We tow 3.5 tonnes almost to the limit with our 6-wheel drawbar turntable box trailer. We take a large Ruston & Hornsby horizontal diesel engine to shows in the season (It will be at the LandyZone 10th Anniversary Bash) and we go to Europe as well with it.
Two things you will need to note:
1) Acceleration is seriously affected, you can't odds that, but with a TD5 Defender you've got 135bhp against 183bhp for our V8, or slightly less with the Puma engine (122bhp?) so don't expect fireworks and make sure that all your gearbox and transfer box oils are OK and up to level.
2) Braking is 'different'! We find that if the brakes on the trailer are too sharp, it can causes problems, but by the same token they must work properly. You have to leave more room for braking, even more than usual as it takes time for the trailer brakes to come on, and if the ABS system on the Defender kicks in, you may have unbalanced braking as the trailer obviously relies on its weight pushing on the trailer coupling to put the brakes on. We have six braked wheels, but in the wet the front axle can jacknife if it gets too much braking while turning.
We've done many trips with ours, Nuenen in Holland is our usual destination, but we go up and down the country over here, next month we are in Shildon at the NRM Museum, then the LandyZone bash then Fawley Hill rally near Henley.
Ours is only ever loaded, we don't move it much with nothing in the back, so you'd also have to get used to the trailer running empty as well if you haven't already done so.
Take your time, allow plenty of time for trips and don't be suckered into making rash moves with the loaded trailer behind, it can go wrong so quickly, and you're a passenger when it does.
Good luck!
Peter
