Hello, I am close to buying a Disco on about M/N reg as I need to tow a two tonne (approx) trailer about twenty miles a day. Bearing in mind my budget,small distance covered each day, a need for power ? up hills etc 3.9EFI or 300TDI ? Also whats the weight of a disco and whats it allowed to tow legally (braked) Thanks Paul
Either engine will cope with 2 tonnes no problem - the 300Tdi will somewhat cheaper to run unless the V8 is gassed.
A Discovery I weighs 2 tons bar the shouting, and can legally tow 3.5 tons on over-run brakes. That's the simplistic answer that most operate on, but if you start looking into Gross Train Weights etc the answer is rather more unclear, though I'm not aware of anyone being done for towing 3.5 tons.
On or around Sun, 29 Oct 2006 14:00:18 -0000, "paul" enlightened us thusly:
The discos can tow up to 3.5T on over-run brakes. The 3.9 is more powerful but will cost you plenty in petrol unless you go for an LPG converted one. The TDi is quite capable as a towing vehicle although with a big trailer your speed suffers especially on hills. However, if you take it easy you don't rack up such a fuel bill, you should get about 30 mpg running light and provided you take your time, not too much less with a big trailer.
I'll have a 300 TDi on an M plate for sale soon... :-) It's part way through having the head gasket changed, waiting for a couple of parts and then it'll be back together some time next week. I imagine it'll be well within your budget, even diesel discos that age are not fetching big money.
Two tons is within the 3.5 ton legal limit for the Disco with over-run brakes fitted to the trailer and, more importantly, is no problem for the diesel version. If you are going to tow commercially, even if for your own business, then do keep in mind that you will probably need a tachograph and keep all the records that go with this to stay legal. That is unless you fall under an exemption. You could get away with it for years and even claim it was private use only if stopped I suppose. This country employs 2/3rds of the population just to make and enforce rules on the 1/3 that are productive IMHO. 'Jobs for the boys' until it comes to the crunch, which it will some day, when the public sector paymasters cheques start bouncing.
On a related subject [not to the OP LOL] don't the government realise that if they tax and kill sales of larger vehicles, they sign the death warrant for British jobs at Land Rover and Jaguar?
On or around Mon, 30 Oct 2006 07:44:02 -0500, "Jack" enlightened us thusly:
more. the disco weighs a tad over 2 tons.
I put out disco I V8 on the weighbridge out of interest, this has a gas conversion on it so has extra fuel tanks, weighed 2080Kg with one passenger on board.
It weighs two tons, give or take, but can actually tow 4 tons if outfitted with powered brakes such as air brakes or when towing on private roads. So twice its own weight is no problem, as I can personally testify.
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