Discovery Detachable Tow Bars

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yellow90 said:
in the case of defenders I don't belive this rings true, not sure about others but there are a lot of unhappy people on the site that link was on

I used to work on brand new defenders while working for a roll cage company

bolts were loose/missing

metal filings from holes drilled were left there and rusted into the white paintwork ( inside)

brackets such as lower wing supports loose/missing

interior panels badly cut/fitted

on some vehicles things like interior lights were not working and air intake connections hanging off

could list a lot more !

utter ****e
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Ive had dry diffs from the factory, bodys not bolted onto the chassis properly(read at all), dodgy wiring, speedos broke.....and these all get pdi by the rental company too!
 
owl said:
I PDI new Defenders and do warranty work on them and I don't see any of the things on your list. Yes we get the odd issue but that is what a PDI is for. They might be old fashioned but but you have to ask why do they keep selling.
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I used to dismantle certtian parts of brand new ones , the arrived on a truck with no number plates on them ......

I don't know how thorough your PDI check is , a lot of PDI checks I have seen has just been the basics , lights ,seatbelts ect .....not removing wheels to check wing brackets, or lift carpets to find rusted in metal shavings

in all honesty they keep selling but I have no idea why , compare a brand new defender in cost and general use and confort compared to such as the Nissan navara for example

parts are just as expencive for both nowadays although the defender is cheaper in general

but the cost of a brand new defender is silly for what you get , yes they are basic and always have been, but the price tag is horrendous

not against defenders in general by the way I own a 1993 V8 and a 2004 TD5 and wouldent change them for the world , the reason I dislike the new ones is both have mine have cost me £10,000 or so together, compare that to a new transit engine one
 
I may have missed this but hear goes.

There is a small cable linked to the handbrake on the trailer that will apply the trailer brakes if the trailer becomes detached from the towing vehicle. This should be attached to the chassis of the vehicle or a fixed point. That way when this happens the trailer will stop. I am guessing hear but hands up who thinks that these people had it looped around the tow ball thus rendering it useless.
 
stutab said:
I may have missed this but hear goes.

There is a small cable linked to the handbrake on the trailer that will apply the trailer brakes if the trailer becomes detached from the towing vehicle. This should be attached to the chassis of the vehicle or a fixed point. That way when this happens the trailer will stop. I am guessing hear but hands up who thinks that these people had it looped around the tow ball thus rendering it useless.
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:cheer2:
 
Been looking at D2 face lift models for a towing vehicle for a bit but funds wouldn't allow. But I have just bought a 300series V8 XS D1 for that job, with a big lump of steel firmly bolted onto the (solid) chassis to tow with.
 
stutab said:
I may have missed this but hear goes.

There is a small cable linked to the handbrake on the trailer that will apply the trailer brakes if the trailer becomes detached from the towing vehicle. This should be attached to the chassis of the vehicle or a fixed point. That way when this happens the trailer will stop. I am guessing hear but hands up who thinks that these people had it looped around the tow ball thus rendering it useless.
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I said that earlier, it was my first thought. However if you read the link they did have the break away attached and it didn't come off with the tow bar and therefore should have pulled the brakes on.

Apparently that a question for the trailer manufacturer they are saying, however its possibly poor servicing.

Hardly the point though in this case. The dammed tow bar shouldn't have come off
 
This is absolutely shocking reading !. The best " we " can do is spread the word around as many of our fellow LR drivers as possible about the issue.
I'm going this morning to tell my farmer neighbour as i know he pulles two horses weekly with a D3 using a detachable tow bar.
 
I've been thinking about this, always a dangerous thing :D

They say the trailer overtook the car suggesting it was a downhill stretch of road, therefore no drag on the towbar. If the trailer brakes were not working well the trailer could actually have been pushing the car. Interesting time for a towbar to fail was all I was thinking.

Also got to thinking about whether breakaway cables work if the trailer somehow is in front of the attachment point rather than pulling back on it. Will be checking my Ifor next time I remember

Also how was it loaded, mine has enough nose weight to mean the front would drop if it came unhitched, not overtake the Landy

Always thinking of stuff to make towing mine safer :D
 
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At any reasonable speed trailer brakes pulled on by a breakaway aren't likely to stop a trailer before it hits something or leaves the road though you'd hope they'd work enough to stop the bloody thing overtaking :eek:

Can't quite believe that it's advised for occasional towing only.....that's like selling a vehicle with crap brakes and advising that you don't go downhill too often.

Nose weight might be an issue but the safety margin should be well within a vehicle being drivable with a badly loaded trailer
 
Towing ponies is stressful enough, I always check everything at least twice, plus trailer floor every time I go out, etc. The words "detachable tow bar" shouldn't even feature, Christ I'd be getting out every bloody mile to check it!!! :eek:
 
suew said:
I've been thinking about this, always a dangerous thing :D

They say the trailer overtook the car suggesting it was a downhill stretch of road, therefore no drag on the towbar. If the trailer brakes were not working well the trailer could actually have been pushing the car. Interesting time for a towbar to fail was all I was thinking.

Also got to thinking about whether breakaway cables work if the trailer somehow is in front of the attachment point rather than pulling back on it. Will be checking my Ifor next time I remember

Also how was it loaded, mine has enough nose weight to mean the front would drop if it came unhitched, not overtake the Landy

Always thinking of stuff to make towing mine safer :D
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The trailer might have past them as they braked which is a pretty instinctive thing to do and a vehicle will stop faster than a loaded trailer.

Breakaway cable should work when the cable goes taught whether it's behind, to the side or pushing it's way through the boot
 
blue beasty said:
Can't quite believe that it's advised for occasional towing only.....that's like selling a vehicle with crap brakes and advising that you don't go downhill too often.
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It depends how the word "occasional" is defined. I'd say once a week was occasional, as opposed to a work vehicle pulling a loaded trailer every day.

That said if I were towing horses I'd want something permanent, if only because they were living creatures.
 
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