Hello, I've recently purchased a 2007 Range Rover Sport TDV8 after my Mercedes ML420 (with air suspension and the off road pro pack) was written off. I have a large trailer (EquiTrek Star Treka) that I will be towing on a semi regular basis. The car has been checked over by my local Land Rover specialist who said it was all in good condition and has just had an MOT so I believe it to be in good mechanical condition with no worn bushes or similar.

Having tried towing the trailer with the RRS it feels very unsettled at 60mph on dual carriageways with the car jiggling up and down. I have raised the tow ball from the height it came installed in which has helped and it is definitely not too low now but the car is significantly less composed than my ML was with the same trailer.

In the ML I could set the cruise control at 75mph and be comfortable (not that I am advocating towing at this speed and definitely not with horses on board but the car felt comfortable and controlled at this speed). With the RRS 60mph is the absolute maximum I would want to do and I feel uncomfortable at that speed due to the way the car moves around.

Does anyone have any suggestions to improve the way the car tows as I am disappointed since the towing is the one thing I thought the Range Rover ought to be better at. The car currently has 20" wheels and I am thinking smaller wheels with larger sidewalls will allow more flex and consequently smooth out the car since it feels like it is coming from the suspension being too stiff. If people think this is the case am I right in thinking 19" is the smallest I can go due to the (Brembo) brakes or will 18" fit? Or does anyone have any other ideas of things I can do?

Hi,
I dont think the side wall increase will make much difference for you unless you up the size as well (255/55/19)

I would check the tyre pressures and nose weight that you have, all our D3/D4/RRS and RRS dynamic tow superb and are rock steady, just back from Scotland with the tintent (single axle) and no issues

think only one type of special 18 fit and very rare

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Hi I once had same problems you are haveing
I had a new witter fixed towbar installed on my
Sport as it came with the detachable tow bar missing
And first time towing the caravan I noticed how unstable
It felt swaying rocking jumping about didn’t dare go over 50 mph
All the way Cornwall and back to stoke on Trent wasn’t impressed
With the way it was handling at all Couldn’t understand
How or what was causing it until I popped into the caravan service department
Explained to them what was happening and could I book caravan in to have it
Checked over the guy said to me go and buy a alco tow ball and bolt it to your tow bar
Sure enough he was right
Witter fitted standard tow ball different neck and height on alco tow ball
Been rock steady perfect since
Could you have non matching ball and hitch ??? Hope this helps No friends no favours

The tow ball on the RRS is a tad low and on a twin axle trailer this gives a very slightly nose down attitude. My TDV8 could also feel a tad wobbly with the standard removable ball. I put a Tow Trust bar on it - runs the ball higher - and it was fine. i moved the Tow Trust bar on to my later RRS and it feels fine too.

255/55/19 here (on both RRS). The TDV8 brakes won't fit in an 18 inch rim unless you buy the special Compomotive wheel. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

No problems towing here, everything from tri axle Brian James trailer and twin axle sterling tin tent. Always rock steady, i find tyre pressures make a big difference so i run them as per the fully loaded sticker in the door shut. I run 255/55/19. Hope this helps and welcome to the forum  2003 BMW M5 - 5 Litres of V8 Optimax Slurping Goodness in Carbon Black

2013 SDV6 HSE Black Edition- Orkney Grey with Ebony & Ivory. LR Facelift RAI, Genuine G4 Expedition Rack, 4x Warn SBD-160 Spotlights, Warn 9.5XPS Winch, Mantec Underbody Protection and Sump Guard, Full Easy Lift Suspension Module, LR Light Guards, Light Force HTX230 Hybrid spotlights, 18” Compomotive PD1881 on 265/65/18 BF Goodrich KO2, ARB fridge, TuffTrek awning 😎

Thanks for the replies. I adjusted the tyre pressures per the recommendations on the sticker inside the fuel flap before towing (to the lower of the two specified pressures since it was just me and the trailer). The car currently has 275/40/20 tyres (Pirelli P Zero Asymmetric).

The trailer runs approximately 150-180kg nose weight (tri axle 2 ton unladen 3.5 ton fully laden) but the nose weight is within the vehicles rating and cannot be changed no matter how you load the trailer due to the design of placing the axles at the back under the horse compartment.

It is a brand new Tow Trust fixed towbar and was supplied with a Maypole tow ball. The trailer is certainly not nose down although may be a fraction nose high (much better than when the tow ball was installed at the lower height and slightly nose down). I will try swapping it for a spare Witter tow ball which has a slightly shorter neck at the weekend and see if that is any better to bring the trailer to perfectly level.

I will look out for a set of 19 inch wheels (anyone wanting to sell some or swap for the 20 inch wheels please PM me) and see if this and changing the tow ball helps. I agree that from everything I have read it should tow well so will have to experiment some more and see how it goes.

What about your shocks, it's a 2007 RRS so if still original shocks and high mileage they'll likely be well past their best, especially if it's previously had a hard life of towing? Just because they pass inspection at MOT doesn't mean they're perfect under load.

I too can run a heavy trailer noseweight if I'm being careless for a short run, but providing I've got the correct tyre pressures then it's rock steady - it's the light noseweights that are unsettling, when I've plonked something on the back of the trailer. 13MY Range Rover Sport Autobiography SDV6 - mine
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99MY Defender 90 TD5, Soft Top Conversion - my toy, and bairns favourite

I'll bear the shocks in mind if nothing else works, however it has done 65000 miles and had neither a towbar nor trailer sockets fitted when I purchased it so I was hoping they would be alright.

Magic7 wrote:

I adjusted the tyre pressures per the recommendations on the sticker inside the fuel flap before towing (to the lower of the two specified pressures since it was just me and the trailer). The car currently has 275/40/20 tyres (Pirelli P Zero Asymmetric).

Who fitted your tow electrics? Did they update the CCF for towing? I’m pretty sure that when you plug into the towing socket, it detects it and turns off the reverse parking sensors and changes your suspension settings to reflect you have additional weight in tow. I had to add that I had tow electrics fitted and then select the correct version out of a choice of 5 I think it was. 2019 5.0 SC SVA (Current)
2012 5.0 SC AB. Sadly written off by a campervan
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1943 Whites M16 Halftrack (Current)
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I experienced similar issues towing 2t twin axles with MY10 and MY13 RRS - felt unstable if you went over 60 which I know is the speed limit and I had stabilisers

Previous Landcruiser towed twin axle like it was on rails without stabiliser and I may of hit 70 to 80 a few times when not concentrating on speedo

Never did get an answer and used to get back ache caused by tensing up when towing with RRS - so glad I'm finished with that now  Wanted a Series 2 LR since childhood but previously owned MY16 Disco Sport HSE TD4 Auto, MY13 RR Sport Black Edition TDV6 Auto, MY10 RR Sport HSE TDV6 Auto, 2007 Freelander 1 Freestyle TD4 Soft Top, 2009 Freelander 2 GS TD4 Auto, 2007 Freelander 2 GS TD4, 2004 Disco 2 Metropolis Auto, 2002 Disco 2 GS, 2000 Freelander 1 SE TD4 SW

Still hoping for a S2 one day!

insiorc wrote:

Magic7 wrote:

I adjusted the tyre pressures per the recommendations on the sticker inside the fuel flap before towing (to the lower of the two specified pressures since it was just me and the trailer). The car currently has 275/40/20 tyres (Pirelli P Zero Asymmetric).

I've just noticed this bit, I too have 275/40R20 tyres and just a few weeks ago I took the caravan a run and thought something was broke. It's a 1800kg gross twin axle that normally runs rock solid to the point I often forget it's behind me. I was on twisty North Scotland roads and the RRS was unsettling to say the least. Once I'd covered 200+ miles (it stabilised a bit when on normal roads) I realised I'd forgot to increase my tyre pressures from normal running pressure, so I topped them up to the max recommended pressure and what a transformation, I was back to forgetting it was behind me again (I cannot remember the pressures and I'm away from home so can't check).

Before you go looking for a problem, try pumping the tyres to the upper settings. A 150 - 180 noseweight is a lot especially with a full trailer/horsebox which then isn't a static weight when driving.

Exactly that  2003 BMW M5 - 5 Litres of V8 Optimax Slurping Goodness in Carbon Black

2013 SDV6 HSE Black Edition- Orkney Grey with Ebony & Ivory. LR Facelift RAI, Genuine G4 Expedition Rack, 4x Warn SBD-160 Spotlights, Warn 9.5XPS Winch, Mantec Underbody Protection and Sump Guard, Full Easy Lift Suspension Module, LR Light Guards, Light Force HTX230 Hybrid spotlights, 18” Compomotive PD1881 on 265/65/18 BF Goodrich KO2, ARB fridge, TuffTrek awning 😎