| Author | Message | ||
     Jim Stembridge (Jimstem) New Member Username: Jimstem Post Number: 1 Registered: 11-2003 |
Okay, I know from reading the manual that my 1999 Discovery II will pull up to 7800 pounds in low gear. I have a rather large boat that on the trailer weighs in at a whopping 7500 pounds. I bought the boat after the truck and had it in a marina but now want to trailer it. Is there anyway to increase the towing capacity of the DII or do I need to start looking for a new towing vehicle? I've looked into the power chips that up the torque and horsepower but doubt the gearbox and other parts would be happy with me towing in high gear long distances. Anybody able to help out on this one? | ||
| Rick Neff (Lostinboston) Member Username: Lostinboston Post Number: 144 Registered: 06-2003 |
Putting a chip in and a free flow exhaust/intake will give you minor torque and HP increases, which will help some. Maybe fuel additives? You can also regear. -Rick | ||
| Greg (Gparrish) Senior Member Username: Gparrish Post Number: 1546 Registered: 04-2002 |
I have just the answer. F-250 with 6.0 powerstroke and torque shift transmission.  I'm in the same boat, but haven't bought the bigger boat yet. LOL | ||
| Jim McNamara (Jimmac) New Member Username: Jimmac Post Number: 7 Registered: 08-2003 |
Jim; It's not the ability to PULL that is as important as the ability to STOP. The low range number also factors in the max speed attained in low range. Like we learned in physics a hundred years ago..F(Force)=M(Mass(4775 lbs)xA(Acceleration). I would suggest keeping the disco for other uses and invest in a vehicle like the F-250 Greg spoke of. Remember, there are many families on the road with you. I personally would never forgive myself. Jim Then again, if you need someone to take the boat off your hands... | ||
| Rick Neff (Lostinboston) Member Username: Lostinboston Post Number: 147 Registered: 06-2003 |
Jim has a great point that i overlooked. However most big trailers have good brakes. You could also upgrade your rotors and pads. are there any legal issues with towing more then your vehicles is designed for? There is no doubt in my mind the disco can tow more then 5500 in hight gear and 7800 in low. Also if the boat is that big and you have to move it, just take it by water. I know some captains who take boats from NJ to FL every fall and spring. I need more hours to get my captains liscense so i wouldnt mind doing it. | ||
| Lewis Jones (Cutter) Member Username: Cutter Post Number: 58 Registered: 10-2003 |
I've pulled a Jeep all over the country with my DII. It has always pulled real sweet. Power is never a problem. Jims VERY right about stopping! I have brakes on both trailer axles. But your boat weighs more than my rockbuggy and trailer together! Its probably longer, too. If your pulling on level roads, go for it. If your crossing the Rockies...well...let us know when your heading to the lake so we can adjust travel plans accordingly | ||
| Geoff 93 RRC (Geoff) Member Username: Geoff Post Number: 145 Registered: 11-2002 |
Having towed our boat (about 5K lbs) for years I wouldn't risk it. Although the Disco might be made to move more weight, the short wheelbase makes the possibility of jack-knifing much more likely. If you have to stop suddenly on anything but a straight line I doubt you'd be able to control it. Also, if you get in a wreck with an overloaded trailer, how will your insurance company or liability lawyers react? Other than a new truck, if you want to stay with an SUV you could think about a 3/4 ton Suburban or same Avalanche. | ||
| Lewis Jones (Cutter) Member Username: Cutter Post Number: 59 Registered: 10-2003 |
Good point Geoff! My trailer is custom for my buggy. Very short. I used to have a 14' with no brakes, hauling a Jeep behind a Grand Cherokee, I almost lost it twice when it started swaying. Very spooky! General rule~ don't pull anything heavier or longer than the tow rig. And trailers need brakes! | ||
| Ed Hsu (Edhsu) New Member Username: Edhsu Post Number: 5 Registered: 10-2003 |
Jim, If you really want to use your disco to tow it, 2 things you can do, one is to get bigger brakes for your disco and second is to add electronic brakes to your trailer. Good luck. | ||
| michael burt (Mikeyb) Senior Member Username: Mikeyb Post Number: 579 Registered: 03-2002 |
i agree with those citing tail wagging dog issues...there are things that add ponies to the power or power to the brakes, but you can do nothing to increase the wheelbase. mike | ||
| michael burt (Mikeyb) Senior Member Username: Mikeyb Post Number: 580 Registered: 03-2002 |
damn, jim...i just noticed it was your post...why don't you come to the texas rover meetings anymore? it is too cold to be on the boat anymore! mike | ||
| Chris Browne (Chris_browne) Senior Member Username: Chris_browne Post Number: 419 Registered: 02-2003 |
Over in the UK, there is one recognized rule of thumb, never exceed 80% of the manufacturers recommended maximum towing weight. One rating to look at too is the Gross Train weight....ie truck and trailer together.... I bet that you will be carrying people or kit in the truck.....and will end up way over the limit, especially with fuel/food beer/and all the extra stuff you've added into the boat I'm against this trailering idea, but if you do "give it a go" go out some quiet sunday morning for a drive and you'll probably realize it ain't going to work. For starters, everytime you stop you'll probably be wise to shift into low range to get the rig rolling to reduce transmission strain. | ||
| Brian Dickens (Bri) Senior Member Username: Bri Post Number: 815 Registered: 08-2002 |
The bigger the better. The one ton 350 might be a better choice than the 250. The other is a Cummins based Dodge which is known to have better low end torque, but not as good crusing speeds. Frankly, I cannot imagine towing much more than about 1000 lbs on my Disco. Maybe I might consider a tent camper on the new 4.6 but that is about it. Sure you could get by on short distances with not hills, but that is about it. IMO. | ||
| Matt Taylor (Whodatmatt) New Member Username: Whodatmatt Post Number: 3 Registered: 09-2003 |
I used to tow my boat alot with the Disco. My boat weighs probably half of what yours does (what kind of boat is that, by the way), and the truck handled it fine. I've towed bigger boats as well, and as long as the trailer had brakes, it was okay. If you're only towing now and again you should be alright. Yeah, it would be great to have an F250 superduty to tow with, but it's not realistic (for me, anyway). I guess the question is, how often do you intend to tow? 5, 10 times a year? More? | ||
| Scott Scott (Scottoz) Member Username: Scottoz Post Number: 126 Registered: 02-2003 |
In OZ the tow limit is not dictated by high or low range. My manual says that the tow capacity on road is 3500 kilos or about 7800 pounds give or take. Off road that diminishes significantly as you would expect. I tow a boat and trailer that when full or fuel and fishing gear etc is about 5000pounds. I have towed it with my D1 and D11 with no problems. The D1 is auto the D11 is manual. Having said that I would not be comfortable going higher loads without electric brakes on all 4 trailer wheels - at moment I have, legally, 2 wheels (front axel) with mechanical override brakes.TCW | ||
| Ron Brown (Ron) Senior Member Username: Ron Post Number: 549 Registered: 04-2001 |
"on road is 3500 kilos or about 7800 pounds give or take." Legality aside, I would not hesitate, especially anywhere near the water where it is flat. It will be slow, and this is assuming good trailer brakes, but it will not be that bad. Better if you have SLS or HD rear springs. Ron | ||
| Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith) Senior Member Username: Kennith Post Number: 404 Registered: 05-2002 |
I worked on a movie earlier this year which required me to tow an 8000 pound generator with a 1000 pound tongue weight. I towed that damn thing up hills and down through Winston-Salem NC for a week with no worries. This Generator was equipped with a surge-brake. Later in the shoot I towed a trailer carrying a Ford Explorer, 400 pounds of camera equipment, 400 pounds of grip equipment, 200 pounds of lights, and 3 people. At the same time, my interior was rigged with 5 operators, as well as several hundered more pounds of power managment and sound equipment. This setup was used to accomplish emergency lane changes with the actors appearing to be in control of the explorer. This was done on an open road with a police escort. This trailer was not equipped with brakes. I can only say that your vehicle's power is fine, but I heavily reccomend OME Heavy Duty springs and shocks. The disco didn't lose any of her posture over the entire shoot. And all the towing was done on the new Mud Terrain TA KM by BF Goodrich, which turned out to be a wonderful towing tyre. I have found that the discovery II's brakes are a pleasure to use, but if you are going to be lugging that boat at highway speeds some higher temperature pads may be in order. Cheers, Kennith | ||
| Kennith P. Whichard III (Kennith) Senior Member Username: Kennith Post Number: 405 Registered: 05-2002 |
Another thought, That being said the MOST important aspect of towing is matching the trailer's geometry to that of the business end of your truck. Cheers, Kennith | ||
| Brent (Silly_me) Member Username: Silly_me Post Number: 96 Registered: 07-2003 |
FWIW the UK website has the DII at being able to tow 3.5 tons. My old Trooper had a higher UK tow rating than it did in the US as well. It's gotta be the lawyers | ||
| thom mathie (Muskyman) Senior Member Username: Muskyman Post Number: 424 Registered: 11-2002 |
guess every semi tractor trailer is "braking this general rule" | ||
| Christian Kiely (Redrover47) New Member Username: Redrover47 Post Number: 19 Registered: 09-2003 |
yeah, my boat only weighs about 2500 lbs, but it is definetly longer than the disco. Plus, what about all those full-size pickups out there. It would be hard to find a trailer the same length as those rigs that woudl even come close to the max trailering weight. | ||
| Kai Dussling (Kai) Member Username: Kai Post Number: 92 Registered: 06-2002 |
FWIW re: Trailer brakes. We have 6 company trailers. Flatbeds and goosenecks. 1. Brakes are extremely important. 2. I will never buy another trailer without brakes, unless it is real small. 3. The "surge" brakes work OK if you recieve the trailer in "New" condition and it is well maintained. Borrowing "Bubba's Trailer" cause it has brakes, doesn't mean it will stop the load. 4. Electric brakes are by far the way to go! Works more flawlessly and you can independently brake the trailer when you start wagging the tail. 5. If it's wet and you need to slam on the brakes...you are screwed regardless! Always keep a safe distance. KD | ||
| Lewis Jones (Cutter) Member Username: Cutter Post Number: 97 Registered: 10-2003 |
Thom , ya got me of course those are built just to pull a trailer... | ||
| Joey (Joey4420) Senior Member Username: Joey4420 Post Number: 372 Registered: 04-2003 |
I would recommend a weight distribution hitch and a sway bar attatchment. I know I don't have a problem pulling a 23' camper that weights around 5k while using this setup. I bought mine at the dealer, but here is a link to see what I am talking about. http://www.drawtite-hitches.com/WD/wd_hitches.htm | ||
| Jack Parker (Jack) Member Username: Jack Post Number: 245 Registered: 03-2002 |
Good timing on this thread, as I'm preparing to drive from Colorado to Virginia pulling a Pace CargoSport 16' tandem axle enclosed trailer. Empty weight of the trailer is 2600 lbs. Tongue wt. is 260 lbs. The trailer will only have a few hundred pounds of cargo, so I should be well within the acceptable towing capacity. I've got a D2 w/ sls and brand new tires, and plan on taking my time - not setting any land speed records. On a few 'round the block test runs, the disco seemed to pull fine, and should stop even better, now that I've connected the electric brakes! I pulled the trailer up to the mountains w/ my buddie's SuperDuty equipped Excursion. Pulling a trailer, the disco pales in comparison to a rig like that. The electric brake modulator / Land Rover trailer wiring harness has proved to be a pain in the ass. After installing the brake modulator, then required a NAPA convertor to go from the euro 7-pin to american 7-pin and a few extra wires. Actually, my dealer saved my ass on this one. Got me in right away, and one tech "Brent" had worked through every possible Rover trailer wiring issue there has been. Well worth the case of beer and $$ I spent. Thanks Land Rover Denver South! I've pulled many boats, small trailers before, but nothing this big, or this far. We'll have the kids too, so I'm going to make most of my time during daylight hours. I'm going the have the trailer bearings checked, tires aired, etc. Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. | ||
| Jim Stembridge (Jimstem) New Member Username: Jimstem Post Number: 2 Registered: 11-2003 |
Hey everyone. I apologize for taking so long in responding myself...had connection problems. Anyway, THANK YOU for all the great comments and things to think about. Yes, this is a 26' Four Winns 258 Vista cabin cruiser. The trailer I will purchase will have the non-electric brakes (forget what you call them). It's a dual axle setup. I will only pull the boat a few times a year and only across town but wanted to know the feasability of taking it down to the coast (6 hour drive). I cannot move it via water as I am on an inland lake in Texas...not connected to any other body of water. Mike! Great to hear from you! Send me an email at dallashouse2002@yahoo.com sometime soon so we can hook up again! I'll try to make it to a rover meeting sometime soon. I'll let you all know how it works out... | ||
| Todd Phenneger (Toddp) Member Username: Toddp Post Number: 151 Registered: 10-2002 |
Joey hit the nail on the head. If your going over, say, 4500lbs "give or take" then I would definately get a good Weight Distributing Hitch with sway control. USing a similar setup on a 1991 Audi 200quattro, my friend can pull his 18' car Trailer and Full race Gear (Tires, etc) which total weights in at over 5,000lbs. Its a Joy to drive, With Electric Brakes and Porsche Big Red's on the Front there are NO stopping issues, (probably stops faster than a lot of old trucks on the road without trailers), handles awesome, and with 300+hp maintains 70mph with ease. Even going up hill. Point is, if you set up your Disco it will help immensley. Incorrect Tongue weight, standard hitch, bad brakes and improperly loaded boat will make for a dangerous vehicle. While yoru really close to maxed out on weight, maybe over, if your staying local I'd say your fine. But as someone said, if your going over the Rockies or similar then I'd worry. Just in case you have to hit yoru brakes mid-corner. Even with brakes, thats a lot of weight pushign the rear of the D2 around. I suspect a RRC LWB would be much better with its Long Wheelbase. l8r Todd |
