Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14176
towing question
really sorry about such a dim question but can’t get my head round towing weights etc
see the D3 has a towing capacity of 3500 kg or 3.5 tons so does that mean i can tow a caravan up to 3.5ton
then reading it says kerb weight and 85% of the caravans weight
trying to compare in what the max weight of caravan i could tow with a D3 and a freelander 1 TD4
sincere apologises again as i imagine this has been done to death
15th Jun 2018 5:20 pm
geoffsnook
Member Since: 13 Jun 2014
Location: south wales
Posts: 3170
Freelander 1's have a weight limit of about 1800 kgs i think so that's a fair size twin axle caravan you could tow with it and i dont think there is a caravan that weighs any where near what a disco 3 can tow on british roads but as always i do stand to be corrected Discovery 3 se gone
Range rover sport supercharged here:)
15th Jun 2018 5:33 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14176
hi
bless u for the help
ah i see, so when it says towing limit u don’t have to include the weight of the vehicle in the calculation
ref the freelander 1 and capacity of 1800kgs , pretty sure the caravan only weighs 800kgs unloaded
indeed ref the D3 would be a pretty big caravan if it weighed 3500kgs
thks again
15th Jun 2018 6:08 pm
L319
Member Since: 14 Dec 2013
Location: Herefordshire
Posts: 2083
The VIN plate on the vehicle will show the max train weight , ie vehicle and trailer which on my D3 is 6730kg . 3230kg Vehicle and 3500kg trailer. Make sure you have a driving licence to include towing if you are up to these weights.
15th Jun 2018 6:37 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14176
many thks for the great info
making a lot more sense now
passed my test around 1986 , is there a separate trailer test u now have to take then
15th Jun 2018 7:19 pm
Headtester
Member Since: 06 May 2017
Location: London
Posts: 22
If you passed your car test before January 1997 you got B+E entitlement (car and trailer) at the same time. If you passed after 01/01/1997 you have to do a separate test to get the full entitlement.
would be a pretty big caravan if it weighed 3500kgs
or my SWMBO packing "necessaries" in one.
15th Jun 2018 7:33 pm
Houghta
Member Since: 05 Nov 2016
Location: Northumberland
Posts: 128
The 85% rule is simple multiply the kerb weight of your discovery (around 2500kg) by 0.85 this will give you the weight you can tow (2125kg), there should be a sticker somewhere on your caravan often in the gas locker and beside the door which will tell you the weight of your caravan but I don’t think it will be anywhere near the 2125kg the disco 3 can tow
15th Jun 2018 7:45 pm
Mogwyth
Member Since: 03 Oct 2014
Location: Pwllheli
Posts: 3976
Quote:
The 85% rule is simple multiply the kerb weight of your discovery (around 2500kg) by 0.85 this will give you the weight you can tow (2125kg), there should be a sticker somewhere on your caravan often in the gas locker and beside the door which will tell you the weight of your caravan but I don’t think it will be anywhere near the 2125kg the disco 3 can tow
Err no, assuming you have the appropriate licence you can tow up to 3.5t with a D3/4, the 85% rule is not a rule but a recommendation based on as far as I can see zero evidence.==================================
05 D3 HSE V8 4.4
04 MG TF 135
03 MG TF 115 Cool Blue Edition
02 MG TF 160
00 Hymer B564 Lionheart
1971 Series III 109
15th Jun 2018 7:53 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14176
Hardware17 wrote:
gstuart wrote:
would be a pretty big caravan if it weighed 3500kgs
or my SWMBO packing "necessaries" in one.
that really made me laugh , multiple cases for a 2 x day trip
15th Jun 2018 7:54 pm
Houghta
Member Since: 05 Nov 2016
Location: Northumberland
Posts: 128
Sorry for my poor choice in terminaology you are correct it is a recommendation but as the 85% was mentioned I thought I would explain how it worked and yes you can tow up to 3500kg with the discovery 3 but I doubt even an airstream is going to be that heavy, as far as what it’s based on I think was devised to allow less experienced towers to be able to tow comfortably within the capabilities of their vehicle with less chance of the tail wagging the dog so to speak
15th Jun 2018 8:01 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14176
Houghta wrote:
The 85% rule is simple multiply the kerb weight of your discovery (around 2500kg) by 0.85 this will give you the weight you can tow (2125kg), there should be a sticker somewhere on your caravan often in the gas locker and beside the door which will tell you the weight of your caravan but I don’t think it will be anywhere near the 2125kg the disco 3 can tow
many thks and makes a lot of sense with u explaining it like that , not my caravan was trying to work out the difference in towing capability between the D3 and a freelander 1 td4
caravan weighs 800kgs unladen so indeed looks like both are well capable
15th Jun 2018 8:03 pm
Mogwyth
Member Since: 03 Oct 2014
Location: Pwllheli
Posts: 3976
Houghta wrote:
Sorry for my poor choice in terminaology you are correct it is a recommendation but as the 85% was mentioned I thought I would explain how it worked and yes you can tow up to 3500kg with the discovery 3 but I doubt even an airstream is going to be that heavy, as far as what it’s based on I think was devised to allow less experienced towers to be able to tow comfortably within the capabilities of their vehicle with less chance of the tail wagging the dog so to speak
Ours is full sized TA and even with it being up-plated to maximum payload its still only 1800kg, on the other hand our livestock trailer is 3.5T fully laden, sometimes a bit more ==================================
05 D3 HSE V8 4.4
04 MG TF 135
03 MG TF 115 Cool Blue Edition
02 MG TF 160
00 Hymer B564 Lionheart
1971 Series III 109
15th Jun 2018 8:06 pm
gstuart
Member Since: 21 Oct 2016
Location: kent
Posts: 14176
Mogwyth wrote:
Quote:
The 85% rule is simple multiply the kerb weight of your discovery (around 2500kg) by 0.85 this will give you the weight you can tow (2125kg), there should be a sticker somewhere on your caravan often in the gas locker and beside the door which will tell you the weight of your caravan but I don’t think it will be anywhere near the 2125kg the disco 3 can tow
Err no, assuming you have the appropriate licence you can tow up to 3.5t with a D3/4, the 85% rule is not a rule but a recommendation based on as far as I can see zero evidence.
cheers for all this great info, i just couldn’t get my head round it when i started reading several web sites regarding towing and what weights u could and couldn’t tow that were within a safe limit
makes sense with that 85% range to make driving a lot safer and not overloading the caravan causing it to become unstable
never towed a caravan on the motorway , but seen a good few snake and loose control in front of me
have a 12 s and 12 n sockets fitted , would just have to get a proper tow bar fitted like a witter etc , read mixed reviews ref the detachable towbar
15th Jun 2018 8:07 pm
Mogwyth
Member Since: 03 Oct 2014
Location: Pwllheli
Posts: 3976
Important things for stability dont overload your caravan (plate should tell you that), correct noseweight, caravan tyres pressures, appropriate speed particularly on bends and down hill, big vehicles and if windy sudden gusts particularly through breaks in roadside cover.==================================
05 D3 HSE V8 4.4
04 MG TF 135
03 MG TF 115 Cool Blue Edition
02 MG TF 160
00 Hymer B564 Lionheart
1971 Series III 109
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
