Can a discovery sport tow a trailer?

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Blueysmum

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Looking at options as I can’t afford a horsebox atm 😒😂

I currently have a discovery sport and a 594kg 16.3hh ish.


Also, is it hard to tow? Can I do courses?
 
I don’t tow, because you used to need a different license so we bought a lorry instead. I’m just about to start though 😬
Everyone who tows tells me it’s easy enough!
Yes there are courses, the farm I live on used to send everyone new on towing courses. They went to Bristol but I imagine they do them everywhere. Just no test at the end anymore
 
I would recommend a short course, either something formal or just a handful of lessons with a local instructor who teaches towing. I was one of the very unlucky ones who fell into that short period where you DID need a test to tow, and while I am still pi**ed at having to spend money on a test they then scrapped almost immediately, I don't regret the lessons. They're really good for giving you the confidence that you have the essential skills needed! Also they will get you started reversing, and I'm always amazed by the number of people who tow but can't reverse. I'm good at it and I think the initial help is probably part of why.
 
I recently started towing, and beforehand did a half day course to help convince my husband that I did actually have the ability to do it. For me, it was well worth it. It was great to have been through the basics when I got my trailer, including over an hour spent practicing reversing. Otherwise, the first time I would have towed anything would have been when I picked up my trailer.

I’m not the world’s most confident driver, but I don’t find towing too bad. It’s been brilliant having the freedom to get out and about.

In terms of whether your current Discovery will tow, it looks like the maximum towing capacity varies slightly according to model, but it should tow up to about 2200kg. You need to think about the weight of your horse, plus the weight of the trailer, to work out if your car is suitable. For example, my car has a max towing capacity of 2400kg, my trailer weighs 1000kg unladen, so theoretically I can carry up to 1400kg of horse. For me and my one 17.1hh ISH, it’s perfect.
 
You do still need to pass a test to tow in Northern Ireland, which I did in March. A 2 hour initial lesson and a 6 hour half day intensive and passed first time as a fairly nervous driver! Can't be that hard if I managed! 😂

Definitely get some professional instruction! Feels absolutely insane to me to tow anything without it.
 
smolmaus said:
Definitely get some professional instruction! Feels absolutely insane to me to tow anything without it.
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I agree! I’m old enough to have a licence that would have let me tow without sitting an additional test back in the day when such things were still needed by some. I’m just glad that I could find someone relatively local still running training now that the test isn’t needed for younger drivers.
 
I was a volunteer at a BE event doing bun run and the sponsors had provided a Discovery and a Discovery Sport.

We had the sport and they told us to avoid any hilly bits as it could get a bit sticky on grass...that that was no trailer, just a boot full of tea, coffee, cake and sandwiches.

I think the sport is probably not as well suited to the offroad life.
 
Think they tow 2.5 tonne but check as engine models etc vary. So that’s normally one horse/ smaller trailer but do able.
I also did the test. I don’t think towing is hard but practice the reversing, and get some tips. Check mirrors constantly.
 
I started towing before tests and courses came in, but in those distant days supermarkets were not allowed to open on Sundays so the empty supermarket car park was ideal for practising manoeuvring in.

My first time towing experience was sharing the driving with my mum when we towed my brothers 1/4 tonner yacht on a boat trailer with an elderly pre Defender 110 Land Rover (which I’d not driven before) down from the north of England back to the West Country via the M6/M5 😳. Luckily I took to towing straight away.

Nowadays I’d always recommend doing a towing course first 🙂.
 
OrangeAndLemon said:
I was a volunteer at a BE event doing bun run and the sponsors had provided a Discovery and a Discovery Sport.

We had the sport and they told us to avoid any hilly bits as it could get a bit sticky on grass...that that was no trailer, just a boot full of tea, coffee, cake and sandwiches.

I think the sport is probably not as well suited to the offroad life.
Click to expand...

I’m certainly glad that my car has AWD, mainly because the space where my trailer is parked at the yard is on a patch of rough grass that requires me to reverse uphill and in a sort of s-shape off a track that gets muddy in the rain. Fun and games!
 
we need to know more about the model of your car, to see what the towing capacity is! it will also depend on the weight of the trailer you buy! I have an ifor williams 505, which is just under 1000kg and my horse is 650kg. my car can tow 2000kg.

in respect of training, you can do a towing course and i would defo recommend that! towing isn't hard but reversing isn't easy, especially if you don't know what you're doing. I did the trailer test, as it was still required 8 years ago when I got my first car suitable for tow! I'd towed for years, with my dad sat next to me, but the towing course was so educational! while my dad was great, he didn't know how to explain things as well as a proper instructor, so after the training I feel way more comfortable reversing and know way more about safety and loading the trailer properly.
 
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