suggested towing mods for my 110.....

wowa75 · Aug 16, 2011

My 110 finally made it to Vancouver Island and I am looking into getting a travel trailer (caravan) for weekend trips and fishing trips. Now, the 'trailers' over here are monsters compared to european equivalents and to be honest look **** but I'm going to take the plunge anyway.

Basically a trailer will weigh in at anything from 3500-5000lb unladen. Hitch weights from 350-600lb. My vehicle is 110 CSW with the beefed up rear salisbury axel. My hitch is, I believe, a standard LR item, cast iron ball on adjustable height bracket (seems bloody heavy duty). I must mention I have a replacement rear X member. I don't know if this should add any concern re: quality of repair.

Anyway, given the rather large load and rather steep passes in these parts I am wondering what mods, structural and engine I should be considering. Overheating would be potential nightmare #1 and I believe Exhaust Gas Temp Sensors are the best warning devices.

My engine is otherwise stock Defender 200tdi.

So suggestions please.................

spencer1885 · Aug 16, 2011

That sounds to heavy for your 110 to pull plus extra weight and would kill it off road.
You need a bigger tow vehicle or a smaller trailer/caravan.

jamesmartin · Aug 16, 2011

ensure tow bar is braced to chassis well most are some arent,fit vented front calipers and ebc pads ,rear 300 tdi disc brakes can be fitted to salibury drum axel case (just bolt on parts) ive a customer tows 6 ton total train wieght with those daily all over the country his fair well ,with the helper springs in h/d springs we also fitted emergency electric fan in the front of rad with switch in cab but hasnt needed it here

spencer1885 · Aug 16, 2011

jamesmartin said:
ensure tow bar is braced to chassis well most are some arent,fit vented front calipers and ebc pads ,rear 300 tdi disc brakes can be fitted to salibury drum axel case (just bolt on parts) ive a customer tows 6 ton total train wieght with those daily all over the country his fair well ,with the helper springs in h/d springs we also fitted emergency electric fan in the front of rad with switch in cab but hasnt needed it here

Yes Jim, I do it regularly but his trailer weight on its own might be 5000 lb unladen

slim jim · Aug 16, 2011

spencer1885 said:
Yes Jim, I do it regularly but his trailer weight on its own might be 5000 lb unladen

Thats about 2.25 tonn I think plus the landy at just under 2 tonn, that leaves him 1 .75 tonn of fishing gear before he is at the 6 tonn that you reguraly pull.

goonarmy · Aug 16, 2011

my lads have very close to the limit on there motors regularly.(think its 7 tone innit?)they have no mods on there fenders.Just serviced evry 10k miles.

Langers · Aug 16, 2011

5,000lbs is just over 2 tonnes. Land Rover's quoted maximum on road is 3.5 tonnes, with a braked trailer of course, so you shouldn't have any problems really.

I would just make sure the Tdi is performing at its best, perhaps a fuelling/boost tweak or two might help on some of the steep uphill sections. Standard brakes should be fine too if in good condition.

spencer1885 · Aug 16, 2011

My mistake :doh:
Confused metric and imperial, I thought he said trailers/caravans were real big over there, sounds like a normal sized trailer then

tacr2man · Aug 17, 2011

You dont need to do anything, other than check your rad is in good condition (inside and out) , and that your viscous fan works OK . I would also change gearbox and transfer box oil to redline synthetic. I operated a 130 DC HCPU 300tdi in Australia ran to 250,000 with only a clutch , and got oil leak from h/gasket . GTW was 7450kg in Aus and it did that quite often , and also towed my american styled 2 axle caravan (30ft+) In temps of 40C+ . I used a equalizer hitch on the caravan with a rangerover , but didnt need it with the 130 , I loaded the caravan to run at max loadhitch weight for the 130 , and it handled fine , including on dirt roads avg travel speed around 60mph, on the flat. HTSH
PS if the rear cross member has been replaced make sure its a pukka job.

wowa75 · Aug 17, 2011

spencer1885 said:
My mistake :doh:
Confused metric and imperial, I thought he said trailers/caravans were real big over there, sounds like a normal sized trailer then

The type I am considering ie 3500lb is as small as they come. I suspected the weight wasn't an issue but just wanted to get the vehicle as good as I can. Thanks for the responses.

This kind of thing would not be an uncommon site here on Vancouver Island but most likely behind a 7.3L Dodge Cummins.

http://traylen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Marathon-Travel-Trailer-Left-36ft.jpg

Anyone fitted and exhaust gas temp (EGT) sensor/gauge? I understand they install into exhaust manifold prior to turbo. Better than water/oil temp for early warning of overheating apparently. Fitted to many of the larger diesel trucks over here.

COA · Aug 19, 2011

Make sure you have a proper drink before you set off - you will need balls of steel when anything overtakes you (and they will cause you'll be driving along slowly!)

suggested towing mods for my 110.....

wowa75

Member

spencer1885

Active Member

jamesmartin

Well-Known Member

spencer1885

Active Member

slim jim

Active Member

goonarmy

Beer tester

Langers

Well-Known Member

spencer1885

Active Member

tacr2man

Well-Known Member

wowa75

Member

COA

New Member

Similar threads