the dead discoveries back. I have made that trip many many times and have towed that kind of weight over 20,000 miles in the US with very little ill effect to my discovery that now has 87k on the clock. As you can imagine i am pulling right at the maximum allowable limit.
This is what i know from my experiences....
Air suspension on a disco whilst shunned by most is and absolute dream as far as i am concerned - it really does work and compensates for hitch loads amazingly - so much better than coils. A coil spung disco is ok for towing but more care is needed with the weight distribution. In an emergency situation one time (wheel bearing failure on the freeway)i took the front wheels off of my trailers axle that had the failure and slowly towed the tralier the mile or so off the freeway like that. Bare in mind that my discovery had over half the weight of another discovery on its ball hitch. When i started it up and shut the door she sat up perfectly level again...
Trailer weight distribution is vital - my 4 wheel trailer (american)has it's axles set too far back compared to european trailers where an ideal nose weight of 200lbs is the maximum - something a discovery is ideally suited to. I therefore load the vehicle on the trailer a lot further back than i see a lot of pick up drivers over here do - their rear end can take the weight. I must have the loading about right though as i never get any unprovoked swaying on the highway at speeds up to and around 70. I also always put a seperate strap over each wheel to anchor the vehicle down to the trailer and never load a car backwards i.e engine to the rear.
If your trailer has bias ply tires on it then throw them away - they are dangerous and in my opinion should be banned. Nearly all my trailer issues have come from tire problems over here. If you have to use bias then just make sure they are inflated well and then keep the speed down, frequently stop on long journeys and get out and feel the temperature of the tires - if they seem high then go get a coffee..... I have fitted radial tires to my vehicle and the tires run noticebly cooler and track better behind the vehicle.
You must have good brakes on a trailer. Mine has electric - a new thing for me as i had only ever used surge brakes before. I am on the fence about which is better. A plus with electric is if you were to get an uncontrolled sway going then you can just push the little button on the brake controller or lightly lay your foot on the brake pedal and the whole thing straightens up. Well maintained surge brakes are more reliable though. With my electric braked trailer i always check the wiring ( Well after a wire got pinched by the poor design and severed my brakes!!!) - all i do is drive on a sandy/gravel track with the trailer emptyat 5mph and hit the button on the controller with a high voltage set - if i see all tires locked for a brief moment then i am happy. Of course i do adjust them periodically.
Wheel bearings on trailer are an absolute pain they fail at an alarming rate even ifcared for. Regualar greasing is the only way to stay on top of them - luckily mine has easy lube hubs!! But i still spin and listen to them each time i adjust the brakes. Even though i look after mine i still carry a spare wheel bearing kit with me.
Lug nuts - always check them... i have lost a wheel once in europe... i was young and impatient and well you can guess the rest -it was kinda funny thinking back... to be overtaken by one of your own wheels and watch in horror as it dodged cars headed towards a house...
Lighting - why oh why do people pull trailers with defective lights on the back... if you are the fastest vehicle on the planet then i guess one light out wont matter but you are going to be one of the slowest... standard trailer lights are poor at best so make sure they at least work - nearly all faults with them are ground related or neglect - most trailers sit neglected for 95% of the time butwe are always suprised an dissapointed that things dont work - why is that?
Silly little thing but make sure the tag is correct/up todate and that you have the registration with you - thanks for the reminder West Palm Beach highway patrol...
Just make sure the trailer is roadworthy and safe.
keep your speed down - you will take about 4 times longer to stop in an absolute emergency.
Drive very very smoothly -imagine you are on snow - you would not change lanes or brake fast then would you?
Going up hill be kind to your car - switch the cruise control off early and let te car find it's own sweet spot it can maintain a constant speed at without thrashing the motor it may be slower than you want but it is what the car wants.
Going down long hills slow down and hold a lower gear -steeper the hill the lower the gear - use your brakes sparingly. Use them, get off them, let the engine do it's work and then use them again - never brake all the way down a hill, if you are doing this you are probably going too fast.
Plan ahead look ahead - dont get caught out.
If you cant reverse a trailer then dont worry too much - america is a big country and there is always somewhere you can turn around - honestly if you plan ahead and look ahead you should be able to avoid most reversing situations.
Please dont let this put you off - 99% is common sense anyway. I enjoy the challenge of towing and generally it makes you a more observant and better driver. As for towing with a discovery - yes they are a good tool, just look after them and they will look after you. Change fluids twice as rgular if towing and only use the good stuff.
Regards,
Nick
I have been towing large and heavy things with discoveries since the early 90's mostly in Europe with diesel Disco's - much nicer with more grunt. I have been in US for 2 years and have Disco II with Gas engine.I live in Florida and buy and sell Discoveries with dead engines - unfortunately they all seem to die around the Pennsylvania area and i have to collect them. I use my Disco with rear air suspension and a 4 wheel flat trailer with a brake controller for the electric brakes to pull the dead discoveries back. I have made that trip many many times and have towed that kind of weight over 20,000 miles in the US with very little ill effect to my discovery that now has 87k on the clock. As you can imagine i am pulling right at the maximum allowable limit.
This is what i know from my experiences....
Air suspension on a disco whilst shunned by most is and absolute dream as far as i am concerned - it really does work and compensates for hitch loads amazingly - so much better than coils. A coil spung disco is ok for towing but more care is needed with the weight distribution. In an emergency situation one time (wheel bearing failure on the freeway)i took the front wheels off of my trailers axle that had the failure and slowly towed the tralier the mile or so off the freeway like that. Bare in mind that my discovery had over half the weight of another discovery on its ball hitch. When i started it up and shut the door she sat up perfectly level again...
Trailer weight distribution is vital - my 4 wheel trailer (american)has it's axles set too far back compared to european trailers where an ideal nose weight of 200lbs is the maximum - something a discovery is ideally suited to. I therefore load the vehicle on the trailer a lot further back than i see a lot of pick up drivers over here do - their rear end can take the weight. I must have the loading about right though as i never get any unprovoked swaying on the highway at speeds up to and around 70. I also always put a seperate strap over each wheel to anchor the vehicle down to the trailer and never load a car backwards i.e engine to the rear.
If your trailer has bias ply tires on it then throw them away - they are dangerous and in my opinion should be banned. Nearly all my trailer issues have come from tire problems over here. If you have to use bias then just make sure they are inflated well and then keep the speed down, frequently stop on long journeys and get out and feel the temperature of the tires - if they seem high then go get a coffee..... I have fitted radial tires to my vehicle and the tires run noticebly cooler and track better behind the vehicle.
You must have good brakes on a trailer. Mine has electric - a new thing for me as i had only ever used surge brakes before. I am on the fence about which is better. A plus with electric is if you were to get an uncontrolled sway going then you can just push the little button on the brake controller or lightly lay your foot on the brake pedal and the whole thing straightens up. Well maintained surge brakes are more reliable though. With my electric braked trailer i always check the wiring ( Well after a wire got pinched by the poor design and severed my brakes!!!) - all i do is drive on a sandy/gravel track with the trailer emptyat 5mph and hit the button on the controller with a high voltage set - if i see all tires locked for a brief moment then i am happy. Of course i do adjust them periodically.
Wheel bearings on trailer are an absolute pain they fail at an alarming rate even ifcared for. Regualar greasing is the only way to stay on top of them - luckily mine has easy lube hubs!! But i still spin and listen to them each time i adjust the brakes. Even though i look after mine i still carry a spare wheel bearing kit with me.
Lug nuts - always check them... i have lost a wheel once in europe... i was young and impatient and well you can guess the rest -it was kinda funny thinking back... to be overtaken by one of your own wheels and watch in horror as it dodged cars headed towards a house...
Lighting - why oh why do people pull trailers with defective lights on the back... if you are the fastest vehicle on the planet then i guess one light out wont matter but you are going to be one of the slowest... standard trailer lights are poor at best so make sure they at least work - nearly all faults with them are ground related or neglect - most trailers sit neglected for 95% of the time butwe are always suprised an dissapointed that things dont work - why is that?
Silly little thing but make sure the tag is correct/up todate and that you have the registration with you - thanks for the reminder West Palm Beach highway patrol...
Just make sure the trailer is roadworthy and safe.
keep your speed down - you will take about 4 times longer to stop in an absolute emergency.
Drive very very smoothly -imagine you are on snow - you would not change lanes or brake fast then would you?
Going up hill be kind to your car - switch the cruise control off early and let te car find it's own sweet spot it can maintain a constant speed at without thrashing the motor it may be slower than you want but it is what the car wants.
Going down long hills slow down and hold a lower gear -steeper the hill the lower the gear - use your brakes sparingly. Use them, get off them, let the engine do it's work and then use them again - never brake all the way down a hill, if you are doing this you are probably going too fast.
Plan ahead look ahead - dont get caught out.
If you cant reverse a trailer then dont worry too much - america is a big country and there is always somewhere you can turn around - honestly if you plan ahead and look ahead you should be able to avoid most reversing situations.
Please dont let this put you off - 99% is common sense anyway. I enjoy the challenge of towing and generally it makes you a more observant and better driver. As for towing with a discovery - yes they are a good tool, just look after them and they will look after you. Change fluids twice as rgular if towing and only use the good stuff.
Regards,
Nick
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