Should towing/vehicle weight laws change?

[skc101fc]

Mine's td5 110" hardtop 2010kg

[skc101fc]

What is it with you guys who believe that a trailer with overrun brakes is going to be able to hold on a hill? The only times that's going to happen is if ya leap outa the cab and snatch the handbrake on or if it rolls back into something solid and applies its own brakes when the weight of the tow vehicle compresses the hitch. As long as guys continue to think that overruns are effective in all directions trailer weights must be kept low.

[agrimog]

another way to look at the farse that is LR tow limits.......most jap 4x4 pickups wiegh a lot motre than a LR, but are limited to 2, 2.5, or 3 ton, but why can an underwieght LR pull 3.5........paperwork, the big companies actually do think about safety,  LR think about sales, especially after loosing there us market over safety issues

and on the agri side, there are actually some strict rules in place concerning what, and who, can tow what, its just that you never hear much about any prosecutions cos they just arent major news

[HuntingHicap]

interesting one this.....I have a '96 110 HCPU (official Gross weight 3050), which feels solid with a fully loaded 12x6 ifor behind it, whereas works Nissan Navara np300 King Cab which is 3035, feels bullied around by the same load.

 

Obviously the Defender is a lot slower, therefore you are less likely to be driving faster than you should, however having towed extensively with both vehicles apart from the comfort side of things I would always chose the LR if I have a trailer to tow. Could it be the beam axle setup of a Land Rover puts the weight nearer the ground? Just asking?

 

While we are talking about towing the single best towing vehicle I have used is a Discovery 3, feels totally solid and could pull a train....and has done! 

[GA Groundcare]

Probably to do with the war time design rear axle / leaf springs!  

[agrimog]

there you go then , LR weight 3050kg,  acording to the wise nerds that work things out the recomended max wieght for towing...80%......2440 kg, why then does LR shove another 1000kg onto this figure

[skc101fc]

That 3050kg weight is its gross (laden) weight which makes it even more alarming what weight you're trying to stop moving. Getting it all rolling is the easy bit. Stopping it again especially if road surface, tyres,etc are less than perfect ,which is probably 90% of normal motoring, means it ain't going to get even close to the distances we learnt in our driving tests.

[HuntingHicap]

That would come down to driver skill surely? I know when I have 3.5 tons sat behind me my situational awareness is greatly increased compared to if I am just driving to the shops? As to how Land Rover came up with the weights I have no idea, I am guessing there had to be some form of tests/formula.....

 

Fact is not being able to tow 3.5 would be very frustrating as IMO driven sensibly a 110 at least (not having much experience of a 90) is perfectly capable of stopping and starting the load. Off road, (obviously) I have hooked up to at least 4 ton and although due to ground conditions needed low box to break it out, the 110 will pull it happily.

[woody paul]

12 minutes ago, HuntingHicap said:

As to how Land Rover came up with the weights I have no idea, I am guessing there had to be some form of tests/formula.....

Must be Grand fathers wrights

[Matthew Storrs]

I was thinking about this today whilst tugging my digger around. Firstly, I think towing 3.5t in a Landy is fine but there is a limit to the speed you can go whilst still feeling in control and safe. On normal roads I’d say this speed would be around the 40mph mark. After that it starts to feel too vulnerable to every day road occurrences. I’m a big believer in having as much weight as you can  in the towing vehicle to aid traction and act as ballast. A light pickup bed is asking for trouble, and I’d put an unladen 90 into this category. My landy ran out of steam in 1st gear the other day on a very steep hill towing my digger- I had to stop and put it into low box, at no point was I then pulled back down the hill and I’m sure that is due to the extra weight in the towing vehicle. I think any vehicle is going to have its limits regardless of how big or good brakes but it comes down to driver awareness and experience to know how to react and adapt to a given situation.