Hi All - I have a 2016 Range Rover HSE that I am looking to have a hitch added so I can pull a 2H bumper pull locally and I would be well within the towing capacity (7700lbs). Does anyone have any experience towing with a RR or have had a hitch added aftermarket? I am located in SE Pennsylvania, so any referrals would be greatly appreciated! I would like to add I would only be towing a handful of time per year, and buying a new vehicle is not feasible at this time.
Info here;
https://www.ownerinfo.landrover.com/model/LK/2016/document/18682_en_GBR
https://accessories.landrover.com/us/en/range-rover-2013-2021/carrying-towing/towing/
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As I recall, we had a very difficult time installing the brake controller. They do not have the factory installed wiring harness like most “trucks” have. Doesn’t mean it can’t be done, just a couple o hours longer.
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European trailers have integral brakes so no need to insert a break controller so no wiring harness as standard in a European vehicle. Might be a problem for USA trailering.
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You’re fine. Use weight distribution bars, get a good brake controller, and drive like you have some sense.
I pulled a 2H slant with a Jeep for YEARS and never had any problems.
I am pretty sure those are no longer legal in most US states.
(The trailer we had when I was a teenager had integral/surge break, and they worked fine for us)
My Bockmann trailer has inertial brakes, which don’t require a brake controller in the tow vehicle. Brenderups are similar.
(There was a time when surge brakes weren’t allowed on commercial trailers in the US, but that regulation was updated in 2007.)
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The Fautras, St. Georges and Equitrek trailers also have surge brakes. There is no brake controller because no electrical brake system is involved and no weight distribution bars.
I’ve never heard this. We’ve got surge breaks on horse and boat trailers and have never had of an issue. For commercially registered vehicles, if the trailer with surge breaks is over 12,000 lbs., there are rules about what the tow vehicle must weigh. However, I don’t know of any company putting surge breaks on a trailer that is larger than a 2-horse, so they should all be well under 12k anyway.
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Then I must have been misinformed.
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I wouldn’t use it. I looked up the specs on the vehicle and it is fairly light vehicle (4800lbs) which depending on your trailer and horse could be lighter than your load. It also only has a 115 inch wheel base which is fairly short.
I don’t think you’ll have a lot of stopping power or control. If you use it I think you are playing right on the edge of safety.
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Again. I hauled with a Jeep (2008 Grand Cherokee, 4.8 V8) for YEARS without issue, and I’m sure a 2016 Range Rover weighs more than my old-trusty. Use the distribution bars, get a good brake controller, and drive like you have a brain. Also - get a well-known trailer brand with a nice wide base and good balance to it.
This “need” for gigantic vehicles is an American phenomenon. I’m saying this as the owner of a 6600lb Cummins diesel, which pulls my 33’ gooseneck. I’ve had it both ways, and honestly the Jeep did just fine and was WAY handier in tight trailhead parking lots.
I never, literally never, with probably 80k miles of hauling with the Jeep and 2H slant, had an issue. Not on stops, not in snow, not on hills, nothing. Could it have used some more horsepower sometimes, for example a stop sign at the top of a hill? Sure. But it did the job, and I never had any drivetrain issues, nor issues with handling of the trailer.
Know how to set your brake controller for your rig, and the conditions.
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I know several people who use smaller vehicles to haul with. That said, 30 years ago, I was hauling w a Jeep and a Trailet empty in for service during a big storm on a freeway. The wind grabbed that trailer and blew us across two lanes of traffic. I’ll never forget it and I’ll never haul w less than a 250 now. It was probably a freak thing w water on the road, but if I’d had my horse w me… I had sway bars, too. I don’t wish to be controversial; I’m just sharing my real life, scared the socks off of me, experience.
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Have to agree that a Range Rover is too short in the wheelbase to keep control of a 2H Trailer. I know (not friend of a friend thing) a couple folks who ignored advice, used Jeeps to pull with. They kept bringing up how they NEVER had any issues towing! That went on for a couple years, they drove a lot of mIles in various terrain. One hauled only one horse, the other always pulled two horses in her trailer. And then within a short time frame both drivers, in seperate accidents, wrecked while towing.
The single horse owner got slapped with backwash as a semi passed her, thrown off the road and rolled the whole outfit into the ditch.
The other driver got distracted, went onto the road edge, braked hard, trailer started swaying and lost control. She went into the ditch too, but only tipped Jeep and trailer onto their sides.
Horses were injured, one died of injuries, the other two never fully recovered to be used much. Owners kicked themselves over that, but they made the poor choices over good advice from several other knowledgeable horse haulers. Very HARD not to say “told you so!” but we resisted!
They were driving bigger Jeeps. Both said the trailer started “wagging the dog”, they could not control the steering or slow fast enough to regain control. Happened too fast. They HAD sway bars, good hitches.
Chassis length does have a big influence in trailer control, which dealers may not even be aware of when they sell you a tow vehicle. Sales folk have been exceedingly ignorant when my friends and I go truck shopping. They throw towing weight numbers around with no concept of how the load affects control and stopping ability. Very scary talking to them!!
Some folks get away with terrible towing combinations for years. Other folks don’t. I always look at worst case scenarios. Can I stop in a reasonable space when idiot in little car pulls out RIGHT in front of me, then signals left turn? I am already going 55mph with two 1400# horses behind. Can I control truck and loaded trailer as a semi with 2 trailers blows by me at faster than speed limit on the Interstate? That is a LOT of backwash to hit you! Have to say my air horns and dual wheels have saved us from several accidents! Air horns were one of my better birthday gifts!
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Just because you can, does not mean you should.
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You don’t need a Freightliner to pull a 2H trailer.
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You can’t state this as fact without knowing what they’re hauling and where.
I have a friend who has a older steel two horse with drafts that would kill you or blow the motor out of your 1/2 ton. Her empty2 horse trailer weighed more than my 2 horse with a loaded horse! Not all 2 horse trailers can be towed by all half tons and not all half tons or SUVs can tow.
Having been pushed through a stop light with my well equipped truck and trailer I am surprised that you’ve never had an issue.
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I prefer to haul with my daily driver, so I bought a European style trailer (a Brenderup). It is the perfect rig for me.
I’ve pulled it with three different Jeep Grand Cherokees (5.7L V8 Hemi, factory installed tow package, rated for 7200 lbs.), and a Dodge Durango Tow N Go Edition (5.7L V8 hemi, rated for 8700 lbs.).
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Mine was one of those crummy steel frame/aluminum skin Sundowner trailers (2005?). I’ve since sold it, but it was no ultra light.
I set my brakes appropriately, it was a proportional controller, I maintained that trailer religiously (brakes, brakes, brakes). My biggest complaint I guess would be that wind-pull that a semi can give you on the highway. But my Cummins and 33’ trailer does the same thing, so it has nothing to do with rig/tow vehicle.
And before we go there… my Cummins also has the longest wheelbase available, so it’s not that, either.
Is hauling with an SUV an ideal scenario? No, it’s not. But is it 100% doable, and the only thing affordable for a lot of horse owners? Absolutely. No rig is fail safe from accidents. Maintain your stuff, buy quality hitch/brake controller/trailer, and it’s fine for 99.9% of scenarios, so long as the driver has a brain.
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