Range Rover Sport

blinddog · 24 February 2008, 16:56

My mate's bent his Range Rover Sports Chassis, its on 07 plate.
He goes back to Range Rover dealership and says what you gonna do about this,
Range Rover have now pointed out in the small print that they are not designed to be used offroad with more than 1000kg towing.
This means offroad as slipways, Horse boxes in fields etc.
My mate has now written to 5th gear and Top Gear to see if they will take it on,
What do you guys think?

jwalker · 24 February 2008, 17:00

Quote:

What do you guys think?

Always read the small print.

osprey__viper · 24 February 2008, 17:59

Its there in black and white in the handbook, under towing section. 750kg off road with a braked trailer

blinddog · 24 February 2008, 18:06

So we'll be crossing that one off the Christmas list then.
The chassis is all bent where the tow bar attaches,

codprawn · 24 February 2008, 19:15

i didn't know they had a proper chassis any more - thought it was just a subframe???

I suspect most of these modern offroaders are going to be the same. That's why I always say you NEED a proper chassis and beam axles. Imagine using a KERR on a stupid screw in towing eye!!!

It could be the fault of the towbar maker as well if the "chassis" is only buckled at the one point.

As a matter of interest what exactly was he towing and how offroad was it???

osprey__viper · 24 February 2008, 19:50

The RRS has a proper chassis and an integrated body frame bolted to it.

The tow hitch assy is either a plug in QR type or fixed multi height. Either way it uses the same fixing for both.

Under what circumstances did the chassis bend???

Codders, beam axles are so last century. Bet I can get a standerd Discovery 3 further than your D2 / Defender

Limey Linda · 24 February 2008, 20:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by osprey__viper

Codders, beam axles are so last century. Bet I can get a standerd Discovery 3 further than your D2 / Defender

Have to agree with Codders on this one. Beam axles are a good all round system. One one wheel goes up the other side goes down by the same amount and providing you have locking front hubs and rear dif. you always have 3 driving wheels on the ground. It is a heavier system though but is not significant on my 3/4 ton Surburban.

blinddog · 24 February 2008, 20:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

i didn't know they had a proper chassis any more - thought it was just a subframe???

I suspect most of these modern offroaders are going to be the same. That's why I always say you NEED a proper chassis and beam axles. Imagine using a KERR on a stupid screw in towing eye!!!

It could be the fault of the towbar maker as well if the "chassis" is only buckled at the one point.

As a matter of interest what exactly was he towing and how offroad was it???

Codders
He races offroad quads all over the country,has a large trailer with a number of different quads for different set ups.

The total is over 1000kgs.
All depends where the pits are set up, could just be a beach race or could be up mountains.
He just traded a new Disco 3 to get the RRS, The Disco had to be replaced after 6 months electrical problems,
He didnt rate the D3 at all, he said prefered his old D2.

the bandit · 24 February 2008, 20:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinddog

My mate's bent his Range Rover Sports Chassis, its on 07 plate.
He goes back to Range Rover dealership and says what you gonna do about this,
Range Rover have now pointed out in the small print that they are not designed to be used offroad with more than 1000kg towing.
This means offroad as slipways, Horse boxes in fields etc.
My mate has now written to 5th gear and Top Gear to see if they will take it on,
What do you guys think?

So how did he do it? I drive a RR and tow a 34 foot boat trailer and it all works mighty fine

blinddog · 24 February 2008, 20:24

But you dont tow your boat in rough fields do you.
The problem seems to be when towing proper offroad.

osprey__viper · 24 February 2008, 20:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Limey Linda

Have to agree with Codders on this one. Beam axles are a good all round system. One one wheel goes up the other side goes down by the same amount and providing you have locking front hubs and rear dif. you always have 3 driving wheels on the ground. It is a heavier system though but is not significant on my 3/4 ton Surburban.

Yes but I am talking standerd cars here. If you want to go the modified route even better

Limey Linda · 24 February 2008, 20:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by osprey__viper

Yes but I am talking standerd cars here. If you want to go the modified route even better

Mine is standard, not modified. Agreed the locking dif. is an option but at least 50% of 4x4's are sold with it.
There are situations where all round inde. suspension can leave you "hanging" on two diagonaly apposed wheels.

codprawn · 25 February 2008, 02:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by osprey__viper

The RRS has a proper chassis and an integrated body frame bolted to it.

The tow hitch assy is either a plug in QR type or fixed multi height. Either way it uses the same fixing for both.

Under what circumstances did the chassis bend???

Codders, beam axles are so last century. Bet I can get a standerd Discovery 3 further than your D2 / Defender

I doubt that very much. Remember a Defender now has traction control. I can get my knee under the sill of a Defender - no chance on a Disco of any description!!!

Watch extreme rock crawling and you will see why solid axles are still king.........

Jono · 25 February 2008, 09:12

For serious towing "off-road" you need a properly articulating vehicle/trailer hitch..like wot dem ham-fisted Squaddies use....then you can really abuse yer truck

osprey__viper · 25 February 2008, 12:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono

For serious towing "off-road" you need a properly articulating vehicle/trailer hitch..like wot dem ham-fisted Squaddies use....then you can really abuse yer truck

That will be a NATO hitch then

codprawn · 25 February 2008, 12:32

Yup they are great when a VW Golf slams into you as well..........

Bigmuz7 · 08 March 2008, 23:17

Is it one of these 'demountable' towing brackets ?, cos if it is, this may be why the load restriction is placed on it, I have a feeling they are ok in a straight line, but once you start towing heavy loads with them at odd angles, the forces on the ball will exceed the capacity of the structure somehow. I have one, on my X5 and looked at it in wonder, at how it deals with the loads placed upon it!! as it is basically a U shaped one piece unit, meaning the ball is 6 inches or so from the chassis it slots into

BogMonster · 10 March 2008, 16:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Yup they are great when a VW Golf slams into you as well..........

Or a Mitsubishi Shogun Sport - a couple of years ago I stopped quickly at a junction, bit of a crunch and the Discovery shuddered. Got out for a look to see a Mitsubishi with a six inch hole right through its front bumper and bits of plastic hanging off - not a mark on the Discovery at all - my NATO hitch sticks out quite a long way. Guy was full of apologies which weren't needed as I was PMSL at the complete lack of damage to my vehicle considering the state of the front of his

Bigmuz7 · 11 March 2008, 00:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by BogMonster

Or a Mitsubishi Shogun Sport - a couple of years ago I stopped quickly at a junction, bit of a crunch and the Discovery shuddered. Got out for a look to see a Mitsubishi with a six inch hole right through its front bumper and bits of plastic hanging off - not a mark on the Discovery at all - my NATO hitch sticks out quite a long way. Guy was full of apologies which weren't needed as I was PMSL at the complete lack of damage to my vehicle considering the state of the front of his

Did he have to fly 2000 miles to get it fixed

Leapy · 21 November 2009, 16:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

I didn't know they had a proper chassis any more - thought it was just a subframe???

The Range Rover Sport is simply a Disco 3/4 with a different body. It's a monocoque shell on top of a seperate chassis. It's the Range Rover (as launched by BMW) that's the monocoque with subframes.

I understand the various comments about live axles and wheel articulation...however, in modern 4X4 thinking there is more to wheel articulation and grip than just the brawn of live axles. Electronics play such a large part that when coupled with the flexibility of independant air springs all new avenues of ability are opened

Just picked up a 3 litre diesel auto Disco 4...a great step forward over the Disco 3. Acceleration is now strong, refinement is much better, fuel economy looks slightly better and the interior is in a completely different up market world. At the moment though I prefer the nose/grille treatment of the Disco 3. Lots of nice new features like reversing cameras too..makes trailer coupling much easier