Do you tow with a Disco? I would like to haul one horse in a smallish, fairly light-weight horse trailer (steel frame, aluminum skin, no ramp or dressing room) with my '99 Disco 2 . My current tow vehicle has a much longer wheel base, but I'd like to get rid of it and use the Disco because I'm just not hauling as frequently or long distances anymore. Trips will be an hour at most over moderate topo. The trailer has brakes and I'll want a controller in the Disco. I'm more concerned about having enough power and keeping from overheating. On paper, it looks like I should be okay. Does anyone have thoughts or experiences to share? Most of my horse friends insist that a full-sized pickup or vehicle with similar wheelbase is the only thing to tow with. BTW, I'm not new to hauling and some years ago I would see a Disco with trailer in tow at shows....

 

In short, there are 1000 vehicles more suited to towing than a Discovery. I had a 2000lb diesel 18kw generator trailer and towing it with the Discovery SUCKED.

180hp in a 4700lb truck plus another 2000lb= not excited about doing it again and I never did. And I actually have proof it happened!

Now que the folks that will tell you they regularly tow 15000lb boats 500 miles with excellent towing characteristics and 22mpg.

 

I won’t be towing that much, but it still might be wishful thinking... I’d love to get something with better gas mileage and let the Disco be my occassional tow/fun vehicle. It’s hard to justify getting something big just to take the horse on the road occasionally.

 

I think we should all be towing a horse trailer. You can ride the horse home when you break down.

 

Not as good for towing as my Duramax was, but I have towed at least 6 Discos home with a Disco - $5000 lb each. Regularly towed my boat also - 3600lb. Only issue is if you go over about 65, gets a little squirrely.

 

Wow!! That boat's much longer, and a good bit heavier than my load will be.

 

 

I towed both with my previous 1988 Range Rover Classic and with my previous 2000 Disco 2, and both did fine. Was it as good as a Ford F250? No, but the F250 was 1-wheel-drive and would get stuck on a wet lawn. On dry pavement the F250 was much better. Unfortunately, a few weeks before I was supposed to move to our new house the F250 blew its transmission all over the parking lot at our local steel recycler after towing a Saab 900 hulk there. I needed something quick, and the Disco presented itself. It towed our 2-horse straight-load trailer just fine, and it towed a 12' U-Haul trailer full of furniture all week long through the move. Nothing here would especially tax an F250, but it was right up at the Disco's towing limit. A big, heavy trailer will wag the Rover a little, but as long as you have good trailer brakes and a controller you'll do fine.

Also, I've done quite a bit of light towing with this newer 2001 Disco. It works too.

However, if you plan on towing anything right at the 7700 lb. limit a lot, you should probably think about a pick-up with higher towing limits.

Scott

 

I seem to remember that the 7700lb tow limit specifies low range and the high range tow limit is like 4400lbs... Does that sound familiar?

 

Pretty sure 1 horse and a trailer should be fine. Discos have bad power, but torque's what you want for towing, and the Rover V8 has a decent amount. Assuming you have the coil springs in the rear, be careful that you don't put too much weight on the hitch or you'll compromise steering. You probably won't need a weight distribution hitch, but check how the vehicle sits before you set off.