L-R Discovery 3 + AlKo hitch: clearance?
Opportunity arises to acquire a Discovery 3 TDV6 to replace my delightful, devoted, reliable, capable, comfortable, gorgeous, darling Grand Cherokee 3.0CRD.
I must be nuts.
The Jeep (WK model) is as close to ideal as we'll ever get and I really don't want to change. But we're shorty to relocate overseas and the Jeep's helm is on the wrong side. The proposed Disco is LHD and is already registered in France so avoiding the French first-registration fee - which is roughly equal to one-and-a-half kings' ransoms for higher CO2 SUVs.
To hopefully save the risk of a wasted logistics exercise just to test the hitch clearance, has anyone experienced clearance trouble when trying to open the Disco's tail-door with an AlKo AKS3004 (Winterhoff) stabiliser hitch attached to the AlKo extended tow ball?
We tow a fairly heavy tandem axle 'van so to run with the tow hitch lower than standard would be out of the question.
Many thanks,
Jeremy.
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We had a Discovery 3 with a Winterhoff stabiliser hitch never had a problem with opening the tail gate - take a look on Google images and you'll see that the bumper acts as a step so tailgate is a long way from the tow ball. Hope this is of help to you
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Pictures found.
I suppose the subconscious alarm bells started ringing in my head in memory of earlier Discovery models that had the hinged door rather than the excellent looking split tailgate arrangement of the Series 3.
Thank you Sianelen, all doubts are dispelled.
Jeremy.
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That's not an issue Metheven, I can keep my present pile of stainless steel scaffolding from the front of the present Jeep to make the 'new' one singularly even more ugly. I call it the analogue parking sensor.
lornalou1 we have a couple of months (at least) to continue the search but to date the availability of French-registered Jeeps isn't encouraging.
I would jump at another Grand Cherokee with the Mercedes running gear, this one has been marvelous and performs crucial functions just that little bit better than the equivalent Land Rover or Mercedes ML - although a Mercedes GL might be a worthy alternative.
The Jeep's value is going to drop quicker than a Landy or Mercedes that's true, but I'm not planning to change cars again for some years.
I suppose that in the end it will all come down to the colour, won't it Dear...?
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Indeed that was the original plan.
We left the caravan in France on the previous trip, returning to GB solo. We still have a fairly large trailer to take so didn't want two more towing trips to perform if that would still leave us with the RHD car in France needing to come back to GB to be sold.
So we've reduced the flipflopping by one round trip but we still have to take the trailer, secure a new car in France, drive the RHD Jeep back to England to sell it, then fly or foot-ferry out to France to collect the LHD car.
If I can source a French registered LHD car in England (there's a few specialist dealers/brokers) I need only to sell the GB car here, then use the French one to pull the trailer to the new house.
And relax.
With big trailer in tow our new home is about 7 hours continuous pedaling from Calais, I'm trying to avoid doing it too often.
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Hi Pings, another idea maybe is to sell the Jeep privately and then take the new owner across with you to drive it home. They may like a few days in France or a beer run.
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I presume you know that you cannot tow an English registered caravan with a French registered car? In France caravans have to have their own Carte Gris with a number plate in their own right. This has all sorts of other implications for insurance etc.
If your caravan is British then you will need to get it 'registered' and it's quite a complicated process. More information here
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Interesting thought PrestonDave. Trouble is there would be something like a 13 hour round trip in France, I doubt many would be keen. It would also destroy my ability to fully load the Jeep for the journey South, I'll need to drop the rear seat to accommodate all those things that "mustn't go in the lorry".
J
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Yes thanks Valda, all is in hand.
The caravan is already parked at the new house having been towed there with the British Jeep. We have the CoC and everything necessary for the carte gris application... apart from the dreaded speed limit stickers... so there will be no urgency to engage the attention of the préfecture.
The requirement for individual registration for trailers over 500kgs MGW is the reason I won't be taking my trusty old trailer laden with "things that mustn't go in the lorry". There was no such thing as type approval for trailers let alone CoCs when it was built so it would never qualify for its own plate.
J
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Where are you moving to, Pings?
We have a house in the Aude, (Hautes Corbieres) and spend about half the year in France - either at the house or away in our caravan, which is stored on a campsite in the Ardeche region. We pick it up from storage and go off wherever........... and whenever (sometimes at just a few hours notice to say 'we'd like to pick up the caravan at 4.00 pm).
Hope the move goes well.
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Thanks ValDa, we're hoping the logistical nightmare will deliver a blissful waking!
Sounds idyllic, I once knew a little of the Perpignan coast and the marina at Port Argelès although I believe it's developed a great deal since I last saw it. Lovely sunshine, lovely breeze, lovely grapes!
We're heading for the Western extreme of the Limousin, where the 'cold' Creuse hillocks meet Allier. There's plenty of room to keep the caravan at home so excursions can be almost on impulse, rather like your own.
Well, we will be heading there eventually, so long as we don't receive too much more good (but time consuming) advice from the Notaire...
See you in the mountains!
J.
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