Car and Caravan Loading

[Martbo]

Hi there,

Being new to Caravaning and this Forum and just about to pick up our first van, I was keen to understand the loading in our Car and Van - and appease my OH who is the unofficial Head of Risk. To this end, I have created a Spreadsheet to record what I'm taking, where it is going and then calculate my various ratios and ensure I don't overload the Car, Topbox or Caravan.

Clearly, the first thing I'll be doing when we get the van is measuring the Noseweight before and after loading to ensure we are setup as best we can be.

I thought I'd share this with the community in case it is useful to others.

Caravan Loading Analysis

Regards,

Martbo

 

[Gagakev]

Looked through and found a Flaw---------- You havent allowed for the BEER

Actually quite impressive and nice to see you doing your homework, well done,
One I would think about is the toilet chemicals in the top box, possible spillage?
Could make a right mess off the car roof.
Can you juggle them around and put them in the front locker?.
Enjoy your first trip.

 

[Martbo]

Thanks Gagakev!

Good point about the Beer and Toilet Chemicals. I'll sort both of those out! Although once we are pitched, I'll be stocking up on Beer locally I suspect. The OH thinks we will be out walking most of the time - how naive!

In reality, we head up to pick up the van with all that lot in the Car and will then transfer the Caravan Gear over.

Looking forward to the first of many trips and we have plans to use the Van most weekends and for whole weeks away. Our first 9 days are at Chatsworth Park and we have already scoped our route and visited the Site to take a look at pitches.

Talking of being prepared, we both completed the Practical Towing Course last weekend and that has reassured us about a number of things. Reversing was surprisingly straightforward and we just need to remember not to put too much kink in the van as we start the J Curve......

Regards,

Martbo

 

[Sproket]

With a brand new van the first thing I would do is take it to a weight bridge & get a proper true weight figure to work with, and then weigh everthing as it's put in, it is so very easy to overload it ...

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Martbo,
It is good to see some a new caravanner doing some research into how to get the best out of their outfit and to stay legal. well done.

A triad of things to bear in mind, Your list of items is incomplete, don't forget the little things like magazines, maps, packs of cards, Sun lotion, torches, pens & pencils, bungee chords rubber bands, washing up liquid/and other cleaning liquids, tea towels dusters etc etc etc. Its quite amazing how all these little things add up.

And the second point is about adding it all up. Its a good idea to list everything, but the problem is that unless you are far more accurate with your weight values, when you add the whole lot up it will vary quite a lot from the actual weight of the car/ caravan. You have probably erred on the side of caution, but by the end of the day your calculated loading could out by quite a margin. To put this into perspective, if you are only evaluating items to the nearest 0.1Kg and rounding up, then its quite likely that you will be over estimating you weight by 1Kg for every 15 to 20 items. That extra space for two cans of beer!

The last point, Achieving a good tow is not simply down to getting a particular towing ratio, In my mind far too much emphasis is placed on this single aspect. Yes you must keep the outfit legal in respect of weights, but the quality of the towing experience is more down to where the payload is distributed within each vehicle. Keep heavy items low down, and as close to the caravan axle as reasonably possible to minimise the yaw inertia of the caravan, but to achieve a sensible nose weight.

Proper maintenance of car and caravan, special attention to tyres. And the biggest factor of all is driving style.

 

[Martbo]

Thanks Prof,

I have erred on the side of caution and even with the additional items I think I'm going to be well within my limits.

Absolutely get the thing about driving style and I've been in "Caravan Mode" for a few weeks now in preparation. It's surprising how much more relaxing a drive is if you ease off a little and leave plenty of room for braking, etc.

Fortunately, our Car is only 12 months old and the van is new, but we do intend to make sure both are regularly serviced and up to the job.

Regards,

Martbo

 

[mealsonwheels]

The afternoon before we set off for a site, I always make up sandwiches or rolls to take and have with a flask of tea/coffee at a Motorway Service Area on a longish journey or have them with a fresh brew when the steadies are down and the awning up, on a shorter trip. (Always make sure someone stays with the caravan on a motorway service area, if you have to use the facilities, as caravan thefts do happen).

Wherever you go, there is usually a local shop/supermarket within reasonable distance and we always do a shop there, instead of carrying it all with us in the caravan, which can put the weight up considerably.
By the way, anything for the freezer compartment in the fridge is best frozen in the freezer at home and then put in the caravan (caravan freeze boxes are not designed to freeze down unfrozen food).

Oh yes, don't forget to take a lightweight desk fan in the summer! Worth its weight in gold during hot weather!