BMW 330d - 75kg noseweight

[Buckman]

There is no legislation governing the nose weight and limitations and I don't think there legislation governing the load on the towball. Exceed the limitations of the rear axle is covered by legislation. However it is always best to play safe and stay with the car manufacturers guidelines.

 

[Woodentop]

Watch out. Bailey fit a 100W solar panel on the Unicorn series but it is NOT included in the MIRO even though it is part of the factory build.

Per noseweight, there are three maximum noseweights; that of the caravan chassis; that of the tow vehicle chassis; and that of the towbar which will be on a label on the physical bar (as distinct from the hitch which may be removeable.) Whichever of these three is the least (usually the bar) is the limiting factor, although ISTR that for example the Citroen C4 Picasso (?) has a lower chassis rating than the towbar rating.

 

[Raywood]

If using bathroom scales, the best bet is a length of wood cut to size to rest on the scales with the top in the coupling head. You do have to measure the weight the nose weight at as near the tow bar height as possible to get the weight right, but a slight difference in the height should not be vital.

Overloading the tow bar will be an offence under the Construction and Use regulations.

 

[ProfJohnL]

If using bathroom scales, the best bet is a length of wood cut to size to rest on the scales with the top in the coupling head. You do have to measure the weight the nose weight at as near the tow bar height as possible to get the weight right, but a slight difference in the height should not be vital.

Overloading the tow bar will be an offence under the Construction and Use regulations.

I do not agree. The danger of using a length of wood to support the hitch has a high risk of the stick slipping. That is why I recommend supporting the scales on the step and magazines.

 

[JezzerB]

That's a great tip Prof thank you. Always felt the stick was an accident waiting to happen. Jockey wheel can be raised but you risk damaging the pads in the hitch etc.

 

[otherclive]

I do not agree. The danger of using a length of wood to support the hitch has a high risk of the stick slipping. That is why I recommend supporting the scales on the step and magazines.

I’m with you on this one. Find it amazing that the advise given in the link to Caravanguard provided by the OP recommends using a 15 inch length of broomstick to transmit the load from the hitch to the bathroom scales. Accident waiting to happen plus damage to pads in stabiliser a possibility.

 

[Hutch]

I use a piece of 4x4 inch, ( we are British) wood to go under the hitch head and use another two to get the correct height for my hitch, onto Bathroom scales.
Then adjust the nose weight in the caravan after the Boss has filled the caravan with waterever she wants, ie fridge , food, coats, etc
Then I load the nose weight to about 75 to 85 kg. For our outbound trip, I Know then that on a homeward trip the fridge, which is directly over the axle( so make almost nil). The gas used will be maybe 3 to 6 kg. And tinned food of 2kg. , my nose weight will still be within " My own Happy Setting"
to tow the caravan

Even on my longest 6 week trip around France, I never checked the nose weight , as nothing inside the caravan changed much. And it towed niceley.

 

[Buckman]

I use a piece of 4x4 inch, ( we are British) wood to go under the hitch head and use another two to get the correct height for my hitch, onto Bathroom scales.
Then adjust the nose weight in the caravan after the Boss has filled the caravan with waterever she wants, ie fridge , food, coats, etc
Then I load the nose weight to about 75 to 85 kg. For our outbound trip, I Know then that on a homeward trip the fridge, which is directly over the axle( so make almost nil). The gas used will be maybe 3 to 6 kg. And tinned food of 2kg. , my nose weight will still be within " My own Happy Setting"
to tow the caravan

Even on my longest 6 week trip around France, I never checked the nose weight , as nothing inside the caravan changed much. And it towed niceley.

We never fill the fridge or put food or clothing in the caravan. It all goes in the car. We keep our nose weight to about 140kg and for this I have a Milenco calibrated nose weight gauge which is very accurate. Only need to use it once or twice a year as weight in caravan remains static.

 

[otherclive]

We never fill the fridge or put food or clothing in the caravan. It all goes in the car. We keep our nose weight to about 140kg and for this I have a Milenco calibrated nose weight gauge which is very accurate. Only need to use it once or twice a year as weight in caravan remains static.

What’s the accuracy of your noseweight gauge? Did it have a calibration certificate with it?

 

[Buckman]

What’s the accuracy of your noseweight gauge? Did it have a calibration certificate with it?

It is very accurate and I am happy with its accuracy. I doubt very much if a company like Milenco would falsely advertise that their nose weight gauge is calibrated if it is not. So what if it is 5kg out. The bathroom scales is a hassle and a joke, but if it makes people happy that is all that counts.
I did use the bathroom scales to gauge the accuracy of the Milenco when I first got it 3 years ago and it was accurate to within 2kgs! I have yet to come across any domestic bathroom scale that is 100% accurate. They are normally 2-3 kgs out.

 

[ProfJohnL]

It is very accurate and I am happy with its accuracy. I doubt very much if a company like Milenco would falsely advertise that their nose weight gauge is calibrated if it is not. So what if it is 5kg out. The bathroom scales is a hassle and a joke, but if it makes people happy that is all that counts.
I did use the bathroom scales to gauge the accuracy of the Milenco when I first got it 3 years ago and it was accurate to within 2kgs! I have yet to come across any domestic bathroom scale that is 100% accurate. They are normally 2-3 kgs out.

Every engineer knows that no measuring device is 100% accurate. And without a certificate of calibration you do not know how accurate it actually is.

There are two important factors about nose load, obviously the force developed by the hitch is one, but the other due to the geometry of the caravan and its centre of gravity, the actual meaasued value of the nose load will be different if the measurement height is differnt to the towing height.

The retail compressed spring gauges change their length dependant on the load applied. Consequently it would sheer luck if when such a gauge is used it happens to settle at the same height as the loaded hitch.

Especially with twin axle caravan the dual suspension units affect the hitch load/height more significantly.

Bathroom scales generally have a very small change in height over their load variation thus in practice they will almost certainly be more accurate, and they generally have a finer graduation to the scale.

 

[Buckman]

Every engineer knows that no measuring device is 100% accurate. And without a certificate of calibration you do not know how accurate it actually is.

There are two important factors about nose load, obviously the force developed by the hitch is one, but the other due to the geometry of the caravan and its centre of gravity, the actual measured value of the nose load will be different if the measurement height is different to the towing height.

The retail compressed spring gauges change their length dependant on the load applied. Consequently it would sheer luck if when such a gauge is used it happens to settle at the same height as the loaded hitch.

Especially with twin axle caravan the dual suspension units affect the hitch load/height more significantly.

Bathroom scales generally have a very small change in height over their load variation thus in practice they will almost certainly be more accurate, and they generally have a finer graduation to the scale.

I never said it was 100% accurate as none of us on here can afford to pay for scale that is 100% accurate so we use what we have at present.
Who cares about a certificate of calibration for a nose weight gauge anyway as long as it is reasonably accurate to within 5-10kgs for a comfortable tow?

 

[Raywood]

I think it was PC that tested the gauges some time back and they did turn out to be reasonably accurate. Whatever method you use the only time the weight will be correct is if you get it weighed at the level the tow ball drops when hitched so there is always going to be some discrepancy, but it should not be enough to worry you.
The bathroom scales method is to me fiddly and I have no reason to believe that these are more accurate than the gauges so I would not criticise people who use either method.