fuel consumption

[bopeep]

The figure of 520 is unloaded, I have never measured it loaded, I just loaded the car and caravan for a journey and could tell instantly that it was nose high by inches.
The bar is a westfalia and was fitted by a tow bar specialist and supplied by Chevy and no they say it is correct to chevy specs.
I have just received a reply from technical at Chevy sending me yet more regs and specifications to say it is the correct bar for the model car, meaning they can go no furthur as they have come to a brick wall. I feel getting on to chevy or the dealer will now not get me anywhere as it is an aftermarket product.
I do feel that I must now lobby the people who write the regs who have never towed a caravan, I will probably not get anywhere as I am putting into question their capabilities, ( which I am ).
To sort out my problem I can either cut the swan neck and re weld it ( how safe ) or fit bigger wheels to my caravan and mess up the movers. I will stick with it and keep you all posted.

 

[Lutz]

The regulations are specific enough. Like John L says, if you are sure enough that the car doesn't fulfil the requirements of the regulations you have the right to haul Chevrolet to court and get it to sort it out for you. Before engaging a solicitor, however, I'd check the towball height when the car is fully laden.

 

[bopeep]

might be on a sticky wicket with a lawyer they can make the measurements read what they like, already I have had about three conflicting sets of measurements and all profess to be right.

 

[Lutz]

might be on a sticky wicket with a lawyer they can make the measurements read what they like, already I have had about three conflicting sets of measurements and all profess to be right.

What were the 3 different readings? If done properly they can't vary that much.
Chevrolet don't certify the towbar. The towbar manufacturer does that. In your case that's Westfalia. I'm therefore not surprised that Chevrolet claim total innocence and wash their hands of the whole issue. I think it would be more appropriate to approach Westfalia.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Bopeep,

I did wonder if you had made the measurment in the correct way, which was why I gave a detailed explination above. Before taking your case any further you must get a verifiable height mesuremsnt under the correct load conditions. Without a trailer the hitch can be any height, so 520mm may be fine unloaded. The question is what is it when it is correctly loaded?

 

[bopeep]

Hi Prof,
My caravan is in store and is not easy to just go and hook up, I take your point about the measurement loaded and ready for use and that will be my next job, And Lutz has a point also.
In all the specs that were sent to me were names and I have written to them all, they include Germany and Holland and Westfalia head office also in Germany. I did have a reply from them once in broken English saying I cannot touch the Ball due to EC spec No 12345 saying I must alter the trailer, but I have yesterday sent a more detailed letter and telling them it is a caravan not a trailer as such.
I do not expect any more help from Chevy I will go it alone with help from the internet and what I can learn from the specs sent me, and of course the forums.
I did join the Chevrolet Forum and the only Orlando message was about tow bars and it was from Surfer who I take to be the surfer in this thread looking for info.
thanks

 

[Lutz]

In all the specs that were sent to me were names and I have written to them all, they include Germany and Holland and Westfalia head office also in Germany. I did have a reply from them once in broken English saying I cannot touch the Ball due to EC spec No 12345 saying I must alter the trailer, but I have yesterday sent a more detailed letter and telling them it is a caravan not a trailer as such.

The EU Directive that you refer to is 94/20/EC. It is exactly that spec that the towball height is apparently not complying with, so nobody can argue that something needs to be altered on the trailer.
You can download the full text of the Directive using the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CONSLEG:1994L0020:20070101:enDF
(It's Annex VII paragraph 2.1 on page 54 that applies regarding towball heights)

By the way, a caravan is most definitely a trailer. On page 56 there's even a drawing of a caravan as an example of a trailer.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Bopeep,

Lutz beat me to it:
The regulations relate to all trailers and as far as the regulations apply, caravans are not a special case they are just a trailer.

Further, applying the logic of the regulations, where they apply to ALL trailers little and large, and bearing in mind the minimum nose load regulations, Technically the ball height should settle within the 350 to 420mm range with as little as 25Kg load (being the EU minimum permitted nose load for any trailer)and still within range with the maximum applied load specified for the tow-bar by the manufacturer.

If after careful measurement, the tow ball is confirmed as being too high then contrary to one of my earlier replies, where I suggested that Chevy maybe responsible, I believe the fitters are actually legally responsible;

I assume you approached the fitting company and asked then to supply and fit the tow-bar assembly. They should have discussed your requirements and may have offered you alternative makes to choose from. It is reasonable to expect all the models they suggest comply with the regulations, after all they are the experts and should be aware of the regulations. Don't forget these regulations are the same for all cars so there is no specialist knowledge needed for specific cars regarding compliance.

However, if you directed them to use an entirely different model of tow-bar to the ones they suggest, they should have warned you that it may not be compliant, and certainly during the fitting if they had any suspicion or evidence of non compliance they should have told you.

As a result the fitting company is responsible by negligence, and as they are the ones with which you had the contract they are the ones that must resolve it.

It is up to the fitting company to argue any design issues with the tow-bar and car manufactures.

 

[Lutz]

It's a pity you aren't here in Germany. Here, the TÜV would take the issue out of your hands and take it up with the car and towbar manufacturers.

 

[bopeep]

When I ordered the car I also ordered the tow bar to be fitted, it went to an outside contractor from the dealer I had no involvement with either the fitting or the choice of bar.
I will look carefully at that web site.
Hoping for some replies from Monday.

Thanks

 

[Surfer]

Hello Surfer,
Honestly this is not personal prod at you, but where have you got the idea or the information that towing with the nose up will increase fuel consumption? Perhapse you have found something that I am not aware of so please share your source.

I have considered the comment and provided the hitch height falls within the legally required 350 to 420 mm, I can find no reason to think that a nose up attitude will any worse than the equivelent nose down angle.

I surmised that if a caravan is towed nose up, the air would be deflected under the caravan and as the caravan has a skirt all round it, the air is trapped or buffered underneath causing more drag thus less mpg. Perhaps it woudl be similar to having a small parachute under the caravan if the nose is sitting at nearly 520mm off the ground.

 

[Lutz]

The airflow over and under the caravan is nothing compared to the effect of headwind pressure against its frontal area. While driving back home at the weekend I noticed through the rear view mirror that, at speeds around 60mph, the caravan's front window was being blown concave. Of course, as soon as I came to a standstill it popped out again.