disco td5 help

[garbo1966]

hi everyone i'm a disco newbi,recently we bought a 2000 series 2 td5 to tow our caravan,it had air suspension when we bought when we first took it out with the caravan we didnt like the way it towed it seemed as tho the rear of the disco was all over the place so we took some advice and converted it to shocks and springs this has made it a little more stable but we are still getting a lot of body roll especially when another vehicle comes past us which is very scarey i didnt think a disco would tow like this we have a kia sedona which is just on its weight limit to tow the caravan but it seems to tow better than the disco,so i'm asking for helpand advice on this problem i love my disco and dont want to get rid of her so any help would be appreciated.dean.

[V8_Disco]

For Towing I would have retained the SLS - was it working properly

Is the Car fitted with ACE? whats it like to drive without the weight behind it

Bushes been chequed they do change the handaling alot

A

[nick_dawson]

Check your tyres and pressures first - its free to do and can cause all manner of weird and wonderful symptoms.
What pressure have you in the rear wheels? When I'm towing my boat (around 2 tonnes on its trailer) I have found that increasing the pressure in the rear tyres to around 44psi helped stability significantly.
Nick

[garbo1966]

i will try the pressure the caravan weighs 1900kg,driving without it on is ok,goes around corners pritty well and is stable over bumps,but as soon as the caravan goes on it becomes a differant car.

[Tom Mepham]

Have you got the towing hitch at the correct height for the caravan so that the load is balanced?
I tow up to around 2000kg with a 300tdi and it is very good, the handling on the disco2 should be much better than most 4x4s. Have you got ACE? We’ve got a disco2 with ace and sls and with both systems working properly it performs fantastically when towing, after all its what it was designed to do!!

[garbo1966]

hi guys just like to say thanks for the advice,i tried a lot of it,it seems thet the problem we had was the caravan nose weight was to light for dicovery and we was getting the tail waggin the dog effect,we have increased our nose weight upto 125kg and it gives us a far better ride,so thanks for the advice guys.dean.

[browng5]

Be careful as the maximum nose weight for a Caravan with an ALKO chassis is 100 kg although a Discovery can take alot more.

Graeme.

[Tom Mepham]

garbo
I think you are probably quite right in thinking was the caravan nose weight was too light, i'v had a some very strange feelings driving my 300tdi when the load in my trailer has slid mostly to the back behind the trailer axle therefore lifting the rear of the disco. This happens sometimes when i'v got loose aggregate in the trailer and I climb a steep bumpy hill and the majority of the aggregate ends up in a heap at the back.
This feeling is also caused when you forget to raise the jockey wheel on the trailer and you drive off down the road. You go over a lump in the road and the back of the disco lifts- not a pleasant feeling!!

[garbo1966]

the disco is for sale mail for details.