Tow bar and drop plate

My td5 has this type of towbar.
Landrover Discovery TD5 tow bar | eBay

when my caravan is hooked on the car it sits nose high,and when towing rocks up and down.my car has just had +2" hd springs and shocks.so my question is how safe is it to use a drop plate.

Hi CC, this is what I use on the back on mine and have done so for about 8 yrs.

The ball mounting plate is adjustable up and down so you can set the perfect tow-ball height.

STC50289AB | Dixon Bate Adjustable Drop Plate Kit - air spring


Dave

Mine has got the same since it was new in 2004

I tow lots of different caravans for my work

The caravan rocking is due to it being back heavy either its incorrectly loaded or its damp in the back end either way just put more weight in the front of the caravan and it will tow a hell of a lot better

tow ball height wont make a difference its all good as long as the back bottom of the caravan is a good 10 inches off the ground when standing still on flat ground

Gary

I to have the Dixon bate adjustable on mine like thebiglad has it's such a good towbar for getting your trailer level quickly ,you can just get the adjustable plate part as a bolt on to any flange tow bar . There are great if you tow more than one type of trailer . But as Wilson294 said if it's bobbing check your load and nose weight as this is more important than level on a single axle . But if your caravan is a twin axle level is always the best way

Ok.Thanks for the tips guys.will try moving stuff forward. i always load over the axle and forward. never checked nose weight.
if no better i will source a dixon bate.
I have checked nose weight of caravan unladen is 65kg. i believe the td5 is max nose weight of 150kg.so i need to check my nose weight once the caravan is loaded.am i correct.

cambridgecockney said:

Ok.Thanks for the tips guys.will try moving stuff forward. i always load over the axle and forward. never checked nose weight.
if no better i will source a dixon bate.
I have checked nose weight of caravan unladen is 65kg. i believe the td5 is max nose weight of 150kg.so i need to check my nose weight once the caravan is loaded.am i correct.

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Yes mate, most peeps who check their nose weight do it with a set of bathroom scales.

If you aim for about 100kgs you'll be fine.

Dave

I've had a few different caravans on the back of various Landy's and never had a problem until I got a Bailey Unicorn a few years ago. I had to put 120kg nose weight to get it to behave
In my opinion for it's size is that it should have been Twin Axle but the extra nose wight was a massive difference once I got it right. On the Defender I ended up having to put Air Spring Assist on the back to keep it level with all that nose weight.

You need to find all 3 nose weights ( the cars ' the tow bars ' the caravans) and then you work from the lowest one . In your case I'm guessing the caravan ? Then make shaw you are not overloading the caravan .and try to even the weight out in it . And maybe move some weight into the cars boot . I always load my awning in my boot . You can also find your caravan unladen weight and it's max gross weight ' then this will give you it load capacity! It's very easy to overload a caravan

My Geist twin axle behaves a lot better at 100kg than at 80kg!

But I have to pile all the awning poles and heavy stuff at the front to get the weight up that high.

Are twin is the same if I only have one gas bottle in it tows bad with two in its spot on

Caravans also have a maximum nose weight, on mine it's 75Kg so the max nose weight of the tow vehicle is not relevant. Overload you caravan at your peril if you come to France, there are many road side load checks and you will not move if either the tow vehicle or caravan or both are over the rated limits. As far as I'm aware, the caravan should either be level or very slightly nose down or it could get frisky at speed.

Found this on the bay.
TOW BALL HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT DROP PLATE ADJUSTABLE TOW BAR FITS LAND ROVER UTILITY | eBay
Would it do the job.

cambridgecockney said:

Found this on the bay.
TOW BALL HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT DROP PLATE ADJUSTABLE TOW BAR FITS LAND ROVER UTILITY | eBay
Would it do the job.

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It looks the absolute bollôcks mate - I'm temped to get one myself. I particularly like the fact that it has two retaining pins; the Dixon Bate ones only have one.

Dave

thebiglad said:

It looks the absolute bollôcks mate - I'm temped to get one myself. I particularly like the fact that it has two retaining pins; the Dixon Bate ones only have one.

Dave

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Just bought one. should be here monday/tues.will let you know what its like.

cambridgecockney said:

Just bought one. should be here monday/tues.will let you know what its like.

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Arrived today.its mahoosive,well made and flippin heavy.

cambridgecockney said:

Arrived today.its mahoosive,well made and flippin heavy.

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If it's that solid make sure you pump up your rear tyres :rofl:

thebiglad said:

If it's that solid make sure you pump up your rear tyres :rofl:

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Lol, yeah.that will increase fuel consumption.think it weight 8+kgs.

Sorry another question.this is the same as my tow bar.
Landrover Discovery TD5 tow bar | eBay
once i have fitted my drop plate is there any reason why i shouldnt fit the tow ball with it being that long.

cambridgecockney said:

Sorry another question.this is the same as my tow bar.
Landrover Discovery TD5 tow bar | eBay
once i have fitted my drop plate is there any reason why i shouldn't fit the tow ball with it being that long.

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The 'swan neck' tow ball is only that long so it gets out of the way of the rear bumper on the std attachment. Once you have fitted the new drop plate you don't have need of it's extra length, so I would be fitting a combined towball draw-bar like these: Universal Jaw Pin Towball Coupling Black Free Bolts and Cover | eBay


Dave