Discovery 3

Seriously, the weight of any trailer being towed should not exceed the weight of the "prime mover".
You could have problems if an insurance claim is ever lodged.
Good luck
Brian

I apologise. The latest model Discovery now weighs "almost 3 tons"
The previous model weighed in at a gross of 4576 pounds or 96 pounds over 2 ton Imperial measurement.

I still feel it would be risky for the older model to tow a 2 1/2 ton trailer.
I would not.
Brian

Hi Racey,

we have a Disco 3. We tow a Kedron 3.5 tonne van with it. We have not had a single problem with the vehicle so far as towing goes. We just had the suspension bushes replaced on the front end, under warranty. I suspect that because we have a steel 'roo bar and winch on the front the bushes wore quicker than normal. Same thing happened to my Pajero a couple of years ago.

The Disco 3 has proven to be an exceptionally capable vehicle, has given better than expected fuel economy (average 16.5 L/100 when towing the 'van), is extremely comfortable, has had moderate servicing costs and looks like new after 3 years of pretty hard work.

We like the Disco so much that we intend to buy the Disco 4 now that they have been released.

The 2.7L V6 diesel is bullet proof and the adaptive transmission takes care of towing. You just put the box into drive and let the gearbox do the thinking.

At first I though the Terrain Response control was a bit of a wank but now that I have used it extensively for off-road work, I have changed my mind - it's fantastic! In three years we have never bogged/hung up or failed to proceed for any reason.

We've dragged the 'van up the Gibb River Road, Kulumburu Rd, Savannah Way, Plenty Highway, just to name a few - no problems. Water crossings - no problems.

Those who talked about the tow vehicle weight obviously aren't aware that the Disco 3, loaded with fuel, driver and a passenger and a moderate amount of gear weighs about 3.2 Tonnes. Definitely not a case of the tail wagging the dog if you are only going to pull about 2.5 Tonnes.

I hear that there are a few really good HSE specification D3's coming onto the 2nd hand market atm and also some good clearance buys as the new model rolls out.

I say, go for it!

Cheers

Russ

Hi Racey,
I am the proud owner of a Disco 3 HSE 77 model and a member. I notice a lot of people on this forum rubbish the disco 3 and i bet they haven't driven one let alone been a passenger. I have towed a Kedron c/van around Australia[weight over 3 tonne] without level riders, It's my 6th disco.
Talk to any disco owner and you will get the same answer they are great

Norm h

I was in no way bagging the disco 3, am actually considering buying one down the track as a second vehicle.
I am of the old school that was taught that the towing vehicle should weigh more than than the towed vehicle which due to simple physics would seem to be the logical thing to do.
When things go "ti!s up" the greatest mass will have a greater chance of control.
There have also been problems with transmissions on this and other forums when constantly towing heavy loads long term.
While I was also aware that they were "heavy" I wasn't aware that they were that heavy.

I agree with Ozhumvee, for piece of mind and to try and save premature wear, an ideal situation is where the weight of the van is well within the towing limits of the 4x4.....not at the extreme end of it...

Land Rover for one are notorious for having high towing limits....on a 4x4 thats got no more power ( mainly talking about the earlier non Disco 3's) or weight than most of the opposition ??

If you have a limit of 3 ton and the van weighs 2.8, then you know you are going to go over the limit ( and be illegal ) by the time you add water , gear etc etc ..

If you must have the heavy van, then buy a bigger vehicle to tow it...

I tow a CT, and I personally like the idea of having 1/2 to 3/4 the weight of the upper limit on the back.....

The Vehicle Towing Mass Guide list the LR Discovery as having a maximum tow eight of 3500kg with a max ball weight of 350kg.
For 'Off Road" work this is drastically reduced to Max Tow eight 1000kg with a max ball weight of 50kg. LR also don't recommend the use of a WDH with this model. Will they never understand what a WDH does. The question of WDH has been raised throughout the world by vanners, but LR still can't seam to get their head around what they do.
ozjohn.

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for their input, we found it most valuable.

Cheers

Racey