Disco struggling to tow

Guys

As discussed recently this past week i have traded my Freelander TD4 in for a TD5 mainly due to me buying a bigger caravan.

Guysihave just returned from Brean Sands and i am seriously struggling towing on the motorway up hills and also feels really sluggish etc.

Without the towing she feels fine but although i have a big caravan Eldiss Storm 28 ft (2000kg) i have always thought of Discos of the kings of the road so to speak...

What can i do to boost her up..... ?????

AIJ615AJ said:

Guys

As discussed recently this past week i have traded my Freelander TD4 in for a TD5 mainly due to me buying a bigger caravan.

Guysihave just returned from Brean Sands and i am seriously struggling towing on the motorway up hills and also feels really sluggish etc.

Without the towing she feels fine but although i have a big caravan Eldiss Storm 28 ft (2000kg) i have always thought of Discos of the kings of the road so to speak...

What can i do to boost her up..... ?????

Click to expand...

First thing I would say is that we have TDi300's not TD5's but, we tow a 9mtr LMC caravan (2100kgs) easily, we've towed a TD5 on the back of a trailer (3000kgs) easily. On both occasions you do notice hills, of course, but we towed over 400kms on both occasions without any trouble at all.

If I were you I would be wanting to that my vehicle was running correctly before thinking about mods.

For example, when was the last service, air filter change, intercooler clean? Have you cleaned the MAP and the MAF? Have you De-EGR'd the engine (this helps a lot with towing)? Have you decatted the downpipe?

This would be the route I would adopt before any thoughts of remap, bigger intercooler etc.

Good luck

Dave

It sounds very good but im afraid i not much good with things like that, how much you think if i took it to a Landrover specialist and asked him to take a look and perhaps do the things you suggest.

as biglad suggests, the MAF sensor will reduce your power if not reading correctly... they can be cleaned with contact cleaner. or replaced for about £70

Blanking the EGR will be a positive move and will give you a slight power boost and better MPG.

changing the air filter may well help, as will driving it to you local garage and blasting the existing air filter with an airline to clean it.

changing the fuel filter is always a good idea too, easy to do behind the back wheel

all these can be done easily yourself without the need for a dealer or specialist. search or pose the questions if you need help or instructions...

cleaning out the intercooler is a bit more involved on the TD5 as opposed to the Mk1 disco's as it requires you to dismantle most of the front grille to get it out.

i have the same thing mate i thought they where the best for towing but they are not nice and stable but underpowered

AIJ615AJ said:

It sounds very good but im afraid i not much good with things like that, how much you think if i took it to a Landrover specialist and asked him to take a look and perhaps do the things you suggest.

Click to expand...

If you have a top-grade specialist Land Rover garage nearby then maybe, take it there.

But to be honest, even though you might not be used to working on cars, you CAN learn, and the experience of successful work on your car will be really satisfying.

Land Rovers are a hobby and a bit of a way of life, if you just treat them as transport you WILL miss out.

As others have said the jobs I listed are very straightforward to do. Just pick one, get step by step instructions and try it out - you'll be surprised what you can tackle when you try !!!!

Good luck and get learning

Cheers
Dave

sounds all good stuff.. guys wothout me sounding such a novice - what are MAP and the MAF.

Would someone mind explaining what they are and what they do.... cheers

the MAF is the MASS AIR FLOW sensor.

it monitors just how much air is going into the engine back to the engine management computer, the computer adjusts the fueling accordingly.

the MAP is the MANIFOLD ABSOLUTLEY PRESSURE sensor which reads the pressure of the air and returns it to the ECU, this also affects the fueling

wrong reading, wrong fueling... low power...

Dave

What do you mean by "Have you De-EGR'd the engine"

Alan

a search on here for 'Blanking EGR' will turn up thousands of threads

AIJ615AJ said:

Dave

What do you mean by "Have you De-EGR'd the engine"

Alan

Click to expand...

Hi Alan, the engine has something called an EGR( Exhaust Gas recirculation) valve. This, unsurprisingly recirculates exhaust gases back into the engine. It's a piece of very poor design and most people find that removing it improves performance and economy.

Do a search to learn more.

You must not expect solo car performance when towing a 2 tonne caravan.

As soon as you hook that caravan on you have just cut your "power to weight ratio" in half.

You need to think like a truck driver, and to drive like a truck driver.

And there are secret tricks too. I will tell you one trick.

LEAVE EARLIER, and don't rush. You CAN'T rush, so why get frantic trying?

My TD5 has done some epic trailer runs, at over SIX TONNES gross, and it has never been a problem. Plan ahead, leave plenty of time and then some, and cruise at realistic speeds, best about 55-56 mph.

CharlesY

get a defender i can tow 3 ton and have about 800 on the pickup and she barely notices its there even up hill

Disco is in every way, power and legal and weights, a better tower than any Defender.

CharlesY

Just a thought, check someone has not already modified your car by fitting larger than standard wheels/tyres, this can alter the overall performanc of the car.

As already mentioned check that what you already have works as it should.

regards

Dave

i would love to see any disco pull me backwards it aint gonna happen

CharlesY said:

You must not expect solo car performance when towing a 2 tonne caravan.

As soon as you hook that caravan on you have just cut your "power to weight ratio" in half.

You need to think like a truck driver, and to drive like a truck driver.

And there are secret tricks too. I will tell you one trick.

LEAVE EARLIER, and don't rush. You CAN'T rush, so why get frantic trying?

My TD5 has done some epic trailer runs, at over SIX TONNES gross, and it has never been a problem. Plan ahead, leave plenty of time and then some, and cruise at realistic speeds, best about 55-56 mph.

CharlesY

Click to expand...

I agree with charlesy, find a lorry and us him as a paceman.Get a cb and have a natter with him.
Before doing any mods GET A SERVICE!!!

goonarmy said:

I agree with charlesy, find a lorry and us him as a paceman.Get a cb and have a natter with him.
Before doing any mods GET A SERVICE!!!

Click to expand...

I also agree with CharlesY. I regularly tow a 3ton + trailer with my 300Tdi Discovery which makes my combined weight in excess of 5 tons and it don't go no where fast. On a dual carriageway 50 is attainable, but its more comfortable at 45 especially when its livestock I'm towing. It will sit there all day at that and its only when I have a 40 tonner fly past me at 55 do I sometimes suffer a little sway in the trailer. (Obviously wind displacement).

These motors are power machines and not speedsters, and despite your disappointment at what appears to be poor performance, it sounds like it is doing ok to me.

karlos said:

i would love to see any disco pull me backwards it aint gonna happen

Click to expand...

All I can say is that you haven't tried that contest yet.

All tyres equal, in a straight pull, on the hard or the soft, the Disco has it every time.

Been there, done that.

NEVER under-estimate a Disco, and if it has traction control it boils down to a "No Contest" against a Defender unless you are one of those experts who can outperform ABS and Traction Control by skilful use of the pedals.

There are people who say they can do that.

CharlesY

to be fair you all bring valid points to the table - my only concern was that on a medium size hill start whilst towing the Caravan (2 tonne) i had a real job to get the momentum moving and at one point i thought the beauty was gonna stall.

Someone mentioned to me today to check the air pressure in the caravan tyres as this can reduce towing power drasitically. To be fair i did think on holiday that the caravan tyres need to be inflated slightly as they look a little low.