Discovery II Talk about the Land Rover Discovery II within.
Sponsored by:
Sponsored by:

Towing a camper

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 02-23-2023, 11:37 PM
Hendo6119's Avatar
4wd Low
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2022
Posts: 10
Received 6 Likes on 2 Posts
Default Towing a camper

Disco 2 is rated for 7000lbs+ towing capacity...I have a 19' camper in the 4500-5000lb range. Am I going to run into any problems?

I have break assist and anti-sway tow hitch.
 
  #2  
Old 02-24-2023, 12:08 AM
V50-M66's Avatar
Three Wheeling
Join Date: Feb 2023
Posts: 88
Received 45 Likes on 25 Posts
Default

Big hills won't be fun since these things are underpowered, and I really hope you have trailer brakes. Other than that, you should be good to go.
Tow rating is 7700, but only in low range. High range limit is 5500. No brakes limit is 1650! And off road limit is 650.

I've towed 4500 on a braked trailer (Uhaul) with my '03 D2 with no issues aside from it being painfully slow on big hills.
 
The following users liked this post:
JohnZo (02-24-2023)
  #3  
Old 02-24-2023, 09:43 AM
jastutte's Avatar
Recovery Vehicle
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: StL, MO
Posts: 1,079
Received 261 Likes on 209 Posts
Default

it's going to be slow and unless you have airbags in the rear suspension, your going to have some rear sag with the Discovery nose being ever so slightly up in the air.
 
The following users liked this post:
L33DiscoII (02-24-2023)
  #4  
Old 02-24-2023, 11:26 AM
L33DiscoII's Avatar
Three Wheeling
Join Date: Feb 2023
Location: Kansas
Posts: 62
Received 15 Likes on 9 Posts
Default

My first Discovery was an '03. I towed a big box trailer once when I had about 160k miles on the clock. The trailer with cargo was probably about 4,00lbs. The Disco did ok but it worked really hard to keep highway speeds. This is anecdotal at best, but after I unhitched and started the engine again there was a nasty clatter. It had slipped three cylinder liners without an overheating event. Not saying it would happen to you, but that's when my otherwise reliable Disco died.

The anti-sway bars should help a lot because the rear suspension is kind of soft. The Discovery has a 1,488lb payload capacity which includes the entire contents of the vehicle as well as the tongue weight of the trailer. The tongue weight of your trailer (if properly loaded) will be 10 - 15% of the trailer's weight. In your case that'd be a max of 750lbs leaving 738lbs for people, gear and fuel.

If you're wondering if you're loaded properly you can weigh at a truckstop. Get the CAT Scale's "Weigh my truck" app so you can pay for the weigh and see the results on your phone. It'll tell you the total weight and the weight at each axle. It can be intimidating to weigh, but follow the instructions in the app and you'll do fine.
 
  #5  
Old 02-24-2023, 09:13 PM
Alex_M's Avatar
Camel Trophy
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Southwestern Virginia
Posts: 4,734
Received 971 Likes on 646 Posts
Default

I’ve had as much as 6800 lbs behind my ‘03, without trailer brakes. Not very far… only about 15 miles… not recommended.

Towed around 5600 with it with trailer brakes. Much safer experience, but as other have mentioned… slow. I was on 33s by that point, so that didn’t help matters.

Towing with a D2 is definitely possible. I found that transmission cooling left a bit to be desired and I ended up installing a second tranny cooler which helped considerably.

in truth, towing with the D2 would be last ditch for me at this point. If it was LS swapped, no sweat. The Rover v8 is just a bit gutless for towing. It’ll do it, but itll take its time and it’ll work at it. At that weight, some kind of air bag assist would be highly recommended for long distances.

That load distribution hitch can be a blessing and a curse. You can also set it up too tight and introduce extra sway. I’ve pulled campers that it helps, and I’ve pulled campers that tow far better without.

If the d2 is the best means of towing you have at your disposal than I wouldn’t hesitate, but just be prepared to take a lot of extra time and make sure your cooling system is up to spec. In line thermostat and get an aftermarket temperature gauge in there.
 
The following 2 users liked this post by Alex_M:
jastutte (02-25-2023), V50-M66 (02-25-2023)
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
LR disco 5
New Discovery V
14
02-16-2022 06:21 PM
LR disco 5
New Discovery V
1
08-07-2021 11:02 PM
ADVAW8S
2020 Defender
1
06-04-2021 10:27 PM
Ehloo
2020 Defender
10
05-14-2021 10:09 AM
TRIARII
Discovery II
20
01-13-2013 10:48 AM



Quick Reply: Towing a camper



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 05:50 PM.