Avondale noseweight

[JohnDavo]

I have just bought a new avondale 510/5 and used it for the first time last weekend. I thought I would check the noseweight and was surprised to find it weighs approx 95kg. This was with virtually nothing in the van except some odds and ends and winder, pipes etc in the front locker.

I spoke to avondale who confirmed it left the factory with a noseweight of 65 kg albeit without the battery (at the front ) and bottles ( over the axle ). Does anyone have any ideas why this might be so much as I will need to put someting pretty hefty in the back to get the weight down to 80kg to suit my car.

 

[Lutz]

If the noseweight without the battery was confirmed by Avondale to be 65kg, the increase with the battery is hardly surprising considering its weight. It just goes to show that certain design criteria are being grossly neglected by the caravan manufacturers.

However, there is a conceivable explanation for the resultant high noseweight. Continental caravans do not generally suffer from the same problem, but then they tend to have longer drawbars. It is possible that UK manufacturers, in order to maximize interior space while keeping overall length to a minimum, prefer to keep the drawbar relatively short. This has the effect that the centre of gravity id moved further forward. However, caravan chassis throughout the industry, whether for the UK or the Continent, are derived mainly from the same source (either AlKo or BPW). It is therefore quite possible that the chassis are common both for the Continental and for UK caravans. However, the location of the axle of these common chassis may favour a long drawbar rather than a short one, thus putting the UK preference for short drawbars at a disadvantage. This is just a theory of mine, but someone from the industry might like to comment.

 

[Ray R]

We had a 2004 Dart 510/5 and had no trouble in getting the noseweight to 75kg to suit my car, as you will be aware the front locker does not lend itself to putting anything of vast proportions in, are you sure the equipment you are using to measure the noseweight is reading correctly ?.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello John,

No it does not surprise me that you have a fairly high nose weight. If you have a battery at the front, and any other items in the front lockers then they will all add to the nose load.

The ex-works nose load has little meaning as it changes as soon as you add anything to the caravan.

As you have identified you need to redress the balance front to back, but rather than concentrating on adding mass to the rear of the caravan, first look to see if you can reduce the number of items at the front.

Don't forget that if you move 10Kg from the front, the nose load goes down, but if you them put it at the back of the van, the nose load goes down again, but your overall weight has not increased.

You will need to check with you car and towbar specification for the exact figure, but most tow balls on cars are rated to about 75kg, so in practice you only need to loose about 10to 12Kg from the front and relocate it at the rear to bring your nose load into kilter.

 

[JohnDavo]

We had a 2004 Dart 510/5 and had no trouble in getting the noseweight to 75kg to suit my car, as you will be aware the front locker does not lend itself to putting anything of vast proportions in, are you sure the equipment you are using to measure the noseweight is reading correctly ?.

Thanks for your reply Jasper. I'm pretty sure its accurate as I've used a gauge and also tried the bathroom scales and a stick trick and got pretty much the same result within 5kg.

 

[JohnDavo]

Thanks John. The problem is that I have next to nothing in the front of the van bar some waste pipe, winder,wheel brace and some chocks. I'm sure I can get it balanced out but I might need to get some stuff closer to the back of the van than I'd really like to.

 

[JohnDavo]

Thanks for your reply Jasper. I'm pretty sure its accurate as I've used a gauge and also tried the bathroom scales and a stick trick and got pretty much the same result within 5kg.

 

[Ray R]

Just a thought John but the water heater is drained ?, I've made that mistake.

 

[JohnDavo]

Just a thought John but the water heater is drained ?, I've made that mistake.

Jasper,pretty sure it is. Or at least my wife assures me that she did it. Who am I to argue! Thanks for your help.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi again John,

As you have very little in the front locker, then you have no alternative but to start to add some items to the rear of the caravan.

Just keep the heaviest items close to the axle line, and play with the smaller items. Most caravaners manage to get the nose load correct, and have a stable outfit so don't loose sleep over an empty caravan.

Usually one of the heaviest items is the awning, so if this is on the floor just slide it back a bit. It just needs some sensible arranging of your items and I am sure you find you can achieve 70Kg nose or there abouts.

If you are new to towing, then once you are satisfied with the weights, the just take it easy to begin with. When you begin to feel you know the characteristics of the outfit then gradually build up speed.

 

[JohnDavo]

Thanks Jasper.

 

[Royston]

Hi John,

Are you measuring your nose weight when the cararavan is on a completly level surface.

Myself found this out my drive is on a slope and my noseweight was greater than 75 kg,took it onto the road outside our drive where the road was level I got a lower nose weight reading that was okay for my towball.

Inside my front locker I have Qty 1 15kg gas bottle Qty 2 water barrells, I never place any item behind my wheels always in front the very heavy items on top of the wheels. i secure the items with a bar(Wooden handle covered in plastic pipe lagging) that i have made up to suit the van layout.

Royston

 

[Rita1]

John

We have an avondale 380/2 (75kg nose weight) And had same problem

We now put all the things we used to have in front locker (Chocks Brace Piping)in a plastic box over axle in van

Nothing in front chest either

Aqua roll n waste master go in loo compartment

Clothes travel in car except the things on hangers they get laid on seat to save the swaying about in wardrobe

Awning travels on back seat of car But now got a lighter one so it goes in boot

We find this loadings ok for us Our Car towball is 1000kg

 

[JohnDavo]

Hi John,

Are you measuring your nose weight when the cararavan is on a completly level surface.

Myself found this out my drive is on a slope and my noseweight was greater than 75 kg,took it onto the road outside our drive where the road was level I got a lower nose weight reading that was okay for my towball.

Inside my front locker I have Qty 1 15kg gas bottle Qty 2 water barrells, I never place any item behind my wheels always in front the very heavy items on top of the wheels. i secure the items with a bar(Wooden handle covered in plastic pipe lagging) that i have made up to suit the van layout.

Royston

Hi Royston, I must confess that my drive does have a slight slope on it. Aprrox 6 inches from one end of the van to to the other with the hitch at the higher end. Will it make that much difference?

 

[JohnDavo]

Hi Royston, I must confess that my drive does have a slight slope on it. Aprrox 6 inches from one end of the van to to the other with the hitch at the higher end. Will it make that much difference?

 

[rayc]

don't over compensate by placing heavy loads behind the axle.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd47/stsl/Dont-overload-your-trailer.jpgy

 

[rayc]

don't over compensate by placing heavy loads behind the axle.

http://i223.photobucket.com/albums/dd47/stsl/Dont-overload-your-trailer.jpgy

sorry about that please ignore.

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

we had an 2005 avondale dart 556/6. we bought it new in oct 2005 the weights were fine to tow with our new 2005 307 sw when we put it on the back on the car empty the rear end sunk and i could just get my hand under the wheel arch. we panicked and bought a 4 x 4. my father in law always says avondales wheels are off set so the vans are always nose heavy. we did managed to get it down to about 80/85 but not really anything less. im afraid i wouldnt have another avondale again the build quality and body cracks put me right off. we px'd it in and bought a new sterling elite.

jo-anne

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello again John,

I have only just read you posting about the slope on your drive, The answer is yes it will make a difference.

The caravan must be on a flat surface. The hitch of the caravan must be at the same vertical height from the ground as when it is is hitched up, and the load must be measured at the hitch.

Just to demonstrate how the height of the hitch affects the nose load, just try measuring at different heights. you will find that the higher it is the lower the imposed load will be.