A Twig Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Is it possible/ sensible to fit both a nato hitch and a normal towbar to the rear of my 90 defender. Want the nato hitch for recovery, but still want to be able to tow normal trailers etc every now and then without unbolting and swapping over. or is that just plain daft... Secondly, having had a quick perusal through the tech archive, fitting a front winch bumper, and not being a great spanner myself, is this something that I could do relatively easily or is it worth getting it done properly. I'm thinking possible xmas presents... EDIT: spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 You can fit both, access to the 50mm ball on the drop plate may be restricted by the NATO hitch though - mine was and some trailers would not fit with the NATO on the crossmember. I have just fitted one of these which is a great solution to the problem of wanting to drive off-road and tow without messing about with nuts and bolts. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Yep, that is the solution just fitted one (see photos on the thread linked to <<< ) and have used it with a NATO hitch on my Sankey trailer, and with a twin axle Ifor Williams on the 50mm ball. It was a pain in the butt to fit, but worth it in the end, very well made and actually quite cost effective compared to buying a separate tank guard and towing pack neither of which would have been as versatile B) Winch bumper is a nuts and bolts job the worst bit is usually getting the old bumper bolts out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GBMUD Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 It was a pain in the butt to fit, but worth it in the end Mine was much easier. Most of the holes are now slotted to make the align with the rather variable chassis holes in the Landrover. Still have to use a drill to "help" the chassis and the guard agree though. I am very pleased with it so far though. very well made Seconded. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Most of the holes are now slotted to make the align with the rather variable chassis holes in the Landrover Mine were too, but alas not slotted enough maybe a "Td5 age 300Tdi" chassis is built slightly differently, the LR towing kits are all the same but then they are crossmember mounted with legs so the tolerances are not quite so important as in a one piece unit. I believe I read somewhere that Dave actually gave up making the guards for 90s because the chassis were so variable... Once I gave up trying to fit it "properly" and accepted that I had to do some mods to make it fit, it didn't actually take too long once I had borrowed some big drill bits from work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 You can buy a NATO hitch that has a normal tow ball as the tip of the lower half of the jaw. I saw some at Billing a few years ago - they were about £90. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobtail4x4 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 You can buy a NATO hitch that has a normal tow ball as the tip of the lower half of the jaw. I saw some at Billing a few years ago - they were about £90.Les. but wont they be a bit high? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Henson Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 I suppose that would depend on trailer nose height - fine for a sankey or similar, but as you say - not much good for lower stuff unless the hook is mounted on a drop plate. Les. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 The "combi NATO" type are also not much good for towing 76mm NATO eyes if they are like the ones you can buy here - the NATO ring isn't a very good fit in the jaw and has a tendency to lock when reversing and do nasty things to your crossmember... People do use them and it is the only way to tow a combination of NATO and ball with the same fitting but I would use something else if I could as I have seen several rearranged crossmembers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Twig Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 I guess I could just sell my current trailer, buy a Sankey trailer, and then only need a NATO hitch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milemarker Type S Posted November 6, 2007 Share Posted November 6, 2007 Why not just fit a Dixon Bate adjustable drop plate kit?- buy an extra slider plate and bolt the nato to one and a 50mm ball to another. Changing one to the other is only a matter of pulling out one pin and swapping the plates over- also gets around the different hitch heights of both trailers. The only down side is that you will reduce your departure angle as the drop plate hangs down a bit- I had to make mine dismountable to get around this... Shrek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 I have fitted a combination of all the suggestions above... The NATO is fitted to the HD bumper on the disco, which is braced directly to the chassis, but on a 90 this would be equivalent of bolting directly to the cross-member. The Southdown tank guard then has a modified adjustable height tow bracket. Means I can completely remove towing kit for off-roading and have the hitch fully adjustable as I regularly tow several different trailers with a mixture of pin and ball hitches... Just an idea... Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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