Without looking at all the details, it seems unlikely your vehicle, if it is the Discovery 3 or 4, wouldnt be able to tow that van.

Plenty of Discoverys around Australia towing 3 to 3.5 tonne vans with up to 350kg on the ball.

What is the ATM of the van, as I expect the loaded ball will be around 300kg. If you get those figures, there are some on here who could perhaps do calculations to see whether or not towing the van is actually possible.

 

PS, I like the Discovery. They are a great vehicle.

-- Edited by TheHeaths on Monday 18th of April 2022 12:13:16 PM

peekazboo wrote:

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I have been searching to purchase a Safari Xtrak off road caravan and had been hoping my 2010 Landrover Discovery would have done the job towing it but I have been told that it can not because of the weight on the rear axle.. Felt pretty sour faced as I love it ( I know by putting this comment I probably will get a bit of stick.. often do all ready with my mates ) I'm now searching for a car to pull the Xtrak safely.. I have come across the IZUZU D-MAX 4X4 which comes in at a reasonable price range.

I was hoping to find out if anyone else has an XTRAK and if so are they a good van and what are they towing it with? or could anyone help me as whether the D-Max can pull the XTRAK safely.

Some stats on the XTRAK Tare 2600kg Ball weight 200KG 

Any help would be great and appreciated..

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Hi Karen. The Landrover Discovery is quite capable of safely towing a van with an ATM up to about 3200kg, maybe a little bit more at a pinch. Other than having a slightly shorter wheelbase (2885mm v 3095mm) it is a more capable towing vehicle than is a DMax. As you have been advised, rear axle capacity is the problem, as it is with the vast majority of vehicles with claimed towing capacity of 3500kg, but your rear axle capacity is 1885kg, as opposed to 1870kg on the DMax. Don't get me wrong, the DMax is a great vehicle and I never have been a great fan of the Landrover product, but in your case I would suggest that you "Run what you brung!" and keep the Landrover. NONE of the popular twin-cabs can safely tow a 3500kg  PIG trailer (caravan) despite all the hype in the glossy brochures. With a 3200kg van, assuming the generally accepted 10% towball weight, your 320kg towball weight would add around 430-450kg to the car's rear axle. Might be best to fill your car's fuel tank, take your passengers, add a bit of a load into the back of the car, and visit a weighbridge to establish rear axle weight without the van. If it is no more than around 1400-1430kg without the van, you're good to go! No use jumping out of the frying into the fire. Towball weight at tare means  zilch, zero, zip, nil, nada and causes unnecessary grief for those who have yet to learn about weights, so forget that. As has been suggested, knowing your van's ATM would allow us to offer more advice, but again I will stress that NONE  of the more popular lightweight twin-cabs can tow 3500kg as a PIG trailer. The critical point to remember is that if safety is of any concern, always the weight on the wheels of the car should be at least 10% greater than the weight on the wheels of the van when you're all hooked up and ready to go! There is much more that I could contribute to help you here, but at least not having to buy another car may put your mind at ease? Feel free to ask questions . the only silly question is the one that isn't asked! Good luck with your van. Cheers

P.S The first photo is what is known as a DOG trailer, where there is a steerable front axle carrying much of the weight. This means that there is next to no towball weight (maybe 20kg?) on the car, and is the only way the more popular twin-cabs can tow a 3500kg van. Last photo looks like some sort of a Landrover, but accidents happen to all cars!

 

 

-- Edited by yobarr on Monday 18th of April 2022 06:59:19 PM

Thanks.. for the feedback and with Yobarr I feel I still have some hope of keeping the land rover :).. I'm awaiting a reply from Saffari on the ATM of the van.. I have attached a weight spreadsheet online where I have entered the numbers in and still seem to not get under the rear axle issue.. I have done the sums on only us 2 in the car 150KG and a bull bar on the front 100KG (not sure if the 100kg on the front helps to keep it off the rear a bit?) also I could take the back 2 seats out (making it a 5 seater rather than 7) saving 50kg again not sure if that would make any difference.. 

On a funny side it main mean I have to leave my 2 sons behind "home alone" lol

Sorry Yobarr.. but I don't understand the numbers you are showing (BTW the spreadsheet I used was not Kevin's but one online) Where did these numbers come from "Rear axle weight has been quoted as 1541kg before the van was attached, and 1967kg afterwards". I also don't know the tare rear axle weight only the maximum 1967kg.

Really appreciate your help in this..

My Freelander can have up to 350kg on the tow ball. It is impractical due to the payload. 

 

The Discovery has 350kg, but the HSE has a smaller payload than the SE.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/l319-discovery-3-and-4-a/264653-payload-hse-vs-se.html

Dicko1 wrote:

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I wouldn't purchase any caravan without a weighbridge docket showing the real world weights. Not the bull****e on the Vin plate. No dual cab can safely and legally tow 3.0 tonne. Even the y62 nissan and 200series toyota that load up with 3.0 tonne can carry bugger all in the car. ..https://www.club4x4.com.au/modern-ute-tow-ratings-bullst/

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 Good post Ian, although there are a couple of dual cabs that can safely tow around 3100kg. As you suggest, the Y62 and the LC200 are sheep in wolfs' clothing, neither able to do what the shiny brochures suggest. However, the Y62 can get to 6520kg GCM legally, with 3370kg GVM and 3150kg GTM. LC200 not a chance. Cheers

Thanks Pete,

Good advice, we are also looking at purchasing it through Trounce, have you been happy with the van? was it a xtrak?

Hi Yobarr,

 

My husband took the land rover over the weigh bridge today and the results were as follows:

Front axle - 1320kg

Rear axle - 1320kg

Car with a full tank of fuel , bull bar and roof rack and  no passengers - 2640kg

Max Rear axle load of the Disco 4 2010 as stated in the manual is 1855kg

Obviously I will still need to get the ATM of the trailer? but at last we are a little wiser

 

Cheers Karen

 

 

 

 

 

Karen, from your figures it's doable by a narrow margin, with the rear axle load being the limiting factor.

It hinges on that critical ball weight. Every kilo of ball weight adds close to 1.5kg onto the rear axle weight. If removing the 3rd row of seats saves 50kg, definitely worthwhile.

From the spreadsheet a few posts ago (1210 overhang and 2885 wheelbase), and the assumption of 300kg towball load, it would add 426kg to the rear axle. If your 2 passengers add a further 150kg (at say 65/35 Front/back weight distribution), that would add another 50kg to the rear axle. So your measured weight of 1320 + 426 + 50 = 1796kg. You have about 50kg spare capacity. That means travelling with very little in the Landrover, and just about everything packed in the van.

The downside of loading the rear axle to capacity is the imbalance in weights between front and rear of the Landrover. That 426kg added to the rear axle takes 126kg weight off the front wheels. So, doing a similar calculation you would get 1320 - 126 + 100 = 1346kg. Or 450kg lighter than the rear. That results in noticeablly less road grip front to back. I would look into getting a Weight Distribution Hitch. Some don't believe in them, some do (like me).

When packing the Landrover, place the heaviest items as far forward as you can. I use the floor behind the front seats for tools, tyre pump, etc.

You mentioned roof racks. Heavy? Will something be carried on them or can they be removed?

Are We Lost wrote:

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Karen, from your figures it's doable by a narrow margin, with the rear axle load being the limiting factor.

It hinges on that critical ball weight. Every kilo of ball weight adds close to 1.5kg onto the rear axle weight. If removing the 3rd row of seats saves 50kg, definitely worthwhile.

From the spreadsheet a few posts ago (1210 overhang and 2885 wheelbase), and the assumption of 300kg towball load, it would add 426kg to the rear axle. If your 2 passengers add a further 150kg (at say 65/35 Front/back weight distribution), that would add another 50kg to the rear axle. So your measured weight of 1320 + 426 + 50 = 1796kg. You have about 50kg spare capacity. That means travelling with very little in the Landrover, and just about everything packed in the van.

The downside of loading the rear axle to capacity is the imbalance in weights between front and rear of the Landrover. That 426kg added to the rear axle takes 126kg weight off the front wheels. So, doing a similar calculation you would get 1320 - 126 + 100 = 1346kg. Or 450kg lighter than the rear. That results in noticeably less road grip front to back. I would look into getting a Weight Distribution Hitch. Some don't believe in them, some do (like me).

When packing the Landrover, place the heaviest items as far forward as you can. I use the floor behind the front seats for tools, tyre pump, etc.

You mentioned roof racks. Heavy? Will something be carried on them or can they be removed?

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Hi Stephen. You have given some good and sound advice, except for the highlighted text  above. This is scaremongering at its best. My car and van have a total weight (GCM) of 6800kg, with 2300kg on the car's rear axle and only 1350kg on the car's front axle. In all conditions it goes exactly where I want it to, as does  the Road Train that I drive, which weighs well over 100 ton. Front axle weight is 6500kg and drive axles carry around 16,500kg. Road grip is excellent. The Landrover has front axle rating of 1450kg, and the subject vehicle has 1320kg front axle weight at tare. Your figures correctly show that a 300kg towball weight would take 126kg off that axle and transfer it to the car's rear axle, dropping front axle weight to 1174kg. In paper, there still is 276kg to spare, but your own figures show that passengers would add 100kg to that axle. This leaves maximum of 176kg.  Still no luggage, no tools, no spares etc and nothing on the roof rack. WDH are used only by people who are trying to make a car do things for which it was not designed. As you suggest in your first paragraph, "it's doable by a narrow margin" but it all will have to be loaded carefully. Karen needs to be applauded for being so responsible with her weights,and will no doubt be happy to learn that the Landrover will do the job OK with 3000kg ATM, and even up to 3200kg with careful management, but that's it! Absolutely forget safely towing 3500kg with the Landrover or even the DMax, the other option being considered. Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Tuesday 19th of April 2022 07:09:24 PM