Harold 4x4

Harold 4x4

Active Member
What is the maximum weight you have towed with your Disco on a motorway?

Has anyone been stop-checked whilst towing?

The handbook suggests an on-road towing maximum of 3500kgs, but this goes against the towing recommendations 85% rule of thumb, and seems far too much to be towing anywhere other than around the yard !?

1763kgs = approx 85% (inc. fuel + passenger/luggage allowance) which seems to be about the maximum you can legally take on the road.....

Can anyone advise?
 
the max trailer weight is 3.5 tonnes end of.. all these percentage figures are pulled out of thin air by "experts" with no basis either in law or engineering terms
 
The 85% rule is normally applied to Caravans for inexperienced drivers. The main reason it applies to caravans is that they have total different towing dynamics due to their high sides and different wait distribution to say a car on a trailer
 
Yes, thanks, I'm aware of the GTW and maximum recommended towing limits. The 85% is purely a guideline for good power to weight ratio, of course.However, my question

What is the maximum weight you have towed with your Disco on a motorway
Click to expand...

is to get some feedback from members who have towed 'heavy' loads on the public highway.
Has anyone pulled the max 3500kgs?
How did it handle on the highway?
Did you take the load onto the motorway?
 
Harold 4x4 said:
The 85% is purely a guideline for good power to weight ratio, of course.
Click to expand...

No the 85% is due to towing dynamics ie Wind and Centre of Gravity - regarding "good power to weight ratio" the caravan club recommend 40bhp per tonne train weight however bear in mind again towing dynamics this for a a relativly light but slab fronted trailer
 
don't know the maximum weight, but the trailer was plated for 3 tonnes, and it felt pretty heavy compared to anything else i have had on the back. That was behind the Disco 1 v8. was a mobile climbing wall, with **** weight distribution, and nasty aerodynamics, but we could get to and sit at 50-55 with no bother.

Have towed one RRC on a trailer behind another before now with no worries, again 50-55 no bother.

thing is to be in no hurry, and drive as far 'ahead' of yourself as you can. anticipation and keeping things smooth is the key.

MW
 
Thanks Mike, I'll keep that in mind...


No the 85% is due to towing dynamics ie Wind and Centre of Gravity
Click to expand...
....I doubt that very much, power to weight ratio has to be an important factor!

The important things (obviously) are:

Secure restraint
Check recommended nose weight.
Balance
Weight Distribution




Would you care to explain where you read that nonesense?
 
Last edited:
3.5 Tonne is no issue.. With two disco's chained, V8 of course, we towed a 38 tonne off the motorway. Disco's coped wonderfully, no stress at all. Just got to have some decent chains!!!
 
MudRat said:
3.5 Tonne is no issue.. With two disco's chained, V8 of course, we towed a 38 tonne off the motorway. Disco's coped wonderfully, no stress at all. Just got to have some decent chains!!!
Click to expand...
could have done it wiv one;)
 
Towing at speed the max weight I have pulled in a 110 is 3500kg. I prefer to have my vehicle well weighted when towing anything heavy. Apart from needing to pull away in low range and then switch to high once rolling (with my previous landy) I've never had any issues.
 
The maximum you can legally tow (subject to your licence) is what the vehicle manufacturer rates the vehicle at, the 85% rule is just a recommendation.
 
Heaviest I've towed with my D1 was about 3 tonnes. You definitely know its there and I wouldn't recommend anyone tows a trailer that weight without a fair bit of experience.
Only time I've been stopped was for towing too fast (not 3 tonnes I hasten to add) and for faulty trailer lights (they were working when I left officer. Honest!)
 
I prefer to have my vehicle well weighted when towing anything heavy
Click to expand...

That's interesting Ratty, why? (It's something I think is a good idea, but don't know for sure) Is it a 'false sense of confidence' or did you find it more stabilized?.... I would have thought (?) a braked trailer would be safer with normal weight in the vehicle: less strain on the braking system..

Thanks for all the input - plenty to chew on.

I should add: I'm an experienced trailer user (daily), and have towed a caravan around France but have never maxed out (3500kg) on a long journey.
 
One of our trailers at work is plated at 3.5 and it's often loaded around that. We tow it with either my V8 D2 or the V8 RR.

Always at 60 on the motorway and generally for a few hundred miles. No issues. Often have a lot of truss on roof bars on the car as well, and the back fully laden as well.

It's commercial use so we have tacos fitted.
 
Hi sorry to leap in. I drive a '97 300tdi towing a tipping trailer daily. Slightly overloaded the trailer the other day had 3840kg plus a trailer at 675kg. Big mistake, anything over 30mph downright dangerous. However regularly tow at 2800kg total weight with no problems. H/d springs needed though....
 
Klauss1971 said:
Hi sorry to leap in. I drive a '97 300tdi towing a tipping trailer daily. Slightly overloaded the trailer the other day had 3840kg plus a trailer at 675kg. Big mistake, anything over 30mph downright dangerous. However regularly tow at 2800kg total weight with no problems. H/d springs needed though....
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call 30% slightly overloaded, VOSA would of had a field day with you!!
:eek:
 
harold 4x4 said:
that's interesting ratty, why? (it's something i think is a good idea, but don't know for sure) is it a 'false sense of confidence' or did you find it more stabilized?.... I would have thought (?) a braked trailer would be safer with normal weight in the vehicle: Less strain on the braking system..

Thanks for all the input - plenty to chew on.

I should add: I'm an experienced trailer user (daily), and have towed a caravan around france but have never maxed out (3500kg) on a long journey.
Click to expand...
stops the tail wagging the dog
 
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