a shock during a rally

[ww2nut]

caravan: bailey champagne 22 ft 1993 end bathroom, car volvo T4 estate. i spent time looking in to towing matches for this outfit and have always been neurotic about not taking too much weight in the car, however on the last rally i was told by many people that i required more weight in the caravan not less!! shock horror, they have given the wife an excuse to pack everything she wants and the kitchen sink! are they right, they were all well seasoned touring people, and many of them had been rallying for years. so on the way home i did not empty the boiler and i left everything including kids bikes, in the van! and guess what, nice easy tow! it felt much better, the car and van felt as one, so can anyone explain what is going on????
many thanks

 

[Parksy]

Rallies are great venues to pick up tips from seasoned caravanners and my guess is that you may have described some 'twitchyness' or slight instability when towing and they have suggested that a moderate increase in noseweight might make for a less stressful towing experience.
My suggestion would be to empty the boiler because if it is less than full the water could slosh around and cause damage to the mounts or the boiler itself. I use a lightweight awning which is placed slightly forward of my front caravan axle which has a similar effect.
Don't overdo the noseweight though.

 

[ww2nut]

i think its the fact that i carry nearly all the 'heavy' items in the boot of the car, awning, food, drink, clothing, and tv, solar pannels etc, this made for a low rear ride hight and caused the rear of the car to bottom out on bumps and rough road. i think i should perhaps leave the awning and some other items over the axel to even out the load. cheers for the advice

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi WW2nut,
I always maintain that you should keep you caravan as light as possible in relation to the car, but it seems from your description that you may have taken that to an extreme!

Cars also have load limits, and if you suspension keeps bottoming out, then that is a pretty clear indication there may be too much load on the rear axle.

Given that some caravan when completely empty (ex-works) can have pretty excesive nose loads, I wonder if you may have actually exacerbated the nose load with the gas bottles etc. Perhaps your caravanning friends may have spotted this and may have suggested moving some items to the caravan not so much to increase the caravans weight, but address the nose load issue and to relieve some of the excess weight in the car.

loading is about achieving a sensible balance between the car and the trailer and taking into account the limits of all parts of the outfit.

I suggest you check you nose load to be sure you are not overloading the hitch.

 

[Tony_374371542]

Hello ww2nut
Just a general comment on caravan weight really. I have a 2007 Swift Challenger 540 with a MIRO of 1274Kg and a MTPLM of 1480Kg. I am always careful with loading and decided recently to have the van weighed. We keep in the van what I would call everyday stuff ie pots, pans, lightweight chairs, windbreak etc. There is also the battery one small gas cylinder and a mover which are in there permantly. I thought that knowing the weight would give me some information regarding any other equipment we could put in. I took the van to a local public weighbridge and was shocked to find it was up to its maximum weight of 1480Kg. This leaves me without any allowance for the rest of the gear we take, eg awning, bbq, chairs. I will have to put more in the car, hopfully without overloading that.
Tony

 

[waffler]

I had a bailey senator that towed better in the summer than winter. Realised it was the weight of the awning and this did something to steady the suspension. I think the modern vans with shock absorbers are better behaved.

 

[KeithJ]

The heaviest "things" that travel in the car are people. Since most cars are designed to carry 4 of these, they must be balanced when carrying approx. 280kg within the wheelbase. Since my wife and I only travel with the two of us in the car when towing, I always carry the heavy awning and poles in the rear footwells. This ensures a good balance and a low centre of gravity for the car. I carry the bulky but relatively light items in the boot - aquaroll, chairs, table etc. Consequently the car rides level and can take the max towbar weight of 90kg without causing the rear suspension to sag.