Pulling trailers/Disco Purchase Question

[scot]

I am in the market for some sort of SUV based in the washington DC/Northern VA area. Thing is, I have a taste for "different" vehicles, as long as it is up to the task. The disco seems to be in that "different" catagory, but I am not sure it can actually do the required business.

The main reason I need to get an suv is racing. I need to trailer my racing kart and related gear to races which may be quite distant and through the hills of the east coast. I would also like to be able to trailer my lotus elise (when I get it) to racetracks, though it will probably only be going 250 miles or so down to VIR 2-3 times a year. The power wont be an issue for the kart, heck the thing weighs 220 lbs, the trailer couldnt be more than 350 lbs total so thats ok, but the car might be an issue.

Whats the common thought?

Oh, and here is the kicker, I have <10k to spend on this vehicle.

Scot

 

[Joey]

Don't get me wrong on this post, and I am sure others will say something. First yes a Disco will pull you Cart and/or you Car, it may not go fast up hills, and when pulling the Car I would recommend trailer brakes.

For 10k you can get a nice 99' or older Disco if you look hard (99' that is, 98 and older should be no problem). Of course if I only had 10k to spend and knew it had to pull something I would be looking at something with a larger engine, but that is just me. Don't get me wrong, I love my Disco and it could pull what you are asking with no issues (slowly), but more power is always a plus if you get into any hills or you want to pass anything while pulling.

 

[rrefx]

Joey is pretty right. The disco can tow, I use my '96 Discovery to tow all the time for work. A couple of weeks ago I took a car hauler loaded about 5,500 lbs, with trailer brakes, from Salt Lake to Vegas, back up through Kanab (Southern Utah), and back. It did just fine. it was pretty hot and there are some good hills on the road, and she did start getting a little hot on the grade near cedar city, but then again it was 104 degrees out.

If a disco is what you want, and you are just hoping to be able to tow to these events with it as a perk... then by all means, get the disco, but if this is solely going to be a vehicle for towing, I'de follow Joeys advice and go for something with a little more power and maybe a little more wieght behind it.

Good Luck,
Ryan

 

[Joey]

I have personally towed over 5000lbs without trailer brakes (read taking my time) in West Virginia near Charleston (read 7 - 8% grade) at least on the road I live on. The Disco towed fine, but I had to pull over several times to let the row of cars behind me go past.

 

[beemer]

Damn the traffic, keep crawling!

Joey, i saw that episode of I Love Lucy with the trailer. Feels good inside to be the one slowing up everybody with a already underpowered vehicle plus adding another vehicle. Your proud because "it's a Rover" and bless the queen. Bigger motors make towing easy.
...............................................................................................o&o>...........................

 

[Leigh]

I tow with my 94 disco all the time and it will tow what your looking to tow. You might be riding with the semi's on the big hills but the truck does tow nicely.

 

[scot]

Thanks for the info. It looks like I can actually add the disco to the list of possibilities. I am not an offroader currently, but I a challenge hunter. Learning offroading skills sounds like it could provide me something more than just a toe/winter vehicle.

Anything in particular to be concerned with about a 98/99 disco? I have read through a ton of info, but there are another few tons to read yet and its hard (from the outside) to make a straight story out of it all.

Thanks,
Scot

 

[RoverChic]

Scot: If I could do it all over again I would have gone with the 1999 D1 SD..I own now the 1998 D1 SE ..I prefer the body style of the D1 versus the D2. JMHO Melissa

 

[cmondieyoung]

I'll just go ahead and add my 2 cents -- The Disco CAN and WILL tow your vehicle, but it won't WANT to. It's definitely an off-road minded girl, and she'll piss and moan up many hills. Even the 4.6s of the Disco2s don't have the kind of torque for the money you will get with a 90s Yukon or similar vehicle.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Disco evangelist---but towing isn't one of the things I'd be quick to laud. My D1 (4.0) with 31"s didn't like pulling my buddy's Bayliner one bit---stuck in 3rd going 40 mph, burning a gallon a minute, over the Rockies to get to the Rifle Gap lake wasn't an experience I'd want to repeat! The D1s factory discs aren't the biggest either--trailer breaks are important, as stated previously.

For a tow rig, I'm not sure a Disco would be the most cost-effective option. Then again, you did say you might be looking into off-roading as well--in that case, the compromise for overall performance might suit you. You'll get over the hills, but don't bust out the radar detector.

Then again, you'll look a hell of a lot cooler than every other yahoo in a Tahoe... Not many people will give you the ol' sidelong glance when you're pulling your yacht in a blacked out Suburban, but when folks see a Disco chugging up a hill it's a "Hey! Nice Rover!" ... if those sort of aesthetics are anything you're concerned about, the Disco has off-the-charts cool factor.

As far as problems with a 98/99... they ALL have problems, and it's hard to say any one year is better than the other. Personally, my 96 DI has been an absolute champ---and they can be a downright steal on the private-party used market.

And as far as problems go, you've found the best Disco resource on the 'net..

 

[NorCalDisco]

Not the best choice for hauling a car... read on

We own Featherlite Trailers dealership in CA, I sell plenty of trailers ranging from tiny 350 lbs utility haulers, up to 10K lbs race car stackers with living quarters and deal with all kinds of vehicles. Here are my 2 cents on towing:

1) If all you are planning to tow is that cart on a small trailer, you'll do just fine with Disco: I tow a 2K lbs boat with no breaks and it's perfect.

2) If you are planning to tow a race car (and subsequently heavier trailer) I would advise against Disco: A 16' or 20' enclosed aluminum trailer (stripped to bare minimum) will weigh about 4K lbs, add another 2K-4K lbs for the car and you are maxing out Disco's 7K lbs towing rating = not good!

Lotus is not a really a "cheap" car by my standards, so I'm sure you'd be looking at enclosed trailers (again about 4k lbs at a minimum). If you settle on an open hauler, you are still looking at a minimum of 1.5K+ lbs.

Keep in mind, that Disco has a relatively short wheel base - that's not good for towing either. With a $10K budget you are better off getting a pickup, it will be safer and will fit for the purpose (assuming that towing is your primary goal for getting an SUV in the first place).

Good luck!

 

[Joey]

Towing capacity of a LR in High Range 5500lbs with trailer brakes
Towing capacity of a LR in Low Range 7700lbs with trailer brakes

 

[scot]

99% of the towing I need to do is for the race kart. 350lbs for the trailer, 250 for the kart, and maybe 250 lbs of materials/tools total. Eventually I am going to build an enclosure to fit onto the utility kart, figure the weight should be under 300 lbs. So in total we are still talking well under 2000 lbs on the trailer itself. This would be without trailer brakes as its a plain utility kart, and has no capacity for them.

Trailering the lotus is a different story. I would love to tow it, but I do not own a car trailer, and don't plan on purchasing one. Just going to try to borrow a trailer to do some on track club/DE stuff, not scca racing as this is going to be my daily driver. If I cannot borrow a trailer, I will just drive the elise to the track and hopefully find someone nice to bring my slicks with them. (Figure car is just under 2k lbs, trailer is another 1k-1.5k? so around 3500lbs total)

 

[curtis]

You will be fine. I towed a Birel Q31x Rotax, EZ Up, chairs, tools, and all related gear all over the place on a fairly heavy 14x6 utility trailer with no issues.

BTW - what class/kart are you running?

Curtis
Utah Rotax Max #47d

 

[scot]

CRG Kali 125 w/Parilla Leopard. I just started Spec 125 for WKA RR, and would do standard TAG at the short tracks, but I seem to be the only tag going to the local tracks. I still go and race in the ICA class, but I can't really win since I am not part of the class itself. With a toe vehicle I think it will be a bit easier to drive out to places like beverun to get into some decent racing, even if its 5hrs away.

Scot

(I love both long and short track stuff. short track is just so exciting and HARD, long track is methodical. Lets you feel a bit like being a formula one driver with strategies and methods to make up a 1/4 second here or there etc.)