Given the amount of gear and limited avaialabilty of what can go where (short of putting gas bottle on back seats)...joke! What can be done as we have tried various things so far and getting no where fast! Or do we just concede to the fact that our outfit nose weight is high and consequently our only choice is a large vehicle with a suitable nose weight of 100kg upwards?
Is it feasable to get a nose weight from 90kg + to less than ...
- Thread starter HomerMarge
- Start date
If you can't take any weight out of the front of the caravan your only option is to add weight at the back, preferably the minimum that you can get away with in order to be within your noseweight requirements.
Hello H & M,
If you are anything like me you are tempted to put all sorts of extra items in the front bottle locker.
Every item adds to the nose weight, so the obvious solution is to be very selective about what you put in the locker.
Do you have two gas bottles? Consider taking just one, many people find that one bottle is more than enough for a weekend stop, and with electric hookups, one bottle can last over a week.
For longer stays or if you know that you will have a high gas usage, it is likely that you would be able to obtain a refill near your destination. The use of lightweight gas bottles is increasing so this might help.
If you still need to reduce the nose weight, as Lutz points out moving mass from the front towards the rear of the caravan may help. Also consider what you put in the bedding lockers, keep lighter things near the front of the van and move heavier items to the rear.
Don't forget that the nose weight is caused by the see-saw effect with the main wheels as the pivot so provided an object is moved as far behind the axle as it was in front then it will be twice as effective as simply removing it.
Clearly you appreciate that carrying a gas bottle in car is not sensible, but moving it to the rear of the caravan is an option provide it is properly secured, held upright, and of course moved out when you get on site.
If you are anything like me you are tempted to put all sorts of extra items in the front bottle locker.
Every item adds to the nose weight, so the obvious solution is to be very selective about what you put in the locker.
Do you have two gas bottles? Consider taking just one, many people find that one bottle is more than enough for a weekend stop, and with electric hookups, one bottle can last over a week.
For longer stays or if you know that you will have a high gas usage, it is likely that you would be able to obtain a refill near your destination. The use of lightweight gas bottles is increasing so this might help.
If you still need to reduce the nose weight, as Lutz points out moving mass from the front towards the rear of the caravan may help. Also consider what you put in the bedding lockers, keep lighter things near the front of the van and move heavier items to the rear.
Don't forget that the nose weight is caused by the see-saw effect with the main wheels as the pivot so provided an object is moved as far behind the axle as it was in front then it will be twice as effective as simply removing it.
Clearly you appreciate that carrying a gas bottle in car is not sensible, but moving it to the rear of the caravan is an option provide it is properly secured, held upright, and of course moved out when you get on site.
Be very careful how you load the back of your 'van. Keep heavy items above or as close to the axle as you can.Heavy items too far back can give rise to a very unstable outfit due to the pendulum effect.
Hi,
perhaps its not what you put into the locker that is the source of the problem, have you looked at what is elsewhere within the van. Anything heavy towards the front of the underseat lockers will affect noseweight as will water in a water heater that may be near to the front of the van. What you should not do is move weight right to the back it is better to keep it low over or clsoe to the axle, with heavier items low down. When we had a cahnge of van there was quite a lot of experimenting with the weighst before I got it to what was required.
perhaps its not what you put into the locker that is the source of the problem, have you looked at what is elsewhere within the van. Anything heavy towards the front of the underseat lockers will affect noseweight as will water in a water heater that may be near to the front of the van. What you should not do is move weight right to the back it is better to keep it low over or clsoe to the axle, with heavier items low down. When we had a cahnge of van there was quite a lot of experimenting with the weighst before I got it to what was required.
No-one has mentioned the spare wheel. If not already there, consider putting it in a carrier under the caravan just behind the axle. Yes, it makes it difficult to get to when you most need it, but it will help to reduce noseweight.
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