- Peterl
- Member Since: 29 May 2017
- Location: Essex
- Posts: 5
Towing disappointment
My HSE lux has 21 inch wheels and as said previously to as well. Did 6% hills up and down in France and all fine.have taken lane keep assist off and even that helps.
Only issue is land Rover towing sticker does not stick to tow cover in the 35 heat we had even when secured with bodge tape round outside.Any bright ideas of fixing sticker welcome.
- Dave97v5
- Member Since: 08 May 2017
- Location: Cumbria
- Posts: 16
Towball Height
I don't think the wheel size of the Discovery will affect the towing ability but the lower profile sidewalls of the larger tyres may reduce flex of the tyre wall to some degree which may help ??
Like PDES I have also moved items around in the van to gain more nose weight and see if things improved but after going out again it still felt very unsettled at higher speeds on the Motorway.
I parked the complete unit on a level weighbridge to check tow ball height and caravan levels and was surprised to find that even fully loaded with awning and other gear in the boot and 100kgs of nose weight on the van that the centre of the tow ball was 440mm.
My understanding is that the current tow bar regulations state a height fully loaded of between 350mm to 420mm Max and think this is the main cause of the instability.
I would like to know if all Discovery 5 models have a tow ball height of 440mm or is it just mine ?
- pdes
- Member Since: 11 Oct 2016
- Location: Cambridge
- Posts: 233
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I'll be hitching up tomorrow and will measure.
D5 HSE SDi6, 2019, Santorini Black, privacy glass, HUD, loads of gizmos!! 😃😃😃
Series 1, 1953, 86"
- Russell
- Member Since: 26 Jun 2016
- Location: Lydd
- Posts: 1102
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Re: Towball Height
Dave97v5 wrote:
I don't think the wheel size of the Discovery will affect the towing ability but the lower profile sidewalls of the larger tyres may reduce flex of the tyre wall to some degree which may help ??
Like PDES I have also moved items around in the van to gain more nose weight and see if things improved but after going out again it still felt very unsettled at higher speeds on the Motorway.
I parked the complete unit on a level weighbridge to check tow ball height and caravan levels and was surprised to find that even fully loaded with awning and other gear in the boot and 100kgs of nose weight on the van that the centre of the tow ball was 440mm.
My understanding is that the current tow bar regulations state a height fully loaded of between 350mm to 420mm Max and think this is the main cause of the instability.
I would like to know if all Discovery 5 models have a tow ball height of 440mm or is it just mine ?
Where did you find the info on the maximum height please
Namib Orange 1st Edition with black roof and wheels.
Privacy, tow bar, drive pack, surround camera, heated front & rear seats, auto dim door mirrors, side steps, remote Pro, RSE, arm rest fridge dash cam front and rear.
- pdes
- Member Since: 11 Oct 2016
- Location: Cambridge
- Posts: 233
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pdes wrote:
I'll be hitching up tomorrow and will measure.
With the engine running 37cm to centre of ball. Can't get the nose weight up though. Stuck at 87 Kilo with the front locker fully loaded. (Swift 650 T/A).
Last edited by pdes on 26th Jun 2017 1:05 pm. Edited 1 time in total
D5 HSE SDi6, 2019, Santorini Black, privacy glass, HUD, loads of gizmos!! 😃😃😃
Series 1, 1953, 86"
- Dave97v5
- Member Since: 08 May 2017
- Location: Cumbria
- Posts: 16
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Thanks for measuring your tow ball height with van on, can you clarify that this was with a deployable electric bar and suspension at normal road mode and not access height please.
I have measured mine again and even at access height it is just below 40cm but the van looks much happier at this height, I am now thinking it is my car which has a fault and I am speaking to Land Rover about this.
- Pcheaven
- Member Since: 06 Jun 2017
- Location: Tunbridge wells
- Posts: 378
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Just measured mine on evening ground
38cm
It's electrically deployable
Normal road height
No load in car or in tow bar
- Peterl
- Member Since: 29 May 2017
- Location: Essex
- Posts: 5
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Towing disappointment
Surely a twin wheeler swift needs 7.5% of max towing weight but appreciate difficult within wheeler.
My Bailey valencia, single axle, tows with 120kilo nose weight with max weight of 1575 kilo
I have caravaned with many caravans over 20 years and used max nose weight.Had disco 3 and 4 previously.
As in my previous posts towing very well in France even with 6% hills
Think that the disco 4 was so heavy that caravanloading errors did not matter but 5 needs more care
- Dave97v5
- Member Since: 08 May 2017
- Location: Cumbria
- Posts: 16
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Thank you pcheaven for confirming the towball height, so now I know I have a problem ànd need to sort it out.
Thanks Peter for your comments and I do always tow at around max noseweight for the caravan and I have also towed a great variety of vans for over 40 years without any major problems but whilst I am pleased your outfit tows well I know there is an underlying issue with mine and I will let you all know when it is sorted and what it was.
- Craig_d1
- Member Since: 02 Oct 2016
- Location: Camberley
- Posts: 10
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Sorry, been some time since I last posted.
I increased the tyre pressure to max and towed the van 80 miles for it's service. I also removed the 2 kids bike from the back, and added the 2nd gas bottle to the front of the van. The van still felt unsteady and twitchy on the way down for service.
One thing we did notice was that we had an error message come up on our screen saying the towbar had become unlocked while towing. I told my dealer this and was told, 'that's unusal', and they did nothing.
When it happenned again my wife was with me and she took a photo.
After trying several times to get it looked at with no results I told my salesman and sent him an email with the image, and told him that if my caravan become unattached while towing, any damage caused to the car, the van, or anyone else, they would be resposible for...
the result was my D5 was taken away and the whole towbar was replaced under warranty. My wife drove it 250 miles to Wales for our hols and had no problems, and I just drove it back. We had the kids bike on the back as well. i took the car/van up to 67 at one point overtaking on the motorway, but generally was steady at 60.
The car towedjust as well as our old D4. May of been a little movement in wind but then the car is lighter than the D4.
Only thing different was the towbar, so for those that are having problems, it might be worth asking to borrow another car and see if it's the same, as since we've had our towbar switched out, it feels a completely different beast to tow with.
I'm towing a sterling 590 'celebration' single axle if it makes a difference, with the electrically deployable towbar....i used the car weight program and the towbar nose weight was 115 to 125 I think, which was heavier than I normally tow with, but we had the extra gas cylinder in etc, and with the bikes on the back, I wanted to make sure it was going to be as steady as possible
Anyway, much relieved now it tows properly. Hopefully it helps, and for those that have problems, hope you get yours sorted.
I also took the black paint off the towball, as can interfere with the alko breaking I was told..forgot to do it at first, so that may of affected the performance
