Following a recent thread on tow ropes which I read with interest during this spell of challenging weather, can anyone with some experience describe how one would go about towing another car out of difficulty? Being a recent new owner, I would be grateful for this advice should the need ever arise or I find myself in the position where I can come to the rescue.

Thanks

I would suggest you only offer to tow on tarmac. Don't try and pull someone out of a snow drift/hedge/boggy verge. The vehicle can do these things but the chances of something going wrong and causing injury or damage are much higher. Towing someone on a grass field is usually no worse than tarmac but be aware that they might find traction and, if they are trying to drive forward whilst being towed, can rear end you! Indeed, this applies in all towing situations really. Remind them of the risk before you start.

If offering to tow someone up a slippery hill, for example, make sure the other driver is paying attention (really, some people are idiots). Remind them that they need to take care not to run in to you at the top of the slope. I usually show my brake lights for a couple of seconds before I actually brake to get them braking first. Ideally, coast to a near-stop before braking and tell them you intend to do so. It's a good idea to talk them through your plan of action first. Remind them that you are offering a favour and won't accept liability for damage - some people carry a form for the rescued driver to sign first.

Keep speeds low, you only need to be going fast enough to maintain momentum - 10mph is enough and limits the possibilities of damage. Be smooth with the power and the brakes. The rear tow point on your vehicle is stronger than the front of the other car as it's part of the rear cross member.

Always remember - if in doubt, don't. 2012 SDV6 - it's missing a couple of cylinders
2008 TDV8 - it was a labour of love and is much missed

Thanks, some very valid points there indeed. I am hoping I would never have to tow someone out difficulty but in the event of emergency it would be good to know what I needed to do and what to be aware of, as you highlighted above.

Is the tow bar (I have electrically deployable one) sufficient with a correctly specified tow rope, or is this asking for trouble and should one look for a location on the chassis to attach the tow rope?

And in terms of drive/gearbox settings, what is the recommended course of action?

Thanks

Hi,
as mentioned above ^^^ all good points
If your not sure, don't do it,
think of it as your help is going to be the same as giving them a bit of a push by hand to get them going again (your just pulling them!) if it needs much more than that, maybe time for a re-think
A soft eye tow rope should be fine over your towball, its what you are going to attach to on theirs
"Slow as you can Fast as you have too"
you could use low box but there is no Correct answer as each situation will be different but what ever setting you are in to drive around with should be good for the recovery.

but

above all else work on the fact the other person is an idiot and no matter what you have told them and agreed you are both going to do, they still do something else
(we do recovery on reliability trials)

Oh and some peeps are Not very good at going backwards either, bear that in mind as well.

All that said most of the time its just a Little help that's needed and everyone is back on the move again with plenty of good will

Tow points are not always obvious



 Porsche Cayenne 2022
gone Porsche Cayenne 2020
gone Corris Grey HSE Dynamic 2016
gone Ipanema HSE lux 2010
gone Rimini HSE 2005
!!

MrM wrote:

Is the tow bar (I have electrically deployable one) sufficient with a correctly specified tow rope, or is this asking for trouble and should one look for a location on the chassis to attach the tow rope?

And in terms of drive/gearbox settings, what is the recommended course of action?

Tow bars are usually better than a rope...but the car being towed, ideally needs to be roughly the same height as the car towing! Steve.

RRSTDV8 wrote:

I would suggest you only offer to tow on tarmac. Don't try and pull someone out of a snow drift/hedge/boggy verge. The vehicle can do these things but the chances of something going wrong and causing injury or damage are much higher. Towing someone on a grass field is usually no worse than tarmac but be aware that they might find traction and, if they are trying to drive forward whilst being towed, can rear end you! Indeed, this applies in all towing situations really. Remind them of the risk before you start.

If offering to tow someone up a slippery hill, for example, make sure the other driver is paying attention (really, some people are idiots). Remind them that they need to take care not to run in to you at the top of the slope. I usually show my brake lights for a couple of seconds before I actually brake to get them braking first. Ideally, coast to a near-stop before braking and tell them you intend to do so. It's a good idea to talk them through your plan of action first. Remind them that you are offering a favour and won't accept liability for damage - some people carry a form for the rescued driver to sign first.

Keep speeds low, you only need to be going fast enough to maintain momentum - 10mph is enough and limits the possibilities of damage. Be smooth with the power and the brakes. The rear tow point on your vehicle is stronger than the front of the other car as it's part of the rear cross member.

Always remember - if in doubt, don't.

Very good advice  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 😎

Many of the Land Rover Experience Centres run special courses on recovery and winch use for the utility companies, they are also open to the general public but be warned they are not free and charges are in line with everything Land Rover branded!
Well worth going even if you don’t have a Land Rover vehicle as they teach the basics that apply to all 4x4’s and SUV’s as well as the stuff applicable to Land Tover products - they are also a great day out. If you are a member of an offroad club and can get enough members interested LRE’s can also run special courses if there are enough people signed up. I wonder if there might be enough forum members prepared to fork out to do a special RRSport course?

BTW, L494 has screw in recovery points as is common with many modern cars - these would be better named lashing down points as the threaded section of the eye doesn’t look anywhere near long enough to be of any value as a recovery eye...... if like me you have the stainless steel bash plates front and rear then they are glued to the car and completely cover the recovery point mount......... not an awful lot of thought went into that at the design stage Mr MacGovern did it? Practicality sacrificed for looks/ penny pinching I expect - on a car claimed to be superb offroad yet it has no proper recovery points ........  2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

A friend of mine towed a car and was asked by the driver "shall I follow you then?"