All-round trailer and towing with Defender

[Bealers]

Hi,

 

This is my first post so please be gentle with me.

 

I've got a small plantation of Japanese Larch that I'll be harvesting a section of this year. I'll be wanting to transport long poles back home (circa 6 miles) to use for construction of some timber frames as well as smaller chunks for firewood.

 

I've got a 300TDI Landrover Defender (1996) for towing but was hoping for advice on:

• What sort length timber is feasible for on road towing? Is 4M too long?
  
• What sort of trailer/crane combo could handle this? RIKO seems to do some likely candidates.
  
• What sort of weight can I sensibly tow using the landy? Plated weight might be one thing but what's that like in reality? Bearing in mind I'm in Wales so will need to pull up some steep hills.
  

 

Cheers

[david wood]

Hi and welcome to arbtalk.

 

The 300tdi defender is a lovely tow car, just watch the temp gauge carefully if towing a heavy load - they hate being overheated more than anything!

 

I would personally stick to no more than 12 foot, but prefer 10 foot lengths in a trailer, i find my current 10 by 6 foot 6 trailer fully laden to be plenty of a load if not a lil too much for a 2003 td5 defender. On steep long climbs i find it sitting in third gear, although i have swopped to a discovery transfer box so a approx 25% increase in gearing.

 

I have no idea on trailer/crane combos since never used one.

 

I would be looking at towing no more than 3 tons very very max to save risking overheating, ensuring the radiator is in good condition first (can you tell i blew a rad towing uphill loaded once).

[zzr1200]

A trailer with a plated weight of 3.5 tonnes is not a problem for a LR, a 110 will be more stable than a 90 under braking (less chance of the tail wagging the dog).

An Ifor Williams 3 axle trailer would be my choice of trailer but as for loading it, maybe a small electric type hiab possibly, its the extra weight of the liting equipment that will kill the carrying capacity and a 4/5 metre bed shouldn't be a problem .

As mentioned above keep the revs up by using lower gears on hills (up and down), keep a fully serviced vehicle and adjust your driving style to suit a heavily loaded towing combination.

 

 

A landy will tow far more than its plated weight...

Edited March 22, 2011 by zzr1200

[tommer9]

Hi and welcome to arbtalk.

 

The 300tdi defender is a lovely tow car, just watch the temp gauge carefully if towing a heavy load - they hate being overheated more than anything!

 

I would personally stick to no more than 12 foot, but prefer 10 foot lengths in a trailer, i find my current 10 by 6 foot 6 trailer fully laden to be plenty of a load if not a lil too much for a 2003 td5 defender. On steep long climbs i find it sitting in third gear, although i have swopped to a discovery transfer box so a approx 25% increase in gearing.

 

I have no idea on trailer/crane combos since never used one.

 

I would be looking at towing no more than 3 tons very very max to save risking overheating, ensuring the radiator is in good condition first (can you tell i blew a rad towing uphill loaded once).

You must have had cooling issues David, as i tow a 2 tonne chipper and chip box full, in all weighing easily 7 tonne all day with a board infront of my rad to give me winter heat that i dont bother removing except in the summer, never had a problem. I regularly tow my ifor way overloaded, plenty of distance too with no problems. I think the moral of the story coud be to ensure one's cooling system/ water pump is clean and fully functioning. Landrovers were designed to work in desert heat!

I believe that the transfer from a disco is only different in the low ratio too, but i might be mistaken there.

A trailer with a plated weight of 3.5 tonnes is not a problem for a LR, a 110 will be more stable than a 90 under braking (less chance of the tail wagging the dog).

 

As mentioned above keep the revs up by using lower gears on hills (up and down), keep a fully serviced vehicle and adjust your driving style to suit a heavily loaded towing combination.

 

 

A landy will tow far more than its plated weight...

 

If loaded correctly and the brakes are working properly on the trailer, this wont be an issue, even if overloaded.

[Bealers]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I should have said that it's a 110 300TDi.

 

I'll do some further research. I was looking at a trailer with a grabber of some kind as I'm likely to be doing the work on my own and loading may be a problem.

 

I assume that the Riko-type trailers are not for road towing, more for moving stems around to a loading/stacking area?

 

I've got a budget of around £3K so can't go silly. I think I'm leaning towards the tri axle Ifor Williams though I'm still concerned how I'll get it loaded. Do you guys use a winch on the trailer to skid the trunks onto it?

 

I'm trying to visualise what 3.5 tonnes is. If we were to say 4M 12" stems roughly how many is this?

 

If I wanted to carry stems of more than 4 meters I suppose I could get a frame fabricated for the front of the trailer to allow diagonal loading? Obviously this would need to be strong.

[gensetsteve]

These lengths are 5m and there is about 2-3 tonnes on this 16ft ifor. The longer trailers dont weigh much more than short ones. Tri axle trailers weigh alot more and carry less legally but are more stable and can handle more abuse.

[Bealers]

That's helpful gensetsteve, thanks.

[armchairarborist]

i'd get an ifor in the LM range with the 6/8ft ramps that slide in under the bed. you can put the ramps onto the side of the trailer and roll the logs or winch them on, a crane is a good idea but you may struggle to get a new trailer with one fitted in your budget. don't worry about overheating unless your cooling system is faulty, my temp gauge crept up on gentle slopes towing until i got a new rad, now it is supercool.

[John Hughes]

This is what I use

 

 

My tractor is not roadworthy so I get a friendly farmer to use his tractor with my trailer to fetch any thing that needs to go via road.

What part of Wales do you live in ?

 

John

[gensetsteve]

This is what I use

 

[ATTACH]60027[/ATTACH]

 

My tractor is not roadworthy so I get a friendly farmer to use his tractor with my trailer to fetch any thing that needs to go via road.

What part of Wales do you live in ?

 

John

 

Thats a nice trailer John if you had a lot to collect you could hire a tractor from a main dealer for £50 a day. I have a small log trailer but its a bit tired. Having a new one built may be for sale soon with or without grab not sure yet.