Range Rover v Discovery-thoughts/clarifying

LR says ***Towing nose weight varies by powertrain and wheels fitted. I believe the 350kg is only for the multi height towbar as normally fitted to the commercial Discovery.

The Discovery will easily handle the standard noseweight, but if you use the A-frame for your cycles then it will be the ALKO or Winterhoff towhitch that will be your limitation.

My Winterhoff has a 150kg limit, as does my cars noseweight limit, most if not all ALKO hitches are 100kg limit, maybe newer ones are higher I don't know.

Ian, I have never gone up scale from my Freelander2 - and it's maximum nose weight is definitely 150 kg.  If I wanted advice on the maximum nose weight of the two bigger models you mention I would go straight down the road to the local JLR main dealer here and talk to the service manager - who really does know the answer to that sort of question.  Can you do that in your area? 

You want to swop a reliable car ,for anLR

Ps just note the max hitch head  weight on the caravan is more than likely 100kg

Maximum coupling point/nose weight (kg) 350

As that seems an unbelievably high rating, what do owners and other knowledgable folk understand from this?

I would think it far higher than what the caravan noseweight is specified for if the bikes are on the A frame but have not checked..

With the Discovery 3 & 4 the noseweigth maximum figure was market dependant, here and throughout Europe they are specified at 150 kgs.

For Australia and North America much higher values are allowed, but the kit fitted is not the same as in a UK spec vehicle.

My German Hymer is fitted with a 150 Kg Al-Ko hitch, not the normal 100 kgs, BUT the chassis is only rated at 100 kgs "S" value [noseweight] despite it being a 1900 kg van. Check carefully that your Adria really has the chassis for 150 kgs, even if a 150 hitch is fitted, as few have and the heavier duty hitch is used because of the van's weight, not because you can load the noseweight up to 150 Kgs.

Respective weights are Discovery and RR Sport, but as other people have said you will be limited by Hitch/Tow bar limit.

But I use an old bike rack from Towsure which is mounted on a plate behind the bolt on tow ball - so with that bike rack  the weight of my bikes is on the tow ball but not on the caravan hitch. 

The OP's statement was about carrying the bikes very specifically on the "A" frame.

"buying this van is to potentially consider making use of the longer A-frame to carry cycles on it."

To keep within the chassis rating, which most probably is going to be 100kgs, becomes quite a challenge as the bikes and rack are positioned so close to the towball most of their weight acts directly on it.

The longer "A" frame does better facilitate "eurotraveller's" solution as get the bikes high enough to avoid fouling the jockey wheel stem, it affords a decent clearance from them jack knifing into the van's front. This is most critical when reversing, as going ahead the vehicle's steering lock rarely is sufficiently tight to have jack knife issues.

 

Thanks all, my pondering continues. We should collect new caravan next week, so I’ll be able to check coupling Weight capacity and then over next few weeks, experiment with load distribution (including bikes on A frame).

Thanks Metheven for the 350kg explanation. You’ve told me something that even the LR sales person couldn’t!

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