75 kg Nose Weight

[RegF_17]

Hi everyone,

We’re planning to get our first caravan soon but I’m still unsure about the stability with a lower nose weight. I’ve read these two articles which are great …

https://forums.practicalcaravan.com/threads/towing-with-low-nose-weight.65300/

https://forums.practicalcaravan.com/threads/nose-weights.65621/

It’s clear you should keep within the 5-7% range for the nose weight/MTPLM ratio.

Our car has a reasonable kerb weight of 1700 kg and the caravan we’re looking at has a MTPLM of 1436 kg. This gives us a good caravan-to-car weight ratio of around 85% which is the target for someone like myself with no experience in towing caravans.

However, the car only has a maximum nose load capacity of 75kg which gives me a caravan nose load ratio at the lower end of the range at 5.2% (75/1436).

Is it better to have some margin on the car nose load in order not to tow at the actual 75kg limit (to reduce wear and tear), for example, use a nose load of 70 kg but this will reduce the nose ratio still further to 4.9%?

Is there any noticeable difference in handling between 4.9% and 5.2%?

It seems that based on the nose load ratio the car/caravan combination is not well suited or am I being overly cautious as I still have a good margin on the 85% guideline?

 

[GaryB]

Don't get too hung up weights, a nose weight difference of 4.9% and 5.2% will not be detectable, load everything to the car's maximum allowance and you'll be fine. Cars only a few years ago had nose weights of 75kgs (or less) and folks coped just fine. I used to tow a 2002 Sterling Eccles Jewel (MTPLM 1424kgs) with a 2002 Mondeo estate and a nose weight of 75kgs with no problems at all.

However, get a decent nose-weight gauge (or use bathroom scales on a flat surface with a piece of wood as a prop under the hitch) to get an accurate figure, the spring-loaded nose weight gauges aren't always reliable.

 

[otherclive]

Try and load to your 75kg lowering it to 70 kg won’t make any difference to wear and tear. If you are worried that you may exceed 75kg then try the outfit at 70kg. With your kerbweight to MTPLM ratio you have a good weight match. With sensible loading of caravan, and car, plus attention to tyre pressure on car and caravan I’d be surprised if you found any unsatisfactory behaviours.

 

[Buckman]

I would also suggest aiming for maximum nose weight of 75kg for a comfortable tow.

 

[Lutz]

All limits set by the manufacturers have margins of safety. There have to be such margins in order to cope with dynamic fluctuations while towing and these can be considerable. Instantaneous loads five to eight times the static load are to be expected.

 

[Woodentop]

Our 2018 Unicorn 4 Seville on delivery had a noseweight of 31kg. Load up and the most we can get is 53kg. With our 76kg son additionally standing inside as far forward as possible we only got 70kg.* But having said that at 53kg-ish it tows perfectly well and stable, both on our previous Passat Estate and now with our current Skoda Karoq diesel.
Strangely Bailey dropped it with its end kitchen, moved it to an end bathroom/side kitchen the next year and called it a Merida. With the next facelift to Unicorn 5 surprise surprise the Merida has suddenly changed its name to Seville but with the same end bathroom layout. The only down is that the tall fridge in the 4 is now an under-surface fridge in the 5!

*Couldn't expect anything more with the gas locker in the N/S/R corner, the cooker in the rear centre, spare wheel and battery both behind the axle and only a tall fridge and the water system in front of the axle. The Seville 5 has the battery forward of the axle, and the gas locker and the spare wheel on a slide carrier only just behind the axle. Fridge/cooker more or less over the axle. The shipping length has gone from 6.19m to 6.47m which curiously is identical in size weight and internal layout as our 2010 Pegasus 462 which was then top of the range as it preceded the Unicorn range.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Even though,as Lutz points out, the vehicle manufacture has to ensure the tow bar assembly can handle dynamic loads well in excess of the static vertical applied load "S" value limit, that margin is there for a reason and it should not be abused by exceeding it, because when towing, the nose load on the hitch is subjected to accelerations that do multiply the effect of load. Consequently if you exceed the " S" value limit you are also going to exceed the manufacture's dynamic load margins.

One of the main reasons you need to have a nose load is it does seem to have an significant affect on the ability of the driver to maintain control of a towing outfit.
.

There is no universal figure or way of determining what nose load value is correct for any outfit, as every outfit is different, and it will change depending on the conditions of where and when it's used. So it's almost impossible to predict how much nose load any particular out fit needs in advance.

The company where I did most of my towing which involved many different combinations of tow vehicles and trailers, trained us to trim trailers to about 75% of the available S value limits, and to adjust upwards if necessary but never to exceed the S value.

Whilst there should be no adverse consequence to creating a nose load that equals the "S" value, it may be unnecessary, as you only need to create enough nose load to to keep the outfit stable.

 

[RegF_17]

Thanks to everyone for your good advice . As the old saying goes "there's no substitute for experience". I guess the consensus is, it's best to tow first at 75kg and maybe reduce to give a little margin and see how the stability changes. If needed I can change the car next year for one with a bigger nose load. It's not that easy to get the these values online for different cars/SUV's; I've used towcar.info to check some options. It's a very useful website but their figures may not always be accurate.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Thanks to everyone for your good advice . As the old saying goes "there's no substitute for experience". I guess the consensus is, it's best to tow first at 75kg and maybe reduce to give a little margin and see how the stability changes. If needed I can change the car next year for one with a bigger nose load. It's not that easy to get the these values online for different cars/SUV's; I've used towcar.info to check some options. It's a very useful website but their figures may not always be accurate.

Just as a hint, every new car sold within europe (inc the UK) that was subject to EU Construction and Build regulations will have followed the hitch load directives where if a car can tow it must have an minimum S value of 25kg or 4%( towed weight limit) which ever is greater. However some manufacturers can and do set greater values.

 

[Lutz]

Just as a hint, every new car sold within europe (inc the UK) that was subject to EU Construction and Build regulations will have followed the hitch load directives where if a car can tow it must have an minimum S value of 25kg or 4%( towed weight limit) which ever is greater. However some manufacturers can and do set greater values.

Just to clarify the above statement. The 25kg or 4% minimum is what the manufacturer must certify as to what the towbar must be capable of carrying, not what the actual noseweight must be in practice when towing, although it does make sense to make full use of that limit.

 

[Raywood]

The percentage figure normally has a margin built in it and as you are just over the lower limit You should be safe with your outfit.

 

[Lutz]

The percentage figure normally has a margin built in it and as you are just over the lower limit You should be safe with your outfit.

The percentage figure is only good engineering judgment anyway. It has no really detailed scientific basis and some outfits are probably more susceptible to abnormally low noseweight values than others. Just watch that you don't exceed the upper limits.

 

[Raywood]

True, although I suspect many are computer generated figures these days.

 

[trevormonty]

I towed 1100kg rental caravan with way to much weight on drawbar, handling was terrible. Current 1000kg van has probably 50kg if that and handling is great. Definitely play around with towbar weight of any van you buy to find best weight.