Shutler1 Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 Evening all, i have a td5 90 with a 3 inch pro comp lift, with 35/12.5/15 mud tyres. Anti roll bars have been removed front and back. And as you can imagine it doesnt tow very well. I pull our caravan with it but its not very comfortable. (So the wife thinks) is there anything i can do to make the towing experience better. Id rather not remove the lift and tyres. All help welcomed. Cheers in advance. Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornish Rattler Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 Is the ball hight set right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 I tow with ours no problem though it's only 2" lift and 33" tyres. What is your actual problem towing as more often than not its how the trailer/caravan is loaded not the tow vehicle. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 I'd agree with Mike above, it's scary how much of a difference loading can make. I was towing my 110 down to Wales behind the L322 and it was downright scary to begin with once I'd got up to about 45/50mph. I resorted to pulling over in some services and moved the 110 forward an inch (literally an inch). I was pretty sure I'd got the loading correct to begin with but I had to load it on a slight incline so had to use my judgement. Boy did it change how it towed, everything was nice and stable after that whereas one point before I was pretty sure I was going to lose it, luckily the Range Rover's seats have remained their same colour but it's unnerving how quickly things can deteriorate when an artic blasts past you. Equally astonishing is how much of a difference a measly inch can make. So I'd have a play with the loading set-up, on the return journey I even dropped the Range Rover's tow bracket down another notch which improved things even more, even though it was perfectly flat before, the very slight difference in nose weight made all the difference. Given on the 110 I tend to have the tow bracket on its lowest setting for our small trailers I'd assume that caravans are setup for being towed behind cars as well as 4x4s. Therefore a vehicle with a 3" lift may well be too high if the tow ball hasn't been lowered accordingly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 3, 2016 Author Share Posted December 3, 2016 The ride is just very bouncy and the landy wollows side to side. If the caravan goes over a bump then the landy is just up and down, up and down. Makes you feel sea sick. The caravan is loaded fine. And the tow ball is at the right height as i bought an extension plate to fit to the drop down tow hitch. Cheers for your help so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted December 3, 2016 Share Posted December 3, 2016 X Deflex? Anti roll bars would probably help quite a lot. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 7 hours ago, Ed Poore said: X Deflex? Anti roll bars would probably help quite a lot. Cheers. Ill start with that first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 It sounds to me your dampers are tired or your springs are to soft for towing. I run slightly stiffer springs (and standard dampers) as I do a lot of towing, granted they do hinder articulation off road a little but not enough to worry about. The X deflex may help but pm simonr on here designed them so can give you some insight as to how helpful they will be. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 The rear dampers are brand new and the springs are about 3 years old all round. Id rather not remove the lift and tyres as i use the landy for alot of off road work in fields and woodlands. I guess ill try putting some anti roll bars back on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 19 hours ago, Ed Poore said: X Deflex? Anti roll bars would probably help quite a lot. Not made yet for the td5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Really? I'm pretty sure Si's 110 double cab / pickup is a Td5 and he definitely had one fitted when I went laning with him a while back. Can you keep the lift but fit some more progressive / stiffer springs? I've always found 90s to be a bit bouncy on the road which is why I prefer 110s. What about some quickly adjustable dampers? I think I've got a set of Konis fitted to the rear of mine and you can adjust those pretty easily, stiffen them up when towing. Might be worth dropping Si a PM to confirm, he did the design but if I remember correctly sold that business to Foundry4x4. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 It says on their website that pre td5 is fine and they are still working on anything td5 and newer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 My guess is that you have +5" shocks on lent forward mounts, soft springs and a single axle caravan. Either some more expensive shocks that can better control the movement or some slightly stiffer springs would be my next move i think, or leave the mrs at home? will. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 3 minutes ago, muddy said: My guess is that you have +5" shocks on lent forward mounts, soft springs and a single axle caravan. Either some more expensive shocks that can better control the movement or some slightly stiffer springs would be my next move i think, or leave the mrs at home? will. Very true. +5 shocks, soft springs and a single axel caravan. Would it just be easier ifni just change it all back to standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Realistically with a decent set of spring compressors and an impact hammer how quickly could you change over springs? I reckon if done frequently (and therefore everything comes undone) then it's probably no more than an hour or twos work at most on your own. Depends on how often you change things over? Or just get an L322 for towing, they are awesome machines for that. You have your toy for off roading and the Mrs has a comfortable ride when caravanning ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 23 minutes ago, Ed Poore said: Realistically with a decent set of spring compressors and an impact hammer how quickly could you change over springs? I reckon if done frequently (and therefore everything comes undone) then it's probably no more than an hour or twos work at most on your own. Depends on how often you change things over? Or just get an L322 for towing, they are awesome machines for that. You have your toy for off roading and the Mrs has a comfortable ride when caravanning ? Its a work vehicle not so much an off roader. That would obv be the ideal situation to have another vehilce. But im running outnof space. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 Standard ish would undoubtedly make it better however if it's useless in the woods your back at square one, what do you actually do with it, what shocks and springs do you have and what wheels and tyres do you run? Do you tow anything else? will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 With the best will in the world I did ladoga on standard spring and shocks with 33's. In fact the only reason it has a lift now is because I fitted a fairy 525 and needed longer stiffer springs to cope with the weight which then caused the back to rub so I did the same there. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 (edited) 36 minutes ago, muddy said: Standard ish would undoubtedly make it better however if it's useless in the woods your back at square one, what do you actually do with it, what shocks and springs do you have and what wheels and tyres do you run? Do you tow anything else? will. We are a fencing company sonwork in fields ect. Need to get across rough terain. It has a 3inch procomp lift and 35inch tyres. On 15x10 steel rims. We also tow a twin axel flat bed and twin axel tipper Edited December 4, 2016 by Shutler1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Stiff springs and better dampers would be my bet... If the stiff springs are too short, fit spring spacers instead -its a compromise, but the while truck sounds like it is so.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I know where your coming from, done my fair share of dragging **** through fields. I use my 90 for RTV trailing mainly or towing ( usually full ifors ) but not every day so I put up with the poor damping of soft shocks on +5 mounts. If if I were in your position I'd want day to day handling and towing ability with maximum ground clearance priority with out and out off road ability second. Therefore I would fit the most open arches possible to keep the space for the 35's ( I like the ones from tomcat, like a straight piece of profiled rubber coming out from the top of the wheel arch) along with HD 90 springs assuming you have a winch say NRC9448 on the front 15.31" 225lb and NRC9462 15.25" 210/240lb and some old man emu +2" shocks on standard mounts with extended bump stops. You may or may not have to use some small spring spacers ~1" to level it up and or increase ride height slightly to accommodate the tyres although the afore mentioned arches should help. If you want a more off the shelf solution I would phone Gwynn Lewis and or Devon 4x4, both supply aftermarket springs that could be better for you, they have probably come across similar issues before. In my opinion losing 3" of articulation is going to make F A difference to hobby off-roading compared to the better handling, not to mention you have 35" tyres and can more than likely drive off road anyway if your used to towing 4 ton of ifor across the worse obstical known to man the gentle wet grass slope. Just my 2p will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I was thinking last night, is the lift for clearance issues or do you actually need the articulation? If the former then, if not already fitted, what is suggested above about trimming bodywork combined with tall tyres, standard (or at least lower) springs and dampers and locking diffs would be a better option. I will admit I don't push my 110 anywhere near as far as some people on here but probably significantly more than most. I've never really had an issue with articulation and that's with an anti-social bar fitted. What I'm looking at now is front and rear lockers as that's usually where it comes unstuck, or stuck... This is with HD springs, standard dampers and 32" tyres. Yes I have bottomed out the diffs but in 90% of those situations a locker would have got me out as at least one wheel usually has some traction. That might sort the off road side of things and then you could fall back to a more standard setup. You have to admit that LR did a decent job of making the compromises for a capable on and off road vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 Cheers everyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Loosing the lift will make a big difference. Its a common myth that a lift increases travel and capability.... they really don't! My old pro comp shocks were horrible and the 90 wallowed all over the place round corners, swapping over to the stiffer Old Man Emu shocks and keeping the same (genuine standard) springs made it handle FAR better. Much more stable in all situations. Even if you think its loaded properly... check again. Check the noseweight, the overall weight and where stuff is. Our current 'van and previous one need things packing differently to the previous ones due to the location of the hot water tank and onboard cold water tank/inboard pump (always empty when travelling too). We don't take anything unnecessary with us, but are still close to the MGW - even with melamine plates/mugs etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shutler1 Posted December 14, 2016 Author Share Posted December 14, 2016 Cheers all for your replys. I have decided to remove the lift and tyres and change it back to standard, but with larger tyres to fill the arches also wider as that is the look that I prefer. Cheers again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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