 | Home > General & Technical (L663) > Towing question |
 
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| bob neville Member Since: 30 Apr 2009 Location: Marbella Posts: 3248   
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Asking for some help for a friend who is looking at the new Defender to replace a D4.
She has had one on loan for a day and likes the vehicle itself but wants to know about the towing performance. She tows a horse box with one or two horses in and wants to know how capable it is towing a heavy load and how stable it is. I did a search but could not find much info or I missed it somewhere ! Edited to add another question. If you have a trailer attached can you open the rear door fully ? Thanks Bob 2015 Jaguar XE240 R Sport - goes like ....... !! 2013 Defender 90 CSW - sold 2009 Defender 110 Double Cab - sold 2001 TD5 90 CSW - offroad project - sold to a forum member 2011 Porsche Boxster - for the sunny days ! |
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10th Aug 2020 9:06pm |
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| J77 Member Since: 04 Nov 2019 Location: Fife Posts: 3391 
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I can’t answer your first question but I believe the jockey wheel catches the rear door.
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10th Aug 2020 9:52pm |
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| bob neville Member Since: 30 Apr 2009 Location: Marbella Posts: 3248
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Thanks. From all the pictures I have seen so far it does appear that the jockey wheel stops the door opening fully. 2015 Jaguar XE240 R Sport - goes like ....... !!
2013 Defender 90 CSW - sold 2009 Defender 110 Double Cab - sold 2001 TD5 90 CSW - offroad project - sold to a forum member 2011 Porsche Boxster - for the sunny days ! |
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10th Aug 2020 10:03pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018  
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Swap it out for a swivelling one?
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11th Aug 2020 6:23am |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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This question came up recently, buried in one of the many threads so I can't find it now. The consensus from those who've driven them though was that whilst the D240 engine is very capable and will do the job, it will be less effortless than the 3.0 V6 in the Discovery. The general opinion of the D200 seems to be that it's a bit under powered.
I don't know how much associated 'stuff' your friend carries in the D4, but it's also worth noting that the load space is a bit smaller in the new Defender. Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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11th Aug 2020 8:12am |
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| bob neville Member Since: 30 Apr 2009 Location: Marbella Posts: 3248
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Thanks all. 2015 Jaguar XE240 R Sport - goes like ....... !!
2013 Defender 90 CSW - sold 2009 Defender 110 Double Cab - sold 2001 TD5 90 CSW - offroad project - sold to a forum member 2011 Porsche Boxster - for the sunny days ! |
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11th Aug 2020 9:50am |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018
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Does she know about all the tow assist blackmagic?
That's tech I'd really like to see if it's as good as it looks. |
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11th Aug 2020 9:57am |
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| discomog Member Since: 09 May 2015 Location: Notts/Lincs Border Posts: 2526 
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I was invited to try out JLR's advanced tow assist at Burghley Horse Trials a couple of years ago with a D5 and a horse trailer and was suitably impressed. What impressed me more than anything was reversing in a straight line for quite a distance. Anyone who is used to towing will tell you that reversing in a straight line is not as easy as it sounds as you tend to snake and constantly have to make small corrections and it's easy to over compensate. With the advanced towing aid switched on you can see the steering wheel constantly making these minor corrections. Defender 90XS SW
Mini Countryman Cooper S Morgan Plus 8 |
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11th Aug 2020 1:24pm |
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| Bian Considine Member Since: 25 Jul 2020 Location: Margate Posts: 53
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When I took my HGV lessons one of the instructors had just retired from active driving to be an instructor. He had been driving artics' for around 40 years.
He told me that when reversing anything in s a straight line moving the steering wheel more than half a turn was over compensating. I've tried to follow that & found that if it goes too far out of line take a shunt & start again. If you want to see real skill watch a driver reversing an "A" Frame Trailer ; |
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11th Aug 2020 2:04pm |
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| Tim in Scotland Member Since: 23 May 2007 Location: The Land that time forgot Posts: 3753 
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I have an Ifor Williams P100 Small Single Axle trailer and in 24 years was never able to reverse it without it immediately jack-knifing. Hitched it up to the new car and left the computer to twirl the wheel while I did the speed control - trailer went straight back every time. So. no more getting out, unhitching, turning car, turning trailer and re-hitching.
My car doesn’t have auto-park or park assist or whatever it was called - I never used it except once at an LRE. It does have the clever reverse crossing traffic detection system that uses the parking sensors if you happen to have a big van parked beside you and cannot see if there is hidden traffic approaching or hidden pedestrians - it is very sensitive but works well. Glad that they have ditched the park assistance as I reckon I could park more neatly and in a smaller space than the computer which required the car to something like 1m clearances front and back before it considered the space big enough for the car. The 110 though is very long and it is longer than the spaces at the out of town car parks and at the local Sainsbury’s so I have to pretend I’m farmer Joe just been to the Auction mart down the road and park like I have a triple axle beast carrier hooked behind...... Pangea Green D250 90 HSE with Air Suspension, Off-road Pack, Towing Pack, Black Contrast roof , rear recovery eyes, Front bash plate, Classic flaps all round, extended wheel arch kit and a few bits from PowerfulUK Expel Clear Gloss PPF to come 2020 D240 1st Edition in Pangea Green with Acorn interior. Now gone - old faithful, no mechanical issues whatsoever ever but the leaks and rattles all over the place won’t be missed! |
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11th Aug 2020 7:09pm |
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| bob neville Member Since: 30 Apr 2009 Location: Marbella Posts: 3248
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Thanks for all the very useful comments.
She is still very interested, I think I need to persuade her that the swivel jockey wheel is a good idea ! 2015 Jaguar XE240 R Sport - goes like ....... !! 2013 Defender 90 CSW - sold 2009 Defender 110 Double Cab - sold 2001 TD5 90 CSW - offroad project - sold to a forum member 2011 Porsche Boxster - for the sunny days ! |
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11th Aug 2020 10:33pm |
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| alantd Member Since: 14 Dec 2008 Location: Northamptonshire Posts: 1513 
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I've towed extensively with mine.
D240 engine - man enough for the job (I'd question D200) - even when pulling 2T. The car is very stable at motorway speeds (it's a heavy car at the end of the day). Very smooth power delivery and not unduly affected by the trailer/caravan. The nose weight of the Defender is excellent but not as good as the D5 for some reason (which has a quite extraordinary 350kg capacity!). I can't think why it'd be less but it's rated for 150kg. Spare wheel interferes with long handled hitches (Alko stabilised ones) but can be worked around with a bit of faffing about). The door can catch on the Jockey wheel handle depending on where it is - again, I can usually get round this with some fiddling about) but it's definitely harder than with a tailgate such as on D4 and D5. Ability to lower and raise suspension from the back of the Defender (as with D5) is a god send. As well as making hitching up easy, it's what allows you to solve the wheel/door interference issues. The camera system for reversing onto the tow ball is excellent. Better than the D4 or D5 and it allows me to position right under the hitch. I had tow assist on the D5 and never used it. It requires sticking a marker triangle to the trailer (which keeps falling off) and I couldn't be bothered in the end. For whatever reason, I seem to be able to reverse trailers/caravans better with the Defender. It might just be a consequence of geometry. The best thing... the sat nav has a setting to avoid roads unsuitable for caravans! FINALLY! 
Overall, I'd say the Defender makes an excellent tow vehicle. D5 is arguably even better with higher nose weight limit, hinged tail gate and no spare wheel but I'm preferring the Defender to my D5 overall. Just as capable as a D4 for towing (has a few more tricks up its sleeve but still compromises on tail gate and wheel) and a worthy successor (Oh No! I said it  ) I mean, alternative. One that started out as a 2.4 TDCi 110 XS
+ New Defender 110 First Edition |
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12th Aug 2020 10:00am |
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| bob neville Member Since: 30 Apr 2009 Location: Marbella Posts: 3248
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That’s brilliant, thanks Alan. 2015 Jaguar XE240 R Sport - goes like ....... !!
2013 Defender 90 CSW - sold 2009 Defender 110 Double Cab - sold 2001 TD5 90 CSW - offroad project - sold to a forum member 2011 Porsche Boxster - for the sunny days ! |
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12th Aug 2020 10:27am |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4206 
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The P400 seems to have plenty in reserve for towing.
2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS |
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12th Aug 2020 12:19pm |
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