Hello all,
Currently in to second week of ownership, learning more about the car and still very impressed, however....

I have been on two journeys towing with the RR and am hoping I am doing something wrong as it really has been a horrible experience!! My previous FFRR (l322) towed like a dream but this one doesn't just doesn't seem to cope as well and is significantly worse with the trailer empty. It just feels like the car is getting shoved around by the trailer all the time. Any slight lump or bump in the road means the car (FF) gets shoved back and forth almost shifting me in my seat.

I am not sure what I am doing wrong and hoping this isn't normal. I have setup all details in the computer such as width, length between certain points but believe this information is only gathered to aid the reversing camera etc (is that right?). I have noticed that the actual tow ball (electrically deployed) is a bit closer to the body than I remember on the old one - not sure if that is significant? Could the tow ball height be different and be affecting the ride? The trailer I tow is a Brian James Race Transporter 4 - unladen weight is about 1 ton, when loaded it is around 2.3 tons all in. I have not changed anything on trailer but just can't understand why ride would be so different between the two cars. Any thoughts/input would be much appreciated.
Thanks in advance

From what you describe it could be a number of things. I would be checking stuff you mention like height of the towball, weight on the towball both laden and unladen. I might also be tempted to get the car 4 wheel aligned and check all the suspension bushes for wear.

Also, what tyres are you running? (make and size) Any uneven wear on any of them?

Presumably, since you mention the electrically deployable towbar you now have a L405? Your profile still shows a 2011 L322 TDV8. Assuming L405 you can't really adjust the height of the towball on the electric unit, you would need a farmer's hitch to do that but if it is wrong for the trailer you will get more load on one trailer axle than the other which is never good for stability. If this is the case then fixing it will be problematic. Possibly tweak the air suspension values for ride height if it's not too far out but we're talking millimetres there. The farmer's hitch does give you 3 ride heights which might suit better.

I have the electrically deployable tow hitch and use it regularly to tow an Ifor Williams horse trailer and have never experienced any problems. Maybe checking your wheel alignment is a good place to start.

It certainly sounds strange - I didn't notice any difference switching over.

Mine is a boat trailer, so hardly weighs anything empty, but probably in the 2.5 ton range laden.

Dimensions must be something to do with the cameras - I have the electric towball but not surround cameras - and nowhere do I enter the trailer dimensions.

It sounds to me like you have some sort of issue with the trailer brakes - getting a shove in the back usually means the cable has some slack in it, so you get a shove before the brakes start to engage.

It would be worth checking the trailer out by towing it with another vehicle just to eliminate that and confirm that nothing has changed with it.

As above, hitch height sounds most likely.

Apologies, updated profile now but yes it is an L405 on 21" wheels. No wear on tow vehicle, only 10 days old!!

I will take a look at hitch height , am waiting for a call back from Brian James retailer I bought trailer from to make sure standard heights are ok. Ironically the car they use in brochures is an L405 but appreciate that doesn't mean much. Re brake cable/ brakes, I will take a look. I did tow with l322 about 4 weeks ago it performed as it always had, brilliantly. I get the shoving around even when travelling uphill, Ie no trailer braking, so starting to think it must be nose weight but ride is so much better (still not as good as before) when the trailer is loaded... Hmmm, few more phone calls methinks.

I will borrow friends l322 and take trailer out to see if there is any difference.

Thanks for input so far.

I tow a very large caravan and it's very heavy when full! I have the plug in tow bar which does rattle a bit, the Range Rover tows very well the 4.4 has masses of power, good to see how you get on 2010 defender utility
2010 RRS TDV8 (gone)
2007 discovery 3 (gone)
2004 discovery 4 (gone)
1994 discovery 1
1970 v8 hybrid (gone)
1975 bobtail (gone)

Just because the car is new you shouldn't assume the wheels are all aligned properly. My brother's X5 went through its first set of tyres in 15k miles due to the fact it came misaligned from new.

I found that pulling an empty tri axle enclosed car transporter was an awful experience. Like you the car was bashed around and rattled like hell. As soon as I had weight in the trailer it was fine. I put it down to the indespension units on the trailer which are specified for weight and when empty really have no compliance. As the trailer bounces it transmits that to the tow car. Perhaps its all to do with the alloy construction which makes the L405 more susceptible to it. 2006 S/C owned from new. Black, sand with black inserts. Shes a thirsty girl. ( now gone)

1972 Suffix A fully restored 2 door

1970, chassis number 26 the first of the press launch cars, Masai Red

2013 4.4SDV8 Autobiograpahy

peekay, any resolution to your problems?


One thing I've noted in my search for an L405 Autobiography is that, according to the license disks on the vehicles, the L405 is a lot lighter than the L322; e.g.:

2012 L322 SDV8 - 2805kg whilst 2013 L405 SDV8 is at 2360kg and 2013 L405 SC is 2330kg. My L322 4.2SC is at 2632kgs - not sure if that could also contribute to the difference in towing characteristics

Afraid not, Still as it always was. Have had everything checked and all
Is fine. When loaded it tows fine, empty you get shoved around. Thankfully majority of
Towing is when loaded, just brief journeys empty.