Towing an “adventure trailer” with disco I or II?

[nastav]

Hello,
I’m considering a dI or dII purchase.
Mostly likley it will be purchased already mildly built with lift and bumpers, etc. so heavy-ish.

How would either of these handle towing an approx 1500# m416 style trailer (no electric brakes...yet) as far as power and braking? The d1 would be manual and the dII auto, both gas engines.

Current TV is an 2015 AEV Jeep Wrangler rubicon with 35” tires, a minivan engine, and old school 5sp auto and 4.10 gears. It does OK, but turns out I’m just not into Jeeps.

Thank You.

 

[LR Max]

It'll do it...kinda. Not all that great. You'll know its back there the entire time. I've towed a pretty hefty uhaul from Philly back to NC. Not very fun. The 02 Yukon Denali handled a similar load A LOT better.

Pay the extra and get an LR3. They are beasts both off road and towing.

 

[DiscoDavis]

Pay the extra and get an LR3. They are beasts both off road and towing.

This

 

[LtFuzz]

I towed ~4000lbs trailer from GA to AZ with a 2004 D2 w/roofrack. I took the southern route (I-10) and had no issue at all. I was even getting 16-18 mpg for large portions. I imagine with any sort of elevation it would be a different story.

I towed similar weight from AZ to WA (north through the Rockies) with a 2006 LR3. Absolute beast -- held 75 mph without a sweat and returned high teens to low 20s overall.

No contest. And don't even consider a DI -- you have to pin those to get up any kind of elevation even when empty.

 

[rcharrette]

The tow capacity on the V8 Discovery 2 is 7700LBS. So your well under that. I towed a pop up for a few years with our Disco 2 and it was no trouble at all. That said I'd go V8 LR3 if you can. I had a Disco 2 for years and then an LR3 and Now a 4. The LR3 was leaps and bounds more reliable than the Disco 2 and a lot more power. We towed our 6K pound trailer all over the USA and Canada with it and now tow it with the LR4. The 4 pulls even better than the 3!
Of course you are talking about a 1500LB trailer, that's not much weight in the big picture and as the specs show it's well within it's ability.

 

[Jwestpro]

I don't think the D2 rated towing is 7700, I think it's more like 5500.

Regardless, practically no sense comparing the D2 to lr3. I have all three and have towed with all three. About 10k miles in the lr3 with a tandem maxed out cross country.

Off roaring though with a medium weight ADV Trailer, the D2 would be perfectly fine as it's great still at low speeds. Highway wouldn't be bad either but that's simply due to my idea of how much more easy it is to pull a trailer so much lighter and tucked into the wind tunnel than my 7x12.

That 1500lb trailer would be totally fine. I say get the D2 if it's more your style for easy modifying larger tires etc.

The thing w the lr3 though is you could actually go right up to it's max and tow even a 28' Airstream if you're careful. The braking in lr3's is far far better and it's ladder frame/unibody combo makes it pretty solid with nice mass for towing stability - not to mention the air suspension help.

 

[nastav]

Thanks for all the responses.
I believe I've located a D2 that works for me.
The vehicle under consideration has a very good ownership and service history under a qualified long-term owner.

 

[sturgillk]

I pull a very small home made trailer (with our RTT on it) behind my DI. It probably only weighs about 700#s. Only thing I can contribute is that the caster change from a lift will be much more noticeable when towing, so watch out for that. Mine has caster corrected arms now and it tows our little trailer like a boss, but we don't usually go faster than 70.

For reference: 2" lift, 235/85r16 tires, roof rack, heavy front and rear bumpers and rock sliders. Winch. Twin batteries. German Shepherd. The trailer was to help get some of the packed weight onto another axle.

 

[Longtallsally]

Keep in mind, no matter how well cared for, or what the service history is, you will still be fixing stuff on a D2 as they are getting older and stuff is just starting to fail from age if nothing else. I think the LR3 and 4 are nice. I guess. Bit they don't do it for me. At the prices folks are getting for them I'd move on further up to an L320 or L322.

But if you like true character, aren't in a huge hurry, want it a good bit cheaper- albeit with a good bit of fixing no matter what- I'd go for the D2. For the record, the D2 is rated to 7200 lbs. It might be rated for that, but even with the 4.6 I bet it would struggle, as would the brakes.

 

[mpinco]

Reality check ...... you're in Telluride, Colorado at 8700'. Engine power output is down roughly 25% as a starting point. I'm at 6500' so down 20%. My previous experience was with IH Scouts, 100" wheel base, ~4500 lbs and 175 hp at sea level. We camped all across Colorado, from tents to popups to small hardsides. The Disco II is 100" wheel base, ~4500 lbs and 188 hp at sea level. Roughly the same. Again, your peak power is now 140 hp. Later on moved to a Disco I. Loaded for camping the Scout/DiscoI was fine. Loaded for camping and towing a small pop--up (they are about 1200-1400 lbs) they were OK climbing a pass but definitely slow. Towing a 2000 lbs camper the truck definitely had to work at it. Personally wouldn't go over 2500-3000 lbs with a Scout/Disco. The tow rating is irrelevant at altitude.

Still have the Disco I but also a LR4 5.0V8 at 375 hp and 375 ftlbs. Night and day. Gas mileage is also better as I don't have to lean on it to keep a reasonable speed climbing Colorado passes.

Not saying a Disco II can't pull a pop-up/small trailer but just realize altitude/terrain is a significant factor and plan accordingly.