Thingy said:
Microwaves aren't really an issue. Our first two vans had rear mounted kitchens, and shower/toilet just slightly forward of the kitchen.
I tend to agree with that. When the caravan is manufactured, surely some consideration is given to factoring in the balance front and back from the axle, so when a rear kitchen is part of the spec, there would have to be come counterbalance in the build. Adding after-market stuff such as cycle carriers and cycles is surely a different matter. Nobody is saying it is instanly going to make the unit dangerous or unstable, but it will have an undeniable effect on the original balance. If you consider that the Calor Lite bottles are now being replaced with steel which is going to add a fair piece to the nose, then the A-Frame carrier I mentioned from Fiamma begins to look like a non-starter. Prof has already mentioned the G-forces encountered during testing, imagine the force applied to the rear panel with cycle rack and cycles at those forces.
I think it would be very naive to assume the caravan manufacturers are not aware of the forces generated by vibrations when towing, and also I do believe they give some consideration to the typical loading habits of caravanner's when deciding how much load is moved forwards and aft in a design, but they cant be specific becasue each caravanner will have their own take on where place items of 'pay load'.
The University of Bath studies and their demonstration model was never designed to be a definitive universal guide covering all caravans. In point of fact the often quoted study was limited to the effects of loading on one caravan with one car, but, it is highly probable the general conclusions would apply to most combinations, but the critical speeds and loads will vary from outfit to outfit, as will the ability of a tow vehicle to regain control.
There is nothing wrong with refusing to end load, and in practice that should give a greater margin of control, but it is technically wrong to state that end loading causes instability, It is only a contributory factor. Speed, windage and other road conditions are highly significant factors and should not be forgotten.
I take the view that if by adding 50kg of end loading to a caravan means the outfit becomes unstable, it is more than likely without the 50kg end load the outfit will already be demonstrating worrying tendencies towards instability.
The onset of instability is usually forewarned by other characteristics of the outfits behaviour, the driver should become aware of how to spot these tell tale signs, and to take action (initially by reducing speed in a controlled manner) before the instability become loss of control. This is probably the main lesson to be learned through towing experience.
It should also be remembered that whilst an outfit may be beginning to become difficult to manage, it only takes one of the contributory factors to deteriorate to tip the balance into instability.
The upshot is it is sensible to keep end loading to a minimum, but if end loading needs to be considered it doesn't automatically mean a disaster is in the cards. just approach it sensibly try a bit an increase only if everything still feels good.
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