 | Home > Maintenance & Modifications > Nato hitch attachment - help needed |
 
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| alantd Member Since: 14 Dec 2008 Location: Northamptonshire Posts: 1513   
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I've not heard of many people having issues with the bolts shearing (although I guess it could happen). The main issue is when loaded from the side the hitch bends the crossmember - hence the need for a spreader.
If you use the OEM multi-height tow bar LR plate (LR006309) as a spreader, you'll not be aligned with the 4 holes required for the NATO hitch. I think, however, that you can move it upwards to cover the holes but I can't be certain until I get home to measure it. If it does line up then it'll act as a pretty effective spreader because not only is it 195mm wide but is also mounted to an under-crossmember spreader and to the chassis. It would take a hell of a lot to twist it. If you want a really flexible solution then buy an adjustable Dixon-Bate bracket and coupling (http://www.dixonbate.co.uk/Towing/adjustable.asp). That way you'll get the advantages of the bracket to spread the sideways loads and the ability to swap in a 50mm ball for towing other people's trailers. I'd be interested to hear what LR have to say about it though. One that started out as a 2.4 TDCi 110 XS + New Defender 110 First Edition |
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11th Oct 2009 7:42pm |
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| TallPaul Member Since: 28 Aug 2007 Location: Nr Reading Posts: 270
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If you wanted a standard tow ball, with the option to possibly add a NATO hitch later, you would be a lot better off with the Dixon Bate setup then where you can buy a second adjustment plate (£37 website says) than the landrover multi-height set-up?
The LR and Dixon one look very similar, was wondering if you can order the plate as a spare from LR to do the same thing and fit NATO hitch later? While on the topic of mounting, the step with tow mount seems a popular choice, but seems to loose the height adjustment, anyone got any thoughts on these? |
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12th Oct 2009 2:09pm |
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| nedkelly Member Since: 12 Feb 2008 Location: Dorset Posts: 19 
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Just spoke to the parts guys at Westover LR in Bournemouth. They reckon the Nato hitch can be mounted directly to the cross member with no problems.
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12th Oct 2009 3:44pm |
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| alantd Member Since: 14 Dec 2008 Location: Northamptonshire Posts: 1513
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It can certainly be mounted without problems (the rear crossmember is threaded to accept M12). However, the question is whether the crossmember is strong enough to take the shear loads that can be generated if the trailer gets twisted.
See this thread on LR4x4 as an example. http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopi...omsearch=1 The right thing to do, then, is to put a spreader on the surface of the crossmember. It wouldn't spread the load of a straight pull but would help prevent bending of the crossmember under sideways load condidtions. If you are worried about the loads under a straight pull then you'd need something attached to the rear of the crossmember as well. Unfortunately you can't fit one of those to a post Td5 Defender without 1) removing the fuel tank; and 2) inserting crush-tubes to prevent the crossmember deforming as you tighten up the bolts. My plan is to use the LR variable height mounting bracket (similar to the Dixon-Bate adjustable height bracket) as a spreader on the exterior surface of the crossmember. It has the added advantage of attaching to the chassis so will further strengthen the in-line tow and resist twist even more. Additionally I'm going to add a Dixon-Bate adjustable coupling with 2 plates as described above so I can swap out my NATO for a 50mm ball and still tow other trailers. One that started out as a 2.4 TDCi 110 XS + New Defender 110 First Edition |
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12th Oct 2009 6:44pm |
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| Sonic3d Member Since: 28 Jan 2008 Location: Ross on Wye Posts: 1505 
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How much are you intending to tow
 if its only a sankey you won`t have a problem with just bolting it straight to the cross member 
You mention twisting forces, if there is any risk of the trailer overturning ie offroad you should remove the lock on the nato hook to allow it to rotate and then there are no forces on the hitch
I also had a similar decision to make as i needed to use a nato hitch and a 50mm ball, and after searching the best solution i found was the removable hitch that Safari Equipe sell, i fitted their hitch and have one droper plate with a 50mm ball and another with the nato hitch. I can change between the two in less than a minute |
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12th Oct 2009 7:01pm |
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