Hello to all who tow caravans or trailers! I have a question to ask please, my current caravan weighs in at 1340kg’s when I tow, my usual rule is heavy car light van with the awning,bbq,gas bottles in the car secured with ratchet straps in the boot area with the genuine LR dog guard, these weigh in at 70kg’s give or take 10kg’s. So a total of 1500kg give or take?
I am strict with the contents as I am able to access a weighbridge that’s how I know the caravan weighs in at 1340kg when towed, So my question is although new caravan is now on order this weighs in on paper but not confirmed at 1802kg, So does any of our valued members tow a similar weight of trailer etc. Both my caravans are single axle.

I am aware of the tow capacity of my freelander 2 and now today have completed a full overhaul of the brakes, ie discs,pads, flexi pipes and fluid knowing the increase of stopping capabilities
Auto gearbox oil was changed earlier this year with engine oil and filter,
I now usually carry spare sensors for the cam and crank plus a fuel filter plus all the tools etc, having towed old caravan to Switzerland during 2019 with no issues whatsoever

Any advice or stories would be appreciated, am I correct in thinking that the replacement disco sport and evoque of our freel2’s have a tow capacity of only 1800kg’s max?
This is what I cannot understand that LR had an excellent multi purpose vehicle and replaced it with an inferior product,

I have seen an Evoque towing a twin axle caravan with a bike rack crammed with both adult and children bikes let alone all the other stuff on board and the outfit seemed to struggle on a slight hill with the driver not amused with trucks tailgating,
All I ask of anyone who currently tows something similar.
Thank you.

My DS has a provisional towing capacity of 2,200kg. I say provisional, the hand book does say that the towing capacity can be increased by reducing the weight in the car - specifically the back axle.

For reference DS 240 7 seats
Gross train weight 4950kg
Gross vehicle weight 2750kg

Gives a braked trailer weight of 2,200kg IF the car has 750kg of passengers and luggage - less luggage = larger caravan.

Click image to enlarge

Hello Andy
Thank you for your input, will have a read tomorrow, you state DS is this the latest Discovery Sport?

It’s been a long day, had to re flare the front brake pipes in situ, what a day!

7 seat DS240 diesel auto built late 2018 - technically a MY19, probably the last year of proper diesels as they started with the mild hybrid for MY20.

Previously had a 2016 DS180 auto, had no issues with a boot full of tools and 1500kg of caravan to Spain and back a few times. Once you have driven the 240 diesel you will never go back to the 180bhp version, had loads of fun recently replacing the brakes - long story of wrong parts. Tangiers Orange - gone, missing her
Replaced by Ewok what a mistake - now a happy Disco Sport owner

davyboy wrote:

Hello to all who tow caravans or trailers! I have a question to ask please, my current caravan weighs in at 1340kg’s when I tow, my usual rule is heavy car light van with the awning,bbq,gas bottles in the car secured with ratchet straps in the boot area with the genuine LR dog guard, these weigh in at 70kg’s give or take 10kg’s. So a total of 1500kg give or take?
I am strict with the contents as I am able to access a weighbridge that’s how I know the caravan weighs in at 1340kg when towed, So my question is although new caravan is now on order this weighs in on paper but not confirmed at 1802kg, So does any of our valued members tow a similar weight of trailer etc. Both my caravans are single axle.

I am aware of the tow capacity of my freelander 2 and now today have completed a full overhaul of the brakes, ie discs,pads, flexi pipes and fluid knowing the increase of stopping capabilities
Auto gearbox oil was changed earlier this year with engine oil and filter,
I now usually carry spare sensors for the cam and crank plus a fuel filter plus all the tools etc, having towed old caravan to Switzerland during 2019 with no issues whatsoever


Thank you.

When packing the caravan keep as much weight out of the ends and near the axle as possible. Mine had the loo/shower, battery and gas cylinders very near to the middle of the caravan - made for a stable setup.
But made sure you have the balance correct for nose weight. Jules

Successfully towed 1800kg twin axle 6.75m long caravan from Holland to Spain, behind 2.2 Sd4. No problem whatsoever. Cruised well easily maintaining 55-60mph on motorways with some real lumpy bits through France. The car and van were lightly loaded with camping paraphernalia as it was a new venture, but the whole set up coped much better than a similar expedition 30 years ago with an old V8 Range Rover.

I tow a twin axle Swift Challenger Sport, 1450 kg or there abouts, it's been well over weight at times coming back from France with maybe 200 bottles of wine in boxes on the floor, as centrally as possible. Awning and poles in the car bikes on the roof. Sd4 pulls it easily. Fuel economy not fantastic though! Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

What is the new van out of interest? Landrover - turning owners into mechanics since 1948

2014 Orkney grey Freelander SD4 GS.
2004 Zambezi silver Discovery 2 Td5 (Gone)
1963 Surf blue Morris Mini Minor Super de Luxe (my little toy)

When I had a van and towed to and from the Med coast I managed to get all van equipment in the van, awning, water equipment, loungers and gas without exceeding the van weight of 1350kg on the way back 240 litres of wine in the car, no bikes but all within the axle loads, had one of those Reich caravan load cells to check everything before and after connecting up my PC is slightly to the right of Genghis
2012 HSE SD4 In Orkney Grey now gone, best car ever.

Well thank you everyone for your replies to my questions, I forgot to say but really isn’t an issue, only two adults and one german shepherd in the tow car.

The new caravan on order is a Coachman vip 575, single axle, air conditioning,motor mover plus solar panel. (Factory fitted).
The dealer says it’s approximately 1750kg ish, Iv had the weight up scaled to the manufacturers spec, but not entirely sure what the actual weight is until I put it onto the weighbridge, all I was asking if anyone tows something of similar weight and how does the freelander cope?
Knowingly where all if any the extra loads sited over the axle.

Back in previous employment with a merc dealer we towed a three axle trailer with 300D G wagon, with whatever model of Mercedes on the trailer I cannot remember the tow capacity of the g wagon but it coped excellently, apart from hills.
Again we also used a 230GE which was excellent only wished I’d bought that 230ge all those years ago but fuel economy, nope none existent.

But thank you all for your reassurance of the capabilities of the freelander 2.

Congratulations for weighing your rig, not many people seem to do it.

Next time on the weight bridge it might be worthwhile also doing the rear axle as the Freelander has a pretty limited load capacity.

Probably easiest to weight front wheels only, then the car only, both weights with it normally loaded with people dog & luggage with caravan attached, as you then get the leaverage from the towball on the rear axle, probably about another 30% on the rear axle. Then subtract front figure from car figure for rear axle load. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

Acoustic insulation ARB TPMS 3xARB air compressors After cooler Air tank On-board OCD pressure air/water cleaning Additional 50L fuel Carpet in doors ABE 2x1kg Waeco 28L modified fridge Battery 4x26ah Solar 120w Victron MPPT 100/20 DC-DC 18amps 175amp jumper plug Awning 6x255/60R18

May be ask sv tech a firm that does axels up rating when or where they are doing a demonstration. Thet have axels weighing set up usually at a show etc and you only have to drive straight over , no un hooking etc.

You should be alright, I prefer a twin axle myself. One assumes you have an anti-snake device. It is advised to increase the vehicle weight by loading heavy stuff in the centre of the towing car. I had six tons on the back of a Disco TD5 once or twice, and it is only 2.2 tons empty. The gearbox screamed a bit though! I just could not leave twenty four cubic metres of demolition timber uncollected.

I've been towing a 3500 lbs camper for ten years with my FL2 (3.2 i6 petrol). It's at the max rating for the vehicle but it performs flawlessly in the high mountains and summer temps of the American west... you'd have to go out of your way to find mountains and temperatures that severe in UK or Europe.

One of the reasons I've kept it for so long, most tow vehicles I'd need a V8 engine, which is a gas-hog for daily driving.

Be sure and check the tongue weight too, with the caravan fully loaded. There's a max limit for that as well (something around 400lbs? IIRC).

You will work the cooling system hard when towing... I replaced it all around 150k miles after a couple leaks popped up... pump, radiator, thermostat, big hoses, oil & tranny coolers. Replace the fan too if it's original. I'd get the double-fan version if you don't already have one... that will help when towing slowly on hills.

Use an OBDII gauge to monitor coolant temp when towing. Try to keep it below 100*C, but definitely below 105*C for extended periods. 110*C will likely spring leaks if your coolant system has a lot of miles (I've tested this and proven it lol). Also the auto tranny fluid temp will run about 10*C hotter than coolant on mountain or windy roads... 115*C is about as high as you want the tranny to get for any sustained period. On a long straight-ish road, where the tranny isn't shifting much, it will match the coolant temp since it will be mostly locked up and not working the fluid hard. Constant shifting is what works the ATF.