Land Rover Discovery for towing, yay or nay?

We've been using a Disco for towing an ifor williams trailer for many years now and have never had problems, even in muddy conditions at competitions. We use it to tow my 14hh pony and my 17hh eventer, with no problems at all. I would definitely recommend!
 
I've had a Disco for a number of years too. I used to tow an ancient Rice trailer, now I have an Ifor. Never had any problems towing and I have also got through mud at shows when others have got stuck :)
 
after towing with the older disco, my old td5 and now my dads disco 3 i wouldnt use anything else i dont think, amazing cars. even can get my trailer and 2 hayledge up a mountain road covered in snow.

just a warning though, they are not so good if you sister drives one straight into a bog cover with snow whch is over 4 foot deep. assistance was needed to get it out :)
 
Brill, it's just they never get mentioned when people ask for towing vehicles so wanted to check. What sort of thing should I be looking for in one? I don't want a massive litre on it but don't quite get all this 200/300 tdi stuff. Most important thing is that it can comfortably and safely tow my boy.

Luckily, I've got a couple of trailers I can borrow, an old rice one and an ifor, but need something to pull it!!

Was hoping to spend about 2k, is that realistic for a decent one?
 
My Hubby has a Disco (R reg so the older style) and we regularly use it to tow a trailer full of boats for the rowing club, it chugs along nicely with that no worries. He also tows his sailing boat behind it as well. A friend had a new style Disco for a while and said it was fab for towing.
 
Are you joking? They're the best towing vehicle on the road by a country mile.

However, you wont be going anywhere with 2 grand! xxx
 
flamehead said:
Are you joking? They're the best towing vehicle on the road by a country mile.

However, you wont be going anywhere with 2 grand! xxx
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I paid £1400 for mine 2 years ago.....still going strong, although its more workhouse than style-mobile;)

Just make sure the boot floor and sills are intact- older ones are notorious for needing welding done but mechanically they go on and on and on.....
 
I've got an 'R' reg that cost under £2k. It only tows and goes out in the snow when the Mini can't cope, so I hope it will last a while. I bought it from someone I know, so I was confident about it's history, but I still expect it to be prone to the normal Land Rover niggles. Talk to your local Land Rover garage (we have an ace independent one), they will be better able to recommend a vehicle for you than buying blind privately.
 
flamehead said:
Are you joking? They're the best towing vehicle on the road by a country mile.

However, you wont be going anywhere with 2 grand! xxx
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Not strictly true...

Depends if you have a tame mechanic... Go and have a look at Landyzone.co.uk and find out what the inherent faults are on them (there isn't a car that doesn't have a fault somewhere!).

Our old N Red Disco cost us £1100, but the MOT found that it needed some welding doing. That was done for £300, then we decided to upgrade. Sold it to friends for £1750 after they begged us to pull it off Ebay for them. Ebay was up to £1950 with 2 days to run...

There are some good sound vehicles, but a tame mechanic is a Godsend, especially if they are a Landy fan.
 
cm2581 said:
I do think this is a touch over priced (not much tho!!) to give you an idea!!!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...radius/1501/postcode/eh193da/page/1?logcode=p
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Ah this is the kind of thing I'm after! I know I'm going to be getting an older version but my little clio is 16 years old and is still going like a trooper. I've got nothing against old cars but am well aware that they may take a bit more looking after etc. but that's fine, I really only intend to use if for pulling the trailer so I'm not going to be ragging it lol.

Now to find me a good old landy mechanic to come ahunting with me hehe :D
 
Vetwrap said:
Not strictly true...

Depends if you have a tame mechanic... Go and have a look at Landyzone.co.uk and find out what the inherent faults are on them (there isn't a car that doesn't have a fault somewhere!).

Our old N Red Disco cost us £1100, but the MOT found that it needed some welding doing. That was done for £300, then we decided to upgrade. Sold it to friends for £1750 after they begged us to pull it off Ebay for them. Ebay was up to £1950 with 2 days to run...

There are some good sound vehicles, but a tame mechanic is a Godsend, especially if they are a Landy fan.
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Yes, it does help that my Hubby was a VM (vehicle mechanic) whilst in the Marines and LOVES his Land Rovers!!! He recently bought a new (from his scrappy friend) bumper for his Disco with a winch on it, didn't stop smiling for days!!!
 
yep highly recommend, my mother, dad, hubby and I have one, 4 in total! we tend to stick to the 200/300 models due to the fact my hubby and dad are Landrover freaks! and these models are all hand on when fixing is needed, unlike the newer ones that are all electric based where only certain mechanic can do the repairs, we use them for absolutely everything from towing other cars, horse trailers (heavy rice with two 16.2hh horses), hay, rubbish the lot, even static caravans. Hubby and dad are also specialised Landrover makers for accessories such as side steps, bull bars... so to say we are fans is a understatement!! :)
 
Kub said:
Anyone in Somerset know their landies and fancy some shopping?? :D
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Ask that question on LandyZone!!!

One thing - avoid anything that has done green-laning or off-roading. Thats what they tend to do with them when they are begining to get ropey. If you buy one thats too ropey for green-laning, you're in for some big bills!

The older ones are great, as parts tend to be bolt on/bolt off. Everything is easily reached under the bonnet and they are agricultural in their engineering. I miss the "easy to fix things" days. Now it's all hidden under plastic and needs re-calibrating! Boo-hiss!!!
 
Boo-hiss indeed! I totally agree, it's ridiculous how things are on new cars, my friend has to take her car to the garage to change a light bulb! You needed a special spanner to get into it, tis just silly. Give me my pop out peugeot lights any day lol.
 
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Don't have a landrover discovery but can't see why you have never heard them for towing..I went onto a load of specialist 4 x 4 forums to see which cars got the thumbs up for towing/proper 4 x 4 and it was always the Jeep or the Discovery (never the freelander - that got a resounding thumbs down for towing). I ended up with a Jeep as could get more for my money and it has been brilliant but I do like the Discos - particularly the new ones!!
 
Vetwrap said:
Ask that question on LandyZone!!!

One thing - avoid anything that has done green-laning or off-roading. Thats what they tend to do with them when they are begining to get ropey. If you buy one thats too ropey for green-laning, you're in for some big bills!

The older ones are great, as parts tend to be bolt on/bolt off. Everything is easily reached under the bonnet and they are agricultural in their engineering. I miss the "easy to fix things" days. Now it's all hidden under plastic and needs re-calibrating! Boo-hiss!!!
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Yay vetwrap, the landyzone is brilliant, had a guy come and sort out a problem for my over christmas, free of charge as he was passing by. Forums rule!!!!
 
I have a TD5 and love it :D It is brilliant for towing, you hardly know the trailer is there. I don't know what the engine size in mine is, I think its a 3 ltr?? don't know!!! I would really recommend them. We have towed loads of people out of ditches, especially in the snow!!
 
Used mine to two Beaufort double with 17.2 medium weight eventer and was brillant. As was our old Range Rover (ran on 2* petrol and then unleaded without any mods) prior to getting the Disco. Also used Freelander TD5, same trailer. They may not have been sexy but they never let me down.
 
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