Disco 2 TOWING ON AIR SPRINGS

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when i get time this week im going to the caravan storage unit and going to make some back to back tests, the only thing from all the thoughts above which hasnt been tried is more air in the tyres,
all the people refering to lateral movements of the axle, or condition of the tyres hitch ht, loading, etc,need to read the original posts as it states, new tyres, new bushes all round, new suspension, new links, basically everything that can be changed has been, even the steering knuckles and steering shaft, steering damper, drag links, track rod etc all changed.its HPI CLEAR so no crash, its had chassis alignment done, and its never had ACE
This isnt some unmantianed wrecker, its had enough money spent on it to buy another car, and quite honestly its the worst tow vehicle ive ever had, to the point we set off with the caravan and after 6 miles turned around and swopped to the defender 110 as my missus will not travel in it.
Ive towed with all sorts of work vans, some in poor condition, also used pretty much every make of 4x4, plus a few normal cars and all tow better than the Disco.
Ive driven at 200mph in Germany, but the only car that frightened me is the Disco, so forgive me if I have a go at people trying to help, but questioning my mental state! that int helping
 
I had no doubts about your mental status believe me those reactions from psychological point of view are perfectly normal behaviour of a healthy mind, that's why the placebo effect of some fake medication works on most people, based on autosuggestion...i'm sorry that you missunderstood my question, you should admit that your issue can't be named common just cos it happened to some others too(too few IMO compared to those who didnt complain from the multitude of D2 owners), if the essential checks recommended by the builder were fulfilled and it still makes tricks with active SLS you can close just partially the bonnet or set to coils with hawkeye and see if there's big difference or not cos it can happen that the two side air supply valves to not close 100% due to some inductive voltage or somnething then the air can travel from one bag top another causing this kind of trouble, i've seen this once, not common at all but possible, to rule 100% out the air bags as being the root of the problem you can unplug the SLS pipes and inflate them with a comressor through schraeder valves to be completely isolated from the system...what i'm trying to say from the beginning is that it can be a fixable issue with the SLS which is causing that, anyway if you'll end up with coils and your D2 will still be the worst towing car ever IMO there's some construction fault in it from the beginning.and that's called bad luck(i hope you dont missunderstand me again, always take into account that english is my third language and i'm thinking in one language and write in other)

...and if you end up on springs you might consider using these too http://www.towsure.com/towing-spring-assisters
 
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Iam sure you must be getting very flustrated with your Disco, and maybe this forum at times.
But i honestly think people just want to help you out, it is a big thread and ideas will get repeated
but thats forum every one wants to help.
If you were a tad closer i would gladly come round and have a look with you.
But it sounds like you have done it all, where do you go next.
Just be sure when you nail it let us know
Mark
 
If you were a bit closer I'd pop over with my D2 and we could try towing your caravan with it. If the problem disappeared it would definitely be your car; if not it would be the caravan setup. I can be absolutely confident my car would tow a properly set up van perfectly.

Maybe there's someone in the North West who could do this?
 
It's already been towed by the father in laws Discovery on coils and it towed it correctly so it's not the caravan which I've towed with both my defenders without issue
 
Thinking about it does the air suspension need ACE to operate properly?

Does it rely on the stiff anti roll?
 
image.jpeg
We have been towing our caravan up Swiss mountains, down German valleys, across France, Belgium, Netherlands, Wales, Devon, Cornwall, Luxembourg etc. for holidays for,the last 3 years. We take our huge mountain dog with us in the boot (Disco 2, 03 number plate, air springs), 2 bikes on a rack on the back of the car (which does make it a little tricky getting the dog out) and all our luggage inside the caravan or car. The car tows like a dream, no problems on mountains it just gobbles them up, no rolls no pitching, doesn't snake (anti snake on hitch on caravan). And to our amazement it uses much less fuel then how it gets used normally as a runaround. In my opinion it is a fantastic towing vehicle. My advice is to keep the air springs and check the system is working correctly. Check the shock absorbers, the chassis, links and bushes on rear suspension as I think there must be a problem there somewhere. Good luck with the work and Seasons Greetings to you.
image.jpeg Pic of the lively Leo in back of wife's freelander
 
Richarddiscoverytwo said:
View attachment 94102 We have been towing our caravan up Swiss mountains, down German valleys, across France, Belgium, Netherlands, Wales, Devon, Cornwall, Luxembourg etc. for holidays for,the last 3 years. We take our huge mountain dog with us in the boot (Disco 2, 03 number plate, air springs), 2 bikes on a rack on the back of the car (which does make it a little tricky getting the dog out) and all our luggage inside the caravan or car. The car tows like a dream, no problems on mountains it just gobbles them up, no rolls no pitching, doesn't snake (anti snake on hitch on caravan). And to our amazement it uses much less fuel then how it gets used normally as a runaround. In my opinion it is a fantastic towing vehicle. My advice is to keep the air springs and check the system is working correctly. Check the shock absorbers, the chassis, links and bushes on rear suspension as I think there must be a problem there somewhere. Good luck with the work and Seasons Greetings to you.
once again for the hard of thinking,
all bushes links shock absorbers air bags etc have been changed and checked numerous times, not just by me but by at least 3 different garages and car passed mot last week,
also your cravan is a small single wheel not a twin axle 26 ft
Click to expand...
 
My main point was that this vehicle is a good towing vehicle imo. The pic shows a single but I have towed a twin axle 26 ft Swiss polar which is a very heavy caravan, and still it exceeded expectation as a towing vehicle (and a single axle is generally more unstable than a twin axle). Again I will say IMO this is not a design or manufacturing fault it is a mechanical or electrical fault somewhere. And ps. passing an MOT is no reassurance of anything..I have seen cars pass MOT with bushes falling out. And regarding twin axles v single axles....this is a red herring because although twins are more stable to tow what is more significant in handling is nose weight. The Disco can take a massive nose weight...which makes me think you have a suspension fault.

And for the hard of thinking. I just spent a good 10 minutes of my time considering and answering this issue to the best of my ability. So sorry no sorry that it didn't meet your exacting requirements.
 
Richarddiscoverytwo said:
My main point was that this vehicle is a good towing vehicle imo. The pic shows a single but I have towed a twin axle 26 ft Swiss polar which is a very heavy caravan, and still it exceeded expectation as a towing vehicle (and a single axle is generally more unstable than a twin axle). Again I will say IMO this is not a design or manufacturing fault it is a mechanical or electrical fault somewhere. And ps. passing an MOT is no reassurance of anything..I have seen cars pass MOT with bushes falling out. And regarding twin axles v single axles....this is a red herring because although twins are more stable to tow what is more significant in handling is nose weight. The Disco can take a massive nose weight...which makes me think you have a suspension fault.

I already think its a suspension fault with the rear airbags, but finding/fixing is proving impossible, the compressor could be at fault but im not prepared to spend another £300 on an off chance, without some form of concrete proof,
believe it or not I would prefer to have a properly working air suspension, but as it is its dangerous
Click to expand...
 
I had a similar unsolvable problem over a year ago...was pulling my hair out trying this and that...more money spent and getting nowhere. Followed lots of great advice on here but was stil not finding the solution...so I do understand your frustration.

But reading through the thread quickly there is a suggestion above ...see sierrafery's comment at 9.21 ...to check the air valves...it sounds like good advice (he is very knowledgeable about electrics) and probably inexpensive to do.
 
I have sort of done that by using tester to switch the compressor off and associated parts and the car is more stable, but switching it back on and recalabrating ride height every time you load the car up is not the way to go, but as far as I know the valves are not available seperately from the compressor
 
A bit of progress, ive found the valves ANR4869 around £150, but have seen father in laws disco still has compressor fitted even though he is on coils, so there maybe a chance it still works and it was removed because of duff airbags, Im off to steal it now
 
johnlad said:
It's already been towed by the father in laws Discovery on coils and it towed it correctly so it's not the caravan which I've towed with both my defenders without issue
Click to expand...
I was suggesting using mine as it is on air (with ACE although I think that's a red herring) and you would see that a correctly set up D2 WITH AIR will tow superbly.
 
So did you ever sort this out? It is very irritating when people ask questions, get loads of answers then just disappear.
 
Richarddiscoverytwo said:
View attachment 94102 We have been towing our caravan up Swiss mountains, down German valleys, across France, Belgium, Netherlands, Wales, Devon, Cornwall, Luxembourg etc. for holidays for,the last 3 years. We take our huge mountain dog with us in the boot (Disco 2, 03 number plate, air springs), 2 bikes on a rack on the back of the car (which does make it a little tricky getting the dog out) and all our luggage inside the caravan or car. The car tows like a dream, no problems on mountains it just gobbles them up, no rolls no pitching, doesn't snake (anti snake on hitch on caravan). And to our amazement it uses much less fuel then how it gets used normally as a runaround. In my opinion it is a fantastic towing vehicle. My advice is to keep the air springs and check the system is working correctly. Check the shock absorbers, the chassis, links and bushes on rear suspension as I think there must be a problem there somewhere. Good luck with the work and Seasons Greetings to you.
View attachment 94104 Pic of the lively Leo in back of wife's freelander
Click to expand...
Top pic... what is the weight of a caravan like that ? I assume they are braked and probably not that heavy.
 
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