My ass is sagging...

Yeah I know it's a sign of old age but,



I do a lot of towing with my D2 (LHD), 04, V8 and noticed that the rear end is lower when towing. Trailer with load is probably just under 2T.

Shocks all round have already been replaced with Bilstein 24-060462 & 24-060479.



Here's a pic - the sag looks less in the pic than in real life.




And here's the Dixon bate hitch (potato ploughing model) I tow with. (Have to get rid of this sometime soon as well)



I'm thinking of just replacing the rear springs with a 7 seater set of blue/grey RKB000330.



Any thoughts? (and do you think it's ok just to replace the rear?)



The car sits level and otherwise rides fine without the trailer.



It goes off-road most weekends, in the dunes so I don't really want to go down the path of air bag helpers.



thanks.



PS - where's the cheapest place to get the springs from?

Apart from the obvious comment that the trailer axle is well rear of the centre of the trailer, a set of 7-seater springs would probably do the job, but what extras do you carry in the back of the Discovery, and what is the towball loading?

Peter

The tow hitch is rated at 3.5T, and the trailer is fairly well balanced even though the axle looks like it's toward the rear. It's right in the centre of the original load carrying area, but the triangular bit of the front frame has since been covered in chequer plate and converted to storage.

The disco rear is usually full of gear too, but I'd be surprised if there is more than 50kgs in there..

'Towball loading' is the imposed load, not the towing load, rating is 250kg max on the D2.

Peter

2t on a single axle - no wonder your ass is sagging! As you say : The car sits level and otherwise rides fine without the trailer. Ergo, the problem is with the trailer set-up.
Probably not doing the steering much good either....which makes the whole thing somewhat unsafe.

Ok, so at 10% of 2T, it should be 200kg right? I'm pretty sure that trailer fully loaded is still less than 2T.

The maths are not that simple. If the load was spread evenly either side of the trailer axle and the trailer was similarly balanced then the load on the hitch would be near zero. You need to weigh things up, literally.

Took the trailer in to get a second axel fitted, some more storage on the side and some fittings moved around.

Picking it up later in the week, and we'll see how it sits on the hitch and whether I still need to do the rear springs or not.

Doing the rear springs or getting a Firestone Air-Ride spring helper kit is worthwhile if you tow or carry weight in the back regularly.

We tow a 3.5 tonne trailer with our show engines, but as it is a drawbar turntable trailer is doesn't impose any direct weight onto the Discovery, only the dead weight of the coupling and front part of the drawbar.

I've still gone for the Firestone kit, nothing attracts Police more than an apparently overloaded vehicle!

Peter

98418665 said:

Ok, so at 10% of 2T, it should be 200kg right? I'm pretty sure that trailer fully loaded is still less than 2T.

Click to expand...

The rated coupling load as I said previously is 250kg for the D2, but the design loading for the trailer is probably not that high, most 50mm tow couplings have 75kg to 100kg ratings.

Peter

I'll post up some pics with the newly twin Axel'd trailer on thu/fri when I get it back.

In the meantime, I've got a trip to Birmingham next week and was thinking maybe I should pick up a set of rear springs while I'm there.

Checking prices online I found rkb000330 at paddock for 100.80 the pair, but I think it's Britpart...

Also found Land Rover parts shop with a genuine pair for 122.60.

Anywhere else I should look, and any opinion on Britpart springs?

And here's some more pics after the work was completed on the trailer. Took it for a run and there is a huge difference in how it tows. It doesn't sway around any more, and you can pass trucks on the freeway without it lurching sideways. Also seems to not dig in so much when off road in the sand.



It's also doesn't seem to drag the rear end of the disco down as much as was happening before.

There's still a 4cm difference in height though from front to back on the disco with the trailer connected. (It sits level without the trailer)





So, at this stage I'm still planning on changing out the rear springs. I'm hoping that it will then sit level with a fully loaded trailer....

Maybe a daft suggestion but....

Have you measured the hight of the trailer hitch when level and is it the same as the disco hitch?

You may need to drop the tow hitch to match the trailer, if too high your rear suspension will take all the strain.

Not a daft question at all! Although if anything, the Dixon bate hitch does sit pretty low.

I just went out, checked the trailer with a spirit level then measured em both.

Disco = 500 mm (to top of ball)

Trailer = 500 mm (to inside top of socket in hitch)