We are thinking of upgrading from a pop-up camper to a small travel trailer.
Is anybody pulling one with a DII?
Is anybody pulling one with a DII?
Anybody pull a camper with your DII?
- Thread starter group captain mandrake
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Slow and it will sway without load bars. I have never used them so I can't say if it will make it better. I was towing a boat fwiw.
The only good part of this is you'll have somewhere to spend time waiting on the rollback to show up.
Buyrovers almost killed us both one rainy night trying this LOL
Buyrovers almost killed us both one rainy night trying this LOL
Excellent towing vehicles, we pull our combined trailer/RV with our 1999 D2 V8 and it's great:-
It goes 3.5 tons with the engine in the back.
First picture is the rig at Hook of Holland ferry port, returning to the UK after its first trip to Nuenen, second trip is this year, a rather wet rally field. Show was good though.
They are sensitive to tyre pressures when towing standard trailers/caravans, and the way the trailer is loaded makes a difference. Always make sure that the load is forward on the trailer and not too far back.
The centre of gravity of the load also makes a difference generally, we pulled a Series III 109" 6-cylinder back a while ago, that was on a relatively high trailer and we did have swaying problems until we pumped the trailer tyres up.
Similarly with our oldest boy's Defender CSW, once we had the trailer tyres pumped up and the vehicle well forward on the trailer, it was no bother.
Towing the engine on the older 4-wheel trailer, just over 2 tons all-up trailer weight.
Our youngest son's Series III with 2.5 n/s diesel and his Sankey trailer loaded with engines.
Load it properly and you'll have no issues. We run at 60mph on the motorways with no problems.
Peter
It goes 3.5 tons with the engine in the back.
First picture is the rig at Hook of Holland ferry port, returning to the UK after its first trip to Nuenen, second trip is this year, a rather wet rally field. Show was good though.
They are sensitive to tyre pressures when towing standard trailers/caravans, and the way the trailer is loaded makes a difference. Always make sure that the load is forward on the trailer and not too far back.
The centre of gravity of the load also makes a difference generally, we pulled a Series III 109" 6-cylinder back a while ago, that was on a relatively high trailer and we did have swaying problems until we pumped the trailer tyres up.
Similarly with our oldest boy's Defender CSW, once we had the trailer tyres pumped up and the vehicle well forward on the trailer, it was no bother.
Towing the engine on the older 4-wheel trailer, just over 2 tons all-up trailer weight.
Our youngest son's Series III with 2.5 n/s diesel and his Sankey trailer loaded with engines.
Load it properly and you'll have no issues. We run at 60mph on the motorways with no problems.
Peter
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I pull my Caravan with no issues, granted it's not fast, but towing shouldnt be imo..
Its 28ft long and 1800KG's
Its 28ft long and 1800KG's
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The difference between a good towing experience and a bad one is geometry. If the geometry is right, you can tow whatever you can stop.
You can't just buy something and hook it up, as most people tend to do. You have to make sure you are attaching something that will work with the vehicle and not against it.
The DII is a very nice towing vehicle when your trailer is properly chosen, and that's where everyone goes wrong. Poorly or casually chosen trailers are behind most towing complaints, and also behind most unsafe towing conditions.
The problem is available information. Much of it is bullshit. This is not bullshit:
http://www.desertwinds.co.uk/
"Off Roader Driving" includes information on towing, and is a good option for people who aren't interested in the whole guide. Buy one while you can, or contact Desert Winds directly.
We should all support efforts like those of Mr. Sheppard, so go buy that book. EE appears to have some available:
http://www.expeditionexchange.com/cart/product.php?productid=19599&cat=250&page=1
Cheers,
Kennith
You can't just buy something and hook it up, as most people tend to do. You have to make sure you are attaching something that will work with the vehicle and not against it.
The DII is a very nice towing vehicle when your trailer is properly chosen, and that's where everyone goes wrong. Poorly or casually chosen trailers are behind most towing complaints, and also behind most unsafe towing conditions.
The problem is available information. Much of it is bullshit. This is not bullshit:
http://www.desertwinds.co.uk/
"Off Roader Driving" includes information on towing, and is a good option for people who aren't interested in the whole guide. Buy one while you can, or contact Desert Winds directly.
We should all support efforts like those of Mr. Sheppard, so go buy that book. EE appears to have some available:
http://www.expeditionexchange.com/cart/product.php?productid=19599&cat=250&page=1
Cheers,
Kennith
Great success with a small camper around 3,500lbs. Although the rover gods say not to use an equalizing hitch setup I have experimented with and without one. In the end heavy duty springs seem to keep the rear pretty level.
With trailer brakes we maintain a reasonable braking distance and are able to stop in time. Most of the time I find towing okay and only on rough roads or high winds do I find it a little tense. By choice I am not the fastest vehicle on the road.
C
With trailer brakes we maintain a reasonable braking distance and are able to stop in time. Most of the time I find towing okay and only on rough roads or high winds do I find it a little tense. By choice I am not the fastest vehicle on the road.
C
I towed without and now with Wt distributing hitch with sway control and electric trailer brakes about 23' travel trailer loaded with gear coming in at about 4200-4500 lbs. It works OK, just tow at modest speeds and leave plenty of braking distance. You will not win any contest when heading up a grade of any kind, but on long upgrades find a gear that keeps it moving and put it there, and do not let the transmission keep shifting back and forth too much. I use Sport Mode to keep the RPMs up too. I started one rover dry camping weekend with the water tanks close to full that happen to be in the rear of this particular trailer, and what a nightmare. A half hour into the trip I stopped and drained the water down to less than 1/4 tank and towed so much better. I had never traveled with water in the tanks before that. Not a good design to have the water tanks in the rear I would say, but my first travel trailer used and a project at a bargain price, so now I know. I have OME MD springs all around now, and with the WDH with sway control and elec brakes, and load forward on the travel trailer it makes for a pretty balanced ride. I add a little extra air to the rear tires on the D2 as well. I tow an 18' pontoon boat that weighs considerably less at around 2500 lbs. with just a drop hitch and no brakes on the trailer. Still with the 4L engine I can tell the boat is back there.
Uwharrie Safari - Spring 2013 - Uwharrie National Forsest, NC
Uwharrie Safari - Spring 2013 - Uwharrie National Forsest, NC
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We are going on a camping trip near Nashville at the end of the month and thought we would get something that is less of a drag to set up than our pop-up. A shower and bathroom would be nice too. I was thinking of a TT in the low 20' range and <4,000 lbs. Looks like people are pulling stuff bigger than that without too much difficulty. But we couldn't find anything used that we liked, and new is pretty expensive for the limited use we will give it. We'll see, maybe next year. For now, our nephew's aunt is going to loan us her class C to stay in. All we need to do is get the Disco there. So now I'm working on a list of spares & tools for the drive.
Having a shower and toilet was one of the main reasons we built the 6-wheel drawbar trailer. If we took the display engine on the conventional trailer we had to camp for the show duration, and most shows don't have facilities for exhibitors.
Now we have shower, toilet, cooker, oven, fridge and satellite TV, soon to be joined by a Propex warm air heater. As we run the Discovery on LPG (Autogas) we have a 36litre refillable tank in the trailer for the fridge, cooker etc.
All the comforts of home!
Peter
Now we have shower, toilet, cooker, oven, fridge and satellite TV, soon to be joined by a Propex warm air heater. As we run the Discovery on LPG (Autogas) we have a 36litre refillable tank in the trailer for the fridge, cooker etc.
All the comforts of home!
Peter
I tow a 21 foot glass boat. She is JUST under 2 tonn. Mechanical override brakes. 4.0 litre 5 speed manual D2 - pulls it well with coilrite helpers.
Cheeers
Cheeers
Unusual to see overrun brakes in the USA, I thought most were electric?
Just after we built the trailer in 2011, revised rules were proposed that blocked overrun brakes on turntable trailers, becoming effective December 2012. Not retrospective though.
The Disco tows 3.5 tonnes well (1 tonne is a metric ton or 2200#) the trailer is just under the limit with the engine loaded in the back.
Manual box with factory oil cooler, prefer that to an auto.
Peter
Just after we built the trailer in 2011, revised rules were proposed that blocked overrun brakes on turntable trailers, becoming effective December 2012. Not retrospective though.
The Disco tows 3.5 tonnes well (1 tonne is a metric ton or 2200#) the trailer is just under the limit with the engine loaded in the back.
Manual box with factory oil cooler, prefer that to an auto.
Peter
Mate in Australia we are allowed to have override mechanical brakes or override hydraulic brakes up to 2 tonn (2000 kg) and over 2000 kg we are required to run electric brakes/electric over hydraulic and a breakaway component to activate them.
Having a boat just under 2000 kg with mechanical override brakes is an advantage especially when the trailer requires significant dunking in the water to launch. Electric brakes can be a real pain in the circumstances with salt water causing problems with pistons and the other components of the braking system versus mechanical brakes which are simply disc brakes activated by caliper arm pulled by a wire cable. When properly adjusted they can be very effective.
The discovery is well set up the towing with oil coolers as standard and competent brakes - the only thing letting it down slightly is the short wheelbase but dealing with that is simply a question of arranging the trailer accordingly and having good suspension on the disco.
I recently had to do head gaskets due to my own fault in allowing the truck to overheat. At 200,000 km the block and heads were in excellent condition so that heads were reconditioning including new valve seats and the block was treated to a new more aggressive camshaft from crow cams which is advertised as their towing cam and the manifolds were Port matched. The truck was also treated to the fitment of a sequential LPG injection system. It towed well before but there is a significant advantage in having better breathing.
My 1995 discovery one has towed 3500 kg. It is an auto 3.9 L V8 versus my discovery to which is a manual V8. If toted quite well particularly considering that the vehicle has its original springs and drivetrain and is done 300,000 km.
Cheers
Having a boat just under 2000 kg with mechanical override brakes is an advantage especially when the trailer requires significant dunking in the water to launch. Electric brakes can be a real pain in the circumstances with salt water causing problems with pistons and the other components of the braking system versus mechanical brakes which are simply disc brakes activated by caliper arm pulled by a wire cable. When properly adjusted they can be very effective.
The discovery is well set up the towing with oil coolers as standard and competent brakes - the only thing letting it down slightly is the short wheelbase but dealing with that is simply a question of arranging the trailer accordingly and having good suspension on the disco.
I recently had to do head gaskets due to my own fault in allowing the truck to overheat. At 200,000 km the block and heads were in excellent condition so that heads were reconditioning including new valve seats and the block was treated to a new more aggressive camshaft from crow cams which is advertised as their towing cam and the manifolds were Port matched. The truck was also treated to the fitment of a sequential LPG injection system. It towed well before but there is a significant advantage in having better breathing.
My 1995 discovery one has towed 3500 kg. It is an auto 3.9 L V8 versus my discovery to which is a manual V8. If toted quite well particularly considering that the vehicle has its original springs and drivetrain and is done 300,000 km.
Cheers
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We get on well with LPG, makes the fuel consumption of the D2 bearable!
Ours is a Zavoli multipoint sequential, fitted before we got the car, but we have fitted new valve seals to the gas blocks since we bought it.
Peter
Ours is a Zavoli multipoint sequential, fitted before we got the car, but we have fitted new valve seals to the gas blocks since we bought it.
Peter
Mate its a sweet thing. 17litres per 100k in the City and better on the highway. LPG is 61.9c per litre here versus premium petrol which is about $1.55 - so well under half the costs of petrol and economy is about the same. Im using a BRC Impco Plug and Drive sequential vapour system. I used to have a venturi system but the waste spark ignition on the D2 causes occasional backfire...this system is just so much better.
Cheers
Cheers