Discovery 3 - which tow bar - fixed or detachable?

[Bluejazz]

Hi
I've just bought a discovery 3 and need to get a tow bar put on to pull horse trailer with 2 horses in ifor Williams. I've got choice of detachable one or a heavy duty fixed tow bar. Has anyone got experiences of using both or either?
Apparently the detachable should do the job as I only tow horse box and that's about one a week.....but I can't quite get my head round the fact it can come off and don't want to find the horsebox is no longer there!

it's been suggested that the fixed towbar is safer and has more stabili when towing.
Any experiences?

 

[xxMozlarxx]

We have a detachable, it's as stable and solid as a rock.

 

[MileyMouse]

Hi, my OH's disco 3 has a detachable tow bar (it locks in with a key) and he's never had any problems with it. It tows as a normal

 

[LynH]

I have towed with the detachable tow bar for years without incident. You cannot remove the key from the tow bar lock unless it is securely in place. If the tow bar isn't in you cannot take the key out.
I leave mine tow bar on rather than keep removing it.

 

[MissChaos]

Slight hijack but on topic!

I know I can get guideline info on this by Googling but prefer first-hand info where poss - please could anyone of you let me know how much your Disco's towbar cost to buy and get fitted? PM if you prefer - ta muchly.

ETA detachable or fixed - would be v grateful for costings as an idea!

 

[legaldancer]

I have the fixed and am very happy with it. I tow about once a fortnight in average. The dealership fitted it for me and recommended it over the detachable, though not sure why.

 

[muffinmunsh]

I have detachable but might as well have fixed one as I never take it off ;-)

They are very good & very safe.

And gongrats on your Disco 3 - in my humble opinion the best car in the world to tow horses with!

 

[Bluejazz]

Thanks for all your responses.

 

[GeeBee45]

Just to add a slightly different take on this.

I'd always go for a height adjustable tow hitch. With single axle trailers the tow hitch height is not as critical as when towing multi axle trailers. If a multi axle trailer is towed out of level you risk overloading one or other of the trailer axles, overloading the vehicle rear axle or tow hitch design weight or potentially risking trailer detachment.

To give an example, a 2 inch difference in tow hitch height made a 200 kg weight transfer from the first axle to the second and put the weight distribution where it should be. Both manufacturer of vehicle and trailer played the game of 'not our problem.' But we did eventually get matters sorted. I won't name the manufacturers concerned but one uses three diamonds as its' logo, the other makes trailers where horses travel facing the rear.

Just to add, if you are having a multi height tow hitch (not the single arm with two positions type) the tow hitch must have a top mount attached to a chassis cross member. There are very few vehicles out there that have this facility; Defender, Discovery and Range Rover and some older Japanese 4x4s are the ones I'm aware of, there probably are others.