Alko Premium Jockey Wheel.

[Kingsley]

It looks like a good idea.
A combined nose weight gauge and jockey wheel, recommended by Alko for motor movers.
Positives
No need for a separate nose weight gauge.
High quality jockey wheel with wide ribbed tyre.
Negatives
Price! £128 from Alko Shop.
The nose weight gauge is permanently loaded. I wonder if it wears and loses accuracy quickly?
The weight scale is exposed to the elements. I wonder if it wears off quickly?
I don't know if the wide ribbed rubber wheel is an improvement in practice?
Does anyone have personal experience of using one of these?
TIA.

 

[ProfJohnL]

There are two reasons why the Alko jockey wheel with the "nose load" gauge fitted is not great. Both reasons have the same problem.

The nose load is created by moving the load within a trailer sothe trailers centre of mass is just forward of the trailers main axle. This produces a torque around the caravans axle that forces the nose downwards. Torque is measured in Newton metre's (Nm) Which is force times radial distance about a turning point, but rather than converting to NM most peopel use a simple Kg value.

In this case the the turning point is the caravans wheel axle, and the distance is between the hitch and the axle. Assuming nothing you do nothing to change the load inside the trailer the torque about the axle is the same, but it you support the trailers "A" frame anywhere other than the hitch the distance to the axle will be shorter, and that means the force or load (Newtons or Kg) will increase proportionately as the distance decreases.

The Jockey wheel is always closer to the axle than the hitch is, so consequently the measured load will be greater than at the hitch. The second problem with the Alko JW design is the actual load measuring device is fitted to the JW's axle, which is not concentric with the JW's post, and it can swing 360degress which means depending on which way the JW wheel points will also change its distance from the trailers main axle, and thus should change the value it will display.

These difference may not be much, but they are never-the-less differences, which the user should be aware of and to understand they will give an artificially high reading compared to the true noseload value.

The Nose load you need is not a precise value that you can predict with any great accuracy. That is one reason why the UK Caravan Industry recommends trying to achieve a nose load of between 5 and 7% of the caravans MTPLM.

Often that is impractical for some outfits becasue the tow vehicles nose load limit (the "S" value) is less than 7% of the trailers MTPLM, and many caravanners have no problems running nearer the 5%.

I personally used to aim for 80 to 85% of my cars "S" value and was always satisfactory for me, but others might find they need to go closer to the "S" value limit.

In practice there are far cheaper ways to measure and control nose loads as I have previously suggested.

 

[RogerL]

It's not difficult to do the arithmetic adjustment to cope with the jockey wheel being slightly nearer the axle(s) than the hitch.

I've always worked on the noseweight being as heavy as possible WITHOUT exceeding the car's towball limit or the caravan hitch limit.

There's no evidence that 7% is an upper limit for stability - it's just that few UK caravans can exceed it because of limits placed on the A-frame or hitch itself

 

[otherclive]

As myself and others have said they haven’t found a significant difference in measured noseload even when varying the loaded hitch height. Dusty Dog has used a Reich electronic gauge for a good while and I think if I were starting out again that’s probably what I would go for. But some have even just stood astride the hitch and lifted it to gauge the weight. Which isn’t something I’d not do if only to save the NHS the cost of a hernia repair😂

 

[Hutch]

I did buy one many years ago, and the difference in kgs between the indication on the jockey wheel with it pointing forwards and the indication whilst using bathroom scales and blocks under the tow hitch was about 5 kg difference, as far as I can remember.
Handy but expensive.

 

[Lutz]

I did buy one many years ago, and the difference in kgs between the indication on the jockey wheel with it pointing forwards and the indication whilst using bathroom scales and blocks under the tow hitch was about 5 kg difference, as far as I can remember.
Handy but expensive.

Even 5kg difference sounds more than I would expect, but assuming that it is correct what would be the consequence?
When I picked up my 1800kg caravan new from the dealer, before kitting it out with gas bottles etc., I would estimate the noseweight to have been in the order of 25kg and I had to drive about 150 miles back home like that. While I did notice a certain nervousness of the outfit and was fully aware that I had to exercise a bit more care than usual, I wouldn't have described it as unmanageable even with such a low noseweight.

 

[otherclive]

Even 5kg difference sounds more than I would expect, but assuming that it is correct what would be the consequence?
When I picked up my 1800kg caravan new from the dealer, before kitting it out with gas bottles etc., I would estimate the noseweight to have been in the order of 25kg and I had to drive about 150 miles back home like that. While I did notice a certain nervousness of the outfit and was fully aware that I had to exercise a bit more care than usual, I wouldn't have described it as unmanageable even with such a low noseweight.

I measured my noseweight at the dealers and had some water filled containers to adjust it. My last van was nose heavy so the adjustment meant putting the containers at the back. But no problems towing circle 120 mikes even on a very windy January day.

 

[Kingsley]

As myself and others have said they haven’t found a significant difference in measured noseload even when varying the loaded hitch height. Dusty Dog has used a Reich electronic gauge for a good while and I think if I were starting out again that’s probably what I would go for. But some have even just stood astride the hitch and lifted it to gauge the weight. Which isn’t something I’d not do if only to save the NHS the cost of a hernia repair😂

The Reich looks interesting. Thanks

 

[Raywood]

The Jockey Wheel was reviewed in the magazine some considerable time ago. It is true the gauge was out, although I cannot remember by the margin. The gauge did come with a chart to correct this but you also had to check the distance from the hitch to the jockey wheel to work it out.

 

[littlebasher]

The Reich looks interesting. Thanks

I have the Reich, but still always end up back to using my stick and bathroom scales!

 

[otherclive]

I have the Reich, but still always end up back to using my stick and bathroom scales!

Why? Is it because you have to connect up the car? Whereas a gauge or scales are independent of the car.

 

[littlebasher]

Why? Is it because you have to connect up the car? Whereas a gauge or scales are independent of the car.

Exactly, i can get the weights all sorted before i need to connect to the car. I tend to only use the Reich when leaving a campsite.

Although i could fit my car and caravan together on the drive, there's a narrow 90 degree turn leaving, so i cant drive them out together.