LR3 Towing Capacity?

[proper4wd]

The Land Rover "quick hitch" is about $500 retail new. There is a newer version than the one Dendy pictured that does not hang down as far and is a little beefier. I have one sitting on my desk right now. Max tongue weight (as stamped on the hitch) is 770lbs.

 

[unseenone]

And here is a blurb from one fellow, and the pictures to go with it.. with regard to the "plow"

I am making enquiries as to whether anyone else has had this problem. My 07 Disco 3 v6 petrol came with a towbar, tongue and ball all neatly packaged in the passenger side rear. Up until June last year that is where it stayed until numerous trips to specialists in Brisbane and the overinflated motel prices influenced us into buying our 19ft 6in caravan which weighs 2.5t fully laden, food, clothes, water etc whilst the tow bar is rated at 3.5t. As we have only ever done highway driving (though the past couple of years the Bruce Highway is more of a goat track) and have no dramas with towing our van until last month. We had started for home and pulled up to refuel at BP Caboolture North we heard a clunk but on inspection could not find the cause, however as we reversed away from the bowsers and just put the car into drive the tow bar snapped clean in two just behind the key lock leaving the van attached only by its chains and wiring harness. Very scary when you think what might of happened if it let go on the highway. Has anyone had this happen to them? Why do they make such an item from Cast, shouldn't it be high tensile steel?

 

[rcharrette]

My experience

I can certainly chime in on this! We have an 08'LR3 and just bought a new Kodiak 240BHSL camper. Dry weight (verified) on our camper is 4800 and our LR3 has a tow rating of 7700LBS. We've done several road trips now and I can say it handles it no problem at all even with our gear stored inside. I always try to travel without the water tank full and just fill it once at our destination. We did install a Anti Sway device. The dealer said with the shorter wheelbase and it being a 27' camper it would be a very good idea, and I agree 100%
Anyway, as I said, we've done a few thousand miles of towing it and no trouble at all.
Good luck,

 

[proper4wd]

That broken tow hitch above was about halfway broken for a long time based on the rust in the fracture. Who knows how badly it was abused. For the liability this piece carries against LR and the number of them out there with so few failures I would not hesitate to use the OEM hitch (especially the later version).

 

[unseenone]

I agree, clearly you can see a bit of rust from a previous fracture, there is no way to know for sure when / how it occurred. Based on the users comments it had not been used off road, but you know how that goes. On the other hand, clearly LR changed the design twice each time, shorter and more stout, that may also tell us something. The are never going to do a recall on anything unless absolutely forced to do so. I agree that this has happened on a limited basis, but when someone starts talking about the maximum safe towing weights, etc. it is prudent to at least be armed with as much data as possible so an informed decision can be made.

Ya, I like the later version it looks a lot more rugged, does it have a part # on it?

 

[Jwestpro]

Ya, I like the later version it looks a lot more rugged, does it have a part # on it?

I bought the newer short version over a year ago. I don't think you could buy the old one from a LR dealer if you tried. All they would be stocking/ordering is the new stuff.

The obvious plus with the factory version is the departure angle/bumper overhang when not installed.

 

[Jwestpro]

And the Curt hitch is about $150.00 not including installation.
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You should post some photos of yours seen from down low and a detail of the frame mounting points. I'd like to see that anyway.

 

[madmax718]

7500 without a WD setup? Im not a LR guy, but do they even make WD setups that can utilize the stock system?

 

[unseenone]

LR040248 $478.00 is the best price I found on it. PM me for source, etc.