Member Since: 14 May 2008
Location: hertfordshire
Posts: 53
Towing Issues?
I've just bought the car a week ago and i thought i would try it out towing. Whilst towing i found that the trailer was fishtailing aswell as the car rolling, i checked the trailer tyre pressure and had a trailer service yet the problem still occured tonight. I checked the tyres and realised there is uneven tyre wear on the inside rear. Could this be causing this, and if so why are the tyres wearing unevenly? Has anybody else been faced with this problem?
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And Rolling as in side to side, maybe rear suspension damage
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20th May 2008 10:20 pm
mick
Member Since: 21 Jan 2007
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 2049
get the bushes and tracking checked could be a warrenty isue.
20th May 2008 10:32 pm
hernan1304
Member Since: 28 Feb 2008
Location: Dubai
Posts: 490
The uneven tyre wear is a common issue - do a search of the forums and you should find a lot of info on the subject.
21st May 2008 5:29 am
mrmarklin
Member Since: 29 Nov 2006
Location: People's Republik of Kalifornia
Posts: 168
Trailer swaying? Get an anti-sway bar. I wouldn't tow anything without one. '06 LR3 4.4 V8 HSE Heavy Duty package, Satellite Radio, Luxury Package
21st May 2008 5:42 am
Russell
Member Since: 24 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
I Had the same issues, it turned out to be the wrong tyre load rating, they were tyres rated for a Range Rover. the deler fitted the right ones and the issue has gone away. MY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
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21st May 2008 1:40 pm
mudcred
Member Since: 14 May 2008
Location: hertfordshire
Posts: 53
The disocovery seems to handle fine without the trailer although a slighty tyre screech in fast corners, is that normal, it may just be that the tyres have little inner tread.
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21st May 2008 9:47 pm
Russell
Member Since: 24 Aug 2007
Location: Kent
Posts: 10564
As stated above mine was also fine without caravan on back, but hook it up and it was a diffrent story. Fine no with correct load rated tyres. Should be 111 or higher MY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
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21st May 2008 9:59 pm
tyke65
Member Since: 18 Nov 2007
Location: God's Country
Posts: 130
This sounds obvious but the problem needs to be isolated to the car or the caravan. Can you :-
a Tow a different caravan with you D3?
b Tow your caravan with a different car?
Any problems could be caused by either car or caravan (or a bit of both, of course). I assume that you have thoroughly checked all the possible variables, tyres, pressures, loading and so on. The pitching sounds like the nose weight may be too low. It should be as high as possible without exceeding any limits.
You haven't mentioned which caravan you are towing and how near fully loaded it is. It's unlikely that you would need a stabiliser with a D3 though most vans come with them these days.Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're not out to get you.
22nd May 2008 7:49 am
al cope
Member Since: 08 Nov 2005
Location: Oldbury, WM
Posts: 10297
Given the kerb wieght of the D3, unless your trailer was seriously heavy/out of balance, it should tow fine without a stabiliser, as all this does is mask an issue.
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22nd May 2008 7:56 am
ryetecman
Member Since: 01 Jun 2008
Location: Malton
Posts: 10
disco 3 towing
Tow lots with a Disco 3 with all sorts of trailers but mainly a 21' triaxle, in my opinion drawbar height is your problem, especailly if you have a twin or triaxle trailer. Had a detachable tow bar on mine to start with and it was too low for the trailer, had all the problems you describe. Change it for multi-height and raised it to top position, like driving a different truck.
Also need to avoid to much weight at the back of the trailer otherwise it act like a giant pendulum on the back of the car. With the propper set up a Disco 3 should not need a stabiliser, just make sure that when loaded the trailer is level or very slightly higherat the front, best thing about Disco for towing (providing your riding on air !) is that the ride height doesn't change between loaded and unloaded. so you can set tow bar height when trailer is empty, and it doesn't change what ever loading you have on trailer.
Saw a Disco 3 on M25 a few weeks ago with a car transporter and car, detachable towbar, trailer pointing down at front (therefore weight of car trying to lift back of disco) as soon as he got over 45, started to snake and needed new underware , passes him at 65 with 3.5 ton on the back Love landrovers despite all the've thrown at me !
1st Jun 2008 8:05 pm
B16 KJR
Member Since: 10 Jul 2006
Location: Rosyth, Fife
Posts: 3005
Re: disco 3 towing
ryetecman wrote:
Also need to avoid to much weight at the back of the trailer otherwise it act like a giant pendulum on the back of the car. With the propper set up a Disco 3 should not need a stabiliser, just make sure that when loaded the trailer is level or very slightly higherat the front,:
Got to disagree with the comment that it is OK for the trailer to be slightly higher. It should never be higher as wind pressure can get under the trailer and lift it, this causes negative noseweight and can induce snaking. The trailer should always sit level or preferably low, as this improves stability at speed.
2nd Jun 2008 8:44 am
Fatboy Slim
Member Since: 16 Dec 2007
Location: Bridgend
Posts: 197
Regularly tow up to the 3.5t limit. Found the detachable tow bar far too low for any twin axled trailer. Multi height better but still a little low for some applications even on the top setting.
3rd Jun 2008 7:09 pm
jez33m
Member Since: 13 Feb 2007
Location: kent
Posts: 48
In My Opinon You Need To Move The Car Either Backwards Or Forwards On The Trailer Bed,Try Weighing How Much Weight You Are Putting On The TowBall,This Can Be Done Useing Bathroom Scales And A Length Of Wood Placed In Between Tow Hitch And Scales When In Place Lift The Jockey Wheel Ang Take Note Of The Weight,I Think But Not Sure The Weight Pushing Onto The TowBall Should Not Exeed 75Kg. Hope This Helps!!!!!I hadThe Same Problem With My Trailer Which Is A Ifor Williams CT177 Car Transporter,I Had The Car To Far Forward,Moved It Back About 12inchs And Now It Tows Like A Dream!!!!
6th Jun 2008 7:17 pm
andih
Member Since: 09 Jun 2008
Location: grantham lincs
Posts: 37
hey all.
well ive driven well over 500k miles with loaded ifors. and yep, the load distribution is critical. ive had to shift stuff with little choice and trust me, def new underpants time!!!
always found out that better if the trailer is slightly nose down.
yep, removeable tow bar great for cvans, even my t/a senator, but for proper trailers, way too low, there again its an easy enough job to actualy change the hitch height on the trailer!!!!!!!
also i think you may find that the max nose weight for a d3 is 150kg. but you can whip my ass if im wrong on that one lol.
am sure the D2 was 110kg.
hey its late and im tired so i may be wrong tho lol2008 D3 SE auto, Java black
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, passes him at 65 with 3.5 ton on the back 
