Freelander TD4 Won't pull small caravan

Hi I'm Kay and I'm the new proud owner of a 2003 2.0 TD4 Freelander. My problem is..I went to bring home my tiny touring caravan yesterday on the back of my Freelander. Hitched up, got off the camp field to find it was like pulling teeth. Ok in 1st and 2nd gear but nothing in 3rd. Had to detach caravan to bring the kids home and the caravan is being trailer back on Monday. Any help gratefully appreciated.

Did you take the handbrake off the van?

Nah seriously though, anything similar when you're not towing? Any other symptoms that may be related? What s the history of the car and have you had anything done recently? How tiny is a tiny tourer?

3rds quite long on a manual freelander iirc did you try holding onto 2nd a bit longer, keeping revs up before changing up to 3rd?

Cheeky bugger! Yes, handbrake was off. Had the car 2 weeks. Took it in as soon as I got it. New brakes all round including brake lines, new handbrake as old one didn't hold, new centre diff mount. Car was smooth all the way there, no problems. Have noticed that when in second gear high revs, the power kicks in. Power drops if I change into 3rd and revs not high enough. Caravan is tiny 14ft X 8ft. I can just lift it onto the towbar, it's that light and I'm a lady.. allegedly . I thought the caravan brakes had seized it was that tough to pull but they span freely when the caravan was jacked up.

Brummiel lass said:

Have noticed that when in second gear high revs, the power kicks in. Power drops if I change into 3rd and revs not high enough.

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Maybe just turbo lag then
I reckon one of the freelander experts will wanna delve deeper into this lol have you had diagnostics throw any fault codes up?

14ft is small van init. 2 berth? Hippo should pull that no drama. Ive just bought a 4 berth 23foot thing

What do you think of the freelander otherwise? Ive had 2, great cars

Wot u eggspect its a freelander!

They can't tow shyte!

I've not had any diagnostics done yet but will pop to the garage to see if any fault codes show up.
It is a teeny tiny caravan, 4 berth amazingly, snug and cozy. I'm not jealous of your show off giant size caravan at all . I'm absolutely smitten with it. Only had it 2 weeks and I don't want to drive anything else.
Thank you for your help

Henry_b said:

Wot u eggspect its a freelander!

They can't tow shyte!

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Well mine can't right now

Brummiel lass said:

I've not had any diagnostics done yet but will pop to the garage to see if any fault codes show up.
It is a teeny tiny caravan, 4 berth amazingly, snug and cozy. I'm not jealous of your show off giant size caravan at all . I'm absolutely smitten with it. Only had it 2 weeks and I don't want to drive anything else.
Thank you for your help

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What's the layout then? Sounds great, nice and cosy

I take it you brought this private and not from a dealer?
A freelander should be able to whip down the road no issue with a “tiny” caravan like that on the back.(if it’s empty)
I feel a whole lot of cost coming your way, unless you have somebody handy to check the basics under the bonnet.

Good luck and keep us posted on the progress

J

Bench seats and dining table at the front converts to a double bed. Little kichen on the right, bench seat that lifts into 2 bunks on the left with toilet at the back. It does need lots of tlc but I bought it as a project for me to do up over the winter. I do love messing about fixing things. Do you do much touring then?

Clutch slip?

Thank J for your reply. I can do some basic stuff myself with advice and I've got a fantastic old school garage that does all the work on my car's for me so hopefully it won't be a black hole for me to throw my money down. That's what the kids are for!

Brummiel lass said:

Bench seats and dining table at the front converts to a double bed. Little kichen on the right, bench seat that lifts into 2 bunks on the left with toilet at the back. It does need lots of tlc but I bought it as a project for me to do up over the winter. I do love messing about fixing things. Do you do much touring then?

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Basically same as mine lol mine is 23ft including hitch so maybe not much bigger?
We've literally just had it a month, graduating from tenting lol we're going Kingsbury water park for a couole of nights next weekend to have a 'dry' run

Brummiel lass said:

Thank J for your reply. I can do some basic stuff myself with advice and I've got a fantastic old school garage that does all the work on my car's for me so hopefully it won't be a black hole for me to throw my money down. That's what the kids are for!

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They're pretty easy to work on with a bit of guidance and a decent workshop manual. Main thing is a good set of tools

1988smithy said:

They're pretty easy to work on with a bit of guidance and a decent workshop manual. Main thing is a good set of tools

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I've already bought quality sockets, spanners, jacks etc. I know the cars have their issues but you're right that with the right tools and guidance, I am sure I can do the simple stuff myself.

Brummiel lass said:

Thank J for your reply. I can do some basic stuff myself with advice and I've got a fantastic old school garage that does all the work on my car's for me so hopefully it won't be a black hole for me to throw my money down. That's what the kids are for!

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Give the kids away and spend the money you save on the FL

J

1988smithy said:

Basically same as mine lol mine is 23ft including hitch so maybe not much bigger?
We've literally just had it a month, graduating from tenting lol we're going Kingsbury water park for a couole of nights next weekend to have a 'dry' run

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Fingers crossed you will have a fantastic time. We upgraded from camping. It's so nice just to.pitch up with electric and heating. Hopefully the weather will be kind to you

marjon said:

Give the kids away and spend the money you save on the FL

J

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That made me chuckle J. The kids know where they live so keep coming back! The Freelander may cost me more at this rate

Ours is only a small living of 2m x 2m

Ooppsss need to mention the horse gets treated better and has 2m x 4m to stretch out in
Glad to hear you are getting tooled up they will get used. But plenty of help here when you need it.

J

Dogman mentioned "clutch slip"? What are the signs of clutch slip? I do have to press the clutch down hard to engage gears