First of all … you are one of the most articulate and knowledgeable TH-camrs I have seen. I have a 2024 Defender 130 and started to attach our 6X12 cargo trailer and quickly backed away from doing so because I was afraid that the trailer jack might get into the external wheel with cover. I may have to relook that issue or look to convert to a swing jack. Thank you so much for your video. It was very informative.
Glad you enjoyed! Most outlets simply say "it tows X,XXX lbs" and don't actually share how well it does that. We're trying to be helpful for those who rely on reviews to make an informed purchase decision as dealerships won't usually let you hook up a trailer for a test drive.
@@OutMotorsports Agree. I'm moving from a 2500 Ram diesel used to tow a well-built but heavy rock-crawling Jeep (9k lbs trailer&jeep), to something more comfortable on the road that can tow an enclosed trailer with a motorcycle (3k total) so this was helpful.
And that is the only correct way to connect the safety chains! The Defender’s hitch receiver didn’t have big enough holes for the trailer chains, so we used the recovery hooks as a one-time thing. Would have to use smaller (appropriately rated) hooks or bore out the holes on the receiver if we owned a Defender to tow with.
I have a 2012 sport supercharged and tow my 24 foot travel trailer (7800 lbs) all over the western half of the country, i constantly forget its back there, the one and only drawback is stopping for fuel every 200 miles. Other than that. its amazing. Last month we were in Yellowstone, all the mountain passes were easy for the RRS, extra power on even the steepest grades : ) I use a anti sway setup, no weight distribution, clamp on mirror extenders, and sport mode, ive found it functions similar to tow mode.Hopefully the new defender, and new Range Rovers in general are as impressive.
I read last night the landrover inline 6 produces max torque at 2000 rpms sorta like a diesel does. I assume that means it would tow like a diesel except mpg wise. It should be smooth and quiet running at low rpms like a diesel. I don't remember, did this guy address that? I would like to hear/see a towing comparison with the gas and the diesel versions.
I have 13,000 miles on my 2020 Land Rover Defender. I pull a Lance Travel Trailer ( 10ft tall, 8 1/2 wide and 6000# GVW). Box of trailer is 22 ft. I am using a weight distributing hitch. I live in Colorado and pull the trailer routinely over 11,500 ft mountain passes. I also pull it 30 miles on dirt/rocky roads to get to National Forest Campgrounds. Also have camped on BLM land with large sagebrush and yucca to drive over. I have had a perfect experience so far. Even had a trailer tire blow out while going down the road and was even hard to tell-double axle trailer. Also had a front tire on Defender go down while pulling trailer and the Defender Tire Monitoring let me know. No excitement with either situation. I just got back from Moab and did 3 full days of the most difficult trails with a Land Rover Group. Also got 21.5 mpg driving there, I race cars so traveling there was not slow. Pulling trailer gets about 12 mpg driving 65mph range. I had a Land Rover LR4 before the Defender and it did well, but the Defender makes towing so much better. I also have not had a single problem with the Defender so far. I is also a very quiet and comfortable cruiser and daily driver. So far, so good. Just wanted to share real world experience.
That’s some fantastic real world experience! Sounds like about the same trailer size as what we have, maybe a bit taller. Glad it is working out for you!
Hello, would you have a solution for my problem :The “eyes” for the trailer’s safety chains are impossibly small, far too small for the safety chain hooks on my trailer. I suspect anyone with a trailer approaching the 8,201 pound capacity of the Defender would have that issue. LR does not offer me any solution
That’s a pretty impressive vehicle to be towing your trailer. Shame about some of the deficits but given most won’t be towing that size and weight doesn’t seem like too big of a deal, but then why validate that weight in the first place. Weird.
The tongue weight thing is a European "problem" in general, their towing laws/standards are different over there which means we get goofy (to us) tongue weight limitations. It would take quite the large open trailer to bump up on a 7500-8000 pound number but it's sure possible. We're glad it handled the enclosed as well as it did, as off-roady owners may want to pull similarly-shaped campers with theirs.
Great towing review!! We would like to consider this SUV. We have a 26' airstream (26 feet coupler to bumper), 6k lbs dry weight. We do a lot of climbing, camping etc. I'm surprised Land Rover doesn't want a weight distribution hitch. Thanks for your thoughts!
Thanks Jonathan! 26' from coupler to taillights would be about as long as I'd be comfortable with. WDH is probably okay despite Land Rover saying no officially, Europe is weird about hitches and towing laws so WD is not generally allowed there and thus "not allowed" per owners' manuals.
Sorry, it's mentioned in the video but will make a note to add to the description too! It's an aluminum-frame CargoPro, 20' box and 4' v-nose. Base weight is 2,650ish, plus cabinets, tires, tools, etc and then whatever car is inside. With Jake's E36 M3 loaded up, it's about 6500-6800 lbs depending what else is tossed in there.
Re:Saftey chains keep some high tensile shackles and a few short pieces of chain in your trunk, can put them on the tow hitch problem solved! I have to do that with my cayenne
My goodness are you thinking of pull the titanic back to the surface with those safety chain hooks. Simply get weight rated d links much smaller and probably what the hitch was designed around.
They're what the trailer came with when it was built in 2005 🤔 Can definitely downsize, though the Defender is truly the only tow vehicle we've ever used that could support the weight but not these safety chain hooks. That includes Jake's daily-driven Porsche Cayenne. So, kinda odd.
You can have electric brakes added to one or both axles of the trailer. With that kind of weight you absolutely need brakes on there. Find a local trailer shop and they can get you set up - will need to have the brakes installed and then a brake controller on the Defender. You can do a hard-wired controller like a Prodigy P3 (you'll need a different wiring harness, the Ford one mayyyy work but verify that): amzn.to/3RV26lC Or you can do a wireless controller like I used, the Prodigy RF: amzn.to/4cLTkyk
@@OutMotorsports If you have limited tongue weight capacity, and an 8000lb trailer, the only logical solution is a proper weight distribution system, which also helps with trailer sway issues and compensates for a soft rear suspension on most SUVs. I'm curious why Land Rover would recommend against it.
@@brettsonderby4329 I called Land Rover America and they said no to the weight distribution hitch. They said the computer system can compensate for sway and such. I’m trying to figure out the brake controller myself.
It does not have a brake controller built-in. We used a Tekonsha Prodigy RF, which goes in-line between the truck and trailer's 7-pin connector and works wirelessly otherwise: amzn.to/3doC8So
Great video answers some of my questions. I'm still confused though that LR says the tow bar is designed for 350kg but tongue weight varies from 150kg -190kg only on the L663 New Defender. Do you have any informationor test if we can load the towbar irght up to 350kg without running into any issues? Thanks
According to Land Rover USA's website, the 2023 Defender 110 can tow 8,201 pounds (3719 kg) with a tongue weight of 771 pounds (349 kg) - those numbers are the same as on all other United States-spec L663s. Not sure where you are seeing a 150-190 kg maximum rating for the L663?
I found the figure from LR UK website, build a new Defender. Either in options Towing or WLTP figure(pdf when you select engine) it will say 150kg nose weight. The link above then explain a bit more on this figure. So 150kg is "certified" with 100kg extra payload under EU test criteria or designed to be 350kg nose weight. I'm still a little confused and hope US has a better translation of this price of information.
Ok, TH-cam doesn't allow me to paste the link direct. If you Google "new Defender nose weight" ther should be a ownerinfo result available from Landover website. I can't paste it here direct. There is a bit more info regarding the nose weight of each type of towbar with certified load and design load..
I’m looking at getting a toy hauler. The one I have my eye on right now is 28’3” long and weighs 5,189 lbs. Do you think this is to much for the Defender or can it handle it just fine.
That's a LOT of length for the Defender assuming the 28' length is the length of the box itself (overall length would be longer to include the trailer tongue etc). Toy haulers tend to sit a bit higher as well, from what we know. You'd be okay weight-wise but it'd be a bigger sail in the wind than what we towed. If the box itself is 28' we'd recommend a half-ton truck at a minimum. If the overall length (including tongue) is 28' that may work out better. The trailer in this video is 27' nose to tail, including tongue.
Same! But Americans don't buy (and manufacturers don't offer) much in the way of diesels. The VW Dieselgate thing - which was not ultimately just a VW/Audi problem - really impacted perception here.
@@OutMotorsports same here. I recond it would pull trailers easy. I was told they really sink you back in your seat. It's the range Rover engine just detuned 55 hp. I'm glad I found your channel. Nobody does a tow video with the defender.
@@melpeddle7243 Thanks! We try to tow with everything that has a hitch because most outlets simply don't. The 3.0 I6 in this Defender we drove had plenty of power/torque, the V8 would definitely do it with a bit more ease, but the six wasn't strained either. If they have a Defender V8 in the local fleet, we will absolutely try to tow with one.
@@melpeddle7243 Land Rover rates the Defender 110 (with I6) at 8,201 pounds. The Defender 90 is rated at 7,716 pounds. Looks like the V8 will only be in the Defender 110 and is rated for 7,716 pounds, for whatever reason. We'll have to ask Land Rover why that is.
First of all … you are one of the most articulate and knowledgeable TH-camrs I have seen. I have a 2024 Defender 130 and started to attach our 6X12 cargo trailer and quickly backed away from doing so because I was afraid that the trailer jack might get into the external wheel with cover. I may have to relook that issue or look to convert to a swing jack. Thank you so much for your video. It was very informative.
Thank you! So glad the video was helpful!
Thanks for doing a much-needed towing review of the Defender.
Glad you enjoyed! Most outlets simply say "it tows X,XXX lbs" and don't actually share how well it does that. We're trying to be helpful for those who rely on reviews to make an informed purchase decision as dealerships won't usually let you hook up a trailer for a test drive.
@@OutMotorsports Agree. I'm moving from a 2500 Ram diesel used to tow a well-built but heavy rock-crawling Jeep (9k lbs trailer&jeep), to something more comfortable on the road that can tow an enclosed trailer with a motorcycle (3k total) so this was helpful.
This was the test I wanted to see. I have a 13 foot Intech of-road camp trailer, and I wondered how a Defender would handle it. Thanks for posting.
Thing this has such a road presence! Especially seeing it up next to other vehicles.
It does! And it’s WAY bigger than you might think from photos online.
I was always taught to criss-cross the chains, so if the hitch falls off, it catches in the chain cross.
And that is the only correct way to connect the safety chains! The Defender’s hitch receiver didn’t have big enough holes for the trailer chains, so we used the recovery hooks as a one-time thing. Would have to use smaller (appropriately rated) hooks or bore out the holes on the receiver if we owned a Defender to tow with.
I have a 2012 sport supercharged and tow my 24 foot travel trailer (7800 lbs) all over the western half of the country, i constantly forget its back there, the one and only drawback is stopping for fuel every 200 miles. Other than that. its amazing. Last month we were in Yellowstone, all the mountain passes were easy for the RRS, extra power on even the steepest grades : ) I use a anti sway setup, no weight distribution, clamp on mirror extenders, and sport mode, ive found it functions similar to tow mode.Hopefully the new defender, and new Range Rovers in general are as impressive.
What was the mpg. Whilst towing the trailer
finally someone towing with a defender!
But still the Discovery 5 with the TD6 is the best choice if you want to tow with a Land Rover.
I read last night the landrover inline 6 produces max torque at 2000 rpms sorta like a diesel does. I assume that means it would tow like a diesel except mpg wise. It should be smooth and quiet running at low rpms like a diesel. I don't remember, did this guy address that? I would like to hear/see a towing comparison with the gas and the diesel versions.
I have 13,000 miles on my 2020 Land Rover Defender. I pull a Lance Travel Trailer ( 10ft tall, 8 1/2 wide and 6000# GVW). Box of trailer is 22 ft. I am using a weight distributing hitch. I live in Colorado and pull the trailer routinely over 11,500 ft mountain passes. I also pull it 30 miles on dirt/rocky roads to get to National Forest Campgrounds. Also have camped on BLM land with large sagebrush and yucca to drive over. I have had a perfect experience so far. Even had a trailer tire blow out while going down the road and was even hard to tell-double axle trailer. Also had a front tire on Defender go down while pulling trailer and the Defender Tire Monitoring let me know. No excitement with either situation. I just got back from Moab and did 3 full days of the most difficult trails with a Land Rover Group. Also got 21.5 mpg driving there, I race cars so traveling there was not slow. Pulling trailer gets about 12 mpg driving 65mph range. I had a Land Rover LR4 before the Defender and it did well, but the Defender makes towing so much better. I also have not had a single problem with the Defender so far. I is also a very quiet and comfortable cruiser and daily driver. So far, so good. Just wanted to share real world experience.
That’s some fantastic real world experience! Sounds like about the same trailer size as what we have, maybe a bit taller. Glad it is working out for you!
Which engine do you have?
3.0 liter in line 6. Mild hybrid turbocharged and supercharged. Over 400 hp and torque.
@@brianaustin1328 Funny how America can get a V8 gas, but not a V6 diesel. I guess politics aren't supposed to make sense.
Which model Lance do you have? Im in the market to pair one with my Defender
Couldn't you use the outside cameras on threw the infotainment to monitor the trailer?
Hello, would you have a solution for my problem :The “eyes” for the trailer’s safety chains are impossibly small, far too small for the safety chain hooks on my trailer. I suspect anyone with a trailer approaching the 8,201 pound capacity of the Defender would have that issue. LR does not offer me any solution
That’s a pretty impressive vehicle to be towing your trailer. Shame about some of the deficits but given most won’t be towing that size and weight doesn’t seem like too big of a deal, but then why validate that weight in the first place. Weird.
The tongue weight thing is a European "problem" in general, their towing laws/standards are different over there which means we get goofy (to us) tongue weight limitations. It would take quite the large open trailer to bump up on a 7500-8000 pound number but it's sure possible. We're glad it handled the enclosed as well as it did, as off-roady owners may want to pull similarly-shaped campers with theirs.
Great towing review!! We would like to consider this SUV. We have a 26' airstream (26 feet coupler to bumper), 6k lbs dry weight. We do a lot of climbing, camping etc. I'm surprised Land Rover doesn't want a weight distribution hitch. Thanks for your thoughts!
Thanks Jonathan! 26' from coupler to taillights would be about as long as I'd be comfortable with. WDH is probably okay despite Land Rover saying no officially, Europe is weird about hitches and towing laws so WD is not generally allowed there and thus "not allowed" per owners' manuals.
wow finally someone doing a video on what us race guys want to know
Thanks Collin! Glad you appreciated it - nobody else was doing these videos so I figured I should ;-)
What does your trailer weigh? You should put that in your description in the future
Sorry, it's mentioned in the video but will make a note to add to the description too! It's an aluminum-frame CargoPro, 20' box and 4' v-nose. Base weight is 2,650ish, plus cabinets, tires, tools, etc and then whatever car is inside. With Jake's E36 M3 loaded up, it's about 6500-6800 lbs depending what else is tossed in there.
@@OutMotorsports Do you know the tongue weight of the trailer loaded and unloaded?
Re:Saftey chains keep some high tensile shackles and a few short pieces of chain in your trunk, can put them on the tow hitch problem solved! I have to do that with my cayenne
Great idea!
My goodness are you thinking of pull the titanic back to the surface with those safety chain hooks. Simply get weight rated d links much smaller and probably what the hitch was designed around.
They're what the trailer came with when it was built in 2005 🤔 Can definitely downsize, though the Defender is truly the only tow vehicle we've ever used that could support the weight but not these safety chain hooks. That includes Jake's daily-driven Porsche Cayenne. So, kinda odd.
My horse trailer weighs about 4800 loaded and does not have a braking system. I drive this exact vehicle. What would my options be for breaking?
You can have electric brakes added to one or both axles of the trailer. With that kind of weight you absolutely need brakes on there. Find a local trailer shop and they can get you set up - will need to have the brakes installed and then a brake controller on the Defender.
You can do a hard-wired controller like a Prodigy P3 (you'll need a different wiring harness, the Ford one mayyyy work but verify that):
amzn.to/3RV26lC
Or you can do a wireless controller like I used, the Prodigy RF:
amzn.to/4cLTkyk
Thanks so much for the reply!
How heavy was your trailer on this video? Thanks Kenny ( Sorry If I missed it in the video )
Roughly 6,800 pounds
Great video but your auto focus was making me sic during portions of hte video. Might want to check your gear.
Need to use a weight distribution hitch.
Not recommended by Land Rover, otherwise we would have!
@@OutMotorsports If you have limited tongue weight capacity, and an 8000lb trailer, the only logical solution is a proper weight distribution system, which also helps with trailer sway issues and compensates for a soft rear suspension on most SUVs.
I'm curious why Land Rover would recommend against it.
@@brettsonderby4329 I called Land Rover America and they said no to the weight distribution hitch. They said the computer system can compensate for sway and such. I’m trying to figure out the brake controller myself.
What is the name of the silver color of the defender you are testing
Pretty sure it was Eiger Gray.
Good job. Very informative.
Thanks John, glad it was helpful!
Does the Defender have an integrated brake controller? What did you use for a brake controller??
It does not have a brake controller built-in. We used a Tekonsha Prodigy RF, which goes in-line between the truck and trailer's 7-pin connector and works wirelessly otherwise:
amzn.to/3doC8So
Great video answers some of my questions. I'm still confused though that LR says the tow bar is designed for 350kg but tongue weight varies from 150kg -190kg only on the L663 New Defender. Do you have any informationor test if we can load the towbar irght up to 350kg without running into any issues? Thanks
According to Land Rover USA's website, the 2023 Defender 110 can tow 8,201 pounds (3719 kg) with a tongue weight of 771 pounds (349 kg) - those numbers are the same as on all other United States-spec L663s. Not sure where you are seeing a 150-190 kg maximum rating for the L663?
I found the figure from LR UK website, build a new Defender. Either in options Towing or WLTP figure(pdf when you select engine) it will say 150kg nose weight.
The link above then explain a bit more on this figure. So 150kg is "certified" with 100kg extra payload under EU test criteria or designed to be 350kg nose weight.
I'm still a little confused and hope US has a better translation of this price of information.
Ok, TH-cam doesn't allow me to paste the link direct. If you Google "new Defender nose weight" ther should be a ownerinfo result available from Landover website. I can't paste it here direct. There is a bit more info regarding the nose weight of each type of towbar with certified load and design load..
Hey can you test the 90 towing the same trailer?
Got one coming on Wednesday, actually! Stay tuned.
I’m looking at getting a toy hauler. The one I have my eye on right now is 28’3” long and weighs 5,189 lbs. Do you think this is to much for the Defender or can it handle it just fine.
That's a LOT of length for the Defender assuming the 28' length is the length of the box itself (overall length would be longer to include the trailer tongue etc). Toy haulers tend to sit a bit higher as well, from what we know. You'd be okay weight-wise but it'd be a bigger sail in the wind than what we towed. If the box itself is 28' we'd recommend a half-ton truck at a minimum. If the overall length (including tongue) is 28' that may work out better. The trailer in this video is 27' nose to tail, including tongue.
what do you think about a velar towing a trailer?
Depends, what size trailer and how much weight?
Hey thanks for the video. What was the max payload for the Defender?
8,201ponds I think he said.
@@melpeddle7243 that's towing, I'm taking payload. Like how many pounds can it carry?
@@FC2ESWS sorry. I only no the 2015 you could carry 1.3 tonne. I can't seem to find any specs of the new one.
Would love to have the diesel version :((
and see the trailer parking assist in action…
Same! But Americans don't buy (and manufacturers don't offer) much in the way of diesels. The VW Dieselgate thing - which was not ultimately just a VW/Audi problem - really impacted perception here.
@@OutMotorsports diesel pickups are still selling and the vans like the sprinter are diesel too 🤷🏻♂️
this same land rover defender has in serbia
What would you say to the v8 supercharged version. 540 hp stock.
It sounds hilarious and we want to drive one *badly*.
@@OutMotorsports same here. I recond it would pull trailers easy. I was told they really sink you back in your seat. It's the range Rover engine just detuned 55 hp. I'm glad I found your channel. Nobody does a tow video with the defender.
@@melpeddle7243 Thanks! We try to tow with everything that has a hitch because most outlets simply don't. The 3.0 I6 in this Defender we drove had plenty of power/torque, the V8 would definitely do it with a bit more ease, but the six wasn't strained either. If they have a Defender V8 in the local fleet, we will absolutely try to tow with one.
@@OutMotorsports thanks do you no what wieght it can carry. ??As the old defender you could legally carry 1.3 tonne. Thanks again
@@melpeddle7243 Land Rover rates the Defender 110 (with I6) at 8,201 pounds. The Defender 90 is rated at 7,716 pounds. Looks like the V8 will only be in the Defender 110 and is rated for 7,716 pounds, for whatever reason. We'll have to ask Land Rover why that is.
8,200 pounds?! Wow!
Ye land rovers have always been work vehicles in the UK which is why the capacities are so high.
She's a beauty.
So much complex technology. I can't imagine taking this out into the bush and fixing it with a hammer.
Thankfully 99% of buyers will be able to take it to a Land Rover dealership or indie shop if it needs work done!
@@OutMotorsports land rovers were mainly work vehicles so the business that is using it can just call up their local dealer if they have any issues.
luckily what you're looking for is much cheaper lol.
My God! A turbo hybrid developed by Jaguar and Land Rover? Towing? 😂 😂 😂
Yessir! Turbo *supercharged* hybrid, even!