Loading a fixed bed model?

[jwa]

We have been caravanning for over three years now and although I don't consider myself a novice, I always consider the advice on here to be excellent. We are now on our third caravan, the kids having grown too big for the bunk beds, so have upgraded to an Elddis Avante 526, 2011 model with a fixed bed.
My question is, having never loaded a fixed bed ever, how do I spread the load evenly given that there is a large storage area at the back of the van, something I have obviously never experienced. I have around 188 kg payload to play with and have the usual items, water carrier, waste water, plates, cutlery, food, gaz bottle, clothes and cadac as well as awning, poles, groundsheet etc and want to spread the load between the car (Freelander 2) and the van without worrying about the back swinging around dangerously. I always, always use a noseweight gauge and have found that my previous van towed well around 80kg. I expect this one to be no different, but realise it will be an interesting task to balance it sucessfully.
Any guidance gratefully received

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello jwa,
I suspect that no one will be able to give you a definative way to load your caravan, as it all depends on what you want to carry. It also depends on how much nose weight the empty van has. Its suck it and see.
Just a few pointers though, as I'm sure you probably already know its advisable to keep heavy items low down and as near to the axle as possible. Check the nose weight and then make appropriate adjustments.
With regards to the actual nose weight, you must not exceed the tow ball nose weight limit or the caravan chassis nose weight limits, and in fact you only need enough to keep the outfit stable. Whilst there is nothing wrong with aiming at 80kg (provided its withing the aforementioned limits) it may not actually need to be so high.

 

[Parksy]

Our caravan is a t/a model with a fixed bed and end washroom so obviously there will be differences in towing characteristics but as a general rule I find that the closer I can get to the upper noseweight limit (100kg for our caravan) the more stable the caravan when I'm towing it.
As a general rule I store lightweight but bulky items under the fixed bed such as the Aquaroll, our two lightweight chairs and some rarely used windbreaks. The flat screen tv rides on top of the bed at the bottom end over the rear axle in it's box with spare cushions protecting it. We rarely use our porch awning for our regular short weekend breaks but when we do take it it travels on the floor just over the axles and I use bags of grocery and clothing holdalls to adjust the nseweight depending on whether we've taken the awning or not. The groundsheet is stored in the luggage bay of the 4x4.
Our crockery, cups and glasses stay in the overhead lockers toward the front end but with just the two of us we keep unnecessary items to a minimum, especially now that I've managed to convince Herself that we don't need every item of clothing we posess for a short caravan break

 

[JohnGriffiths]

You may find (as I and others have) that the noseweight of a fixed bed caravan is quite high when unladen, with just gas bottles and battery mine is around or just over 100 Kg. I think manufacturers allow for the fact that people will load the underbed compartment which tends to take it down to around the 80Kg. We do the same as Parksy and put bulky but not particularly heavy items there, aquarolls, waste carrier, and chairs. I also keep the spare there, as near to the axle as possible. As Prof John says it is a matter of trial and error, use the tip he mentioned last year of using scales on the caravan steps for measuring noseweight, rather than risking a wooden prop if you haven't got a nose weight gauge.

 

[Surfer]

Don't fall into the trap of stowing everything under the fixed bed. We use it as a storage area but if there is anything heavy under there it is brought as close as possible towards the axle. When I say heavy I am talking about items weighing 3 - 4 kg or less however several such items add up. Avoid loading anything towards the back of the caravan to prevent the tail wagging the dog.

 

[jwa]

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated, I don't actually know the nose weight, the Elldis Xplore 556 we had before was 100kg, so I presume the Avante is much the same. The Freelander is 150kg, so not problems ther, plenty of power to cope and within the 85%.
As you most of you say, it is very much trial and error., but I was interested to know how some of you load a fixed bed. It is tempting to utilise the underbed storage area as it is huge compared to what we had before, but obviously with lighter items. Off to Longleat in three weeks time, really looking forward to the fixed bed experience as it has always been about the kids and having their bunk beds ready all the time. Now they are too big and considering not coming with us much more we decided to look to the future so this model allows us to accommodate them for the time being.
A little concerned by the payload available to me, 188 kg is not too much when you start weighing stuff? I managed France last year without a roof box, but we took minimal clothing and food, in this cold weather it is easy to take too much. Has anybody ever been prosecuted for being over the recommended limit?

 

[otherclive]

It's not a recommended limit its the legal limit. And I'm sure there will have been cases where someone has been fined for an overweight outfit. Normally it's the VOSA who conduct spot checks at local weigh bridges. Police will be in attendance. If you are a bit over they may just give advice, more over and they will ask you to move stuff into the car, dangerously over and relocating into the car would put the car over, or no room in the car and you will be prevented from driving on.
Whilst the Freelander noseweight is 150kg most vans have an A bar limit of 100kg, or less this must not be exceeded.

Ask the maker if they do a payload upgrade for your van. I got an extra 60kg on my Bailey and it was only a paperwork excercise with a new tally plate for the door and I decided to upgrade the load index tyres.

We rarely put anything under the bed when travelling. Sleeping bags and pillows sit on the bed near the front. As much heavy stuff as possible goes in the car. Our wardrobe sits over the axle so the clothes travel in there as well as the 40in plasma tv (lol)!
we wouldn't go back to putting the beds out each night although the fixed bed does tend to become a dumping ground during the day.

 

[jwa]

That's interesting Clive, makes me wonder about the many caravans I see pull up and then emptied of what looks like everything but the kitchen sink! I can't believe they are legal, but then they may well have upgraded like you?

 

[otherclive]

Jwa I see the same load of gear, awnings, bikes etc coming out of vans when they arrive and I very much doubt they have been upgraded and I suspect they are loaded above MTPLM. In reality when you add up the mover, gas bottles, battery, Aquaroll, cables, etc and the other stuff needed on site you find 200 kg doesn't go that far.

 

[Mel]

Hi, we also have a 2011, Eldiss Avante 526 (fixed bed, amidships dinette, front lounge, bijou wetroom). We think it is a brilliant layout, and don't know why Eldiss stopped doing it. We find that the van is quite light on the nose even when there is only light loading under the bed. We tend to put bedding under the fixed bed (obviously bedding for the fixed bed is on the bed), some lightweight folding chairs, and other light bits and bobs under there. The heaviest ththing under there is a slimline TV. We load the awing and poles over the axle (and slightly forward) and the cadac forward of the axle to get the noseweight heavy enough. We aim for 85kg which is our towball limit. Hope this helps.
mel

 

[jwa]

Hi Mel, thanks for the reply, that is really useful. Glad you like the van, we are really pleased to have got it and we are looking forward to our first trip out. When we took our other Elddis back we were met by two other couples who had wanted to by the 526 and were disappointed it had gone to us. I don't know why Elddis didn't continue with the layout as it really ticks all the boxes for a family like ours and the other couples also had two teenagers who had grown out of the bunk beds.
When they stop coming with us it will be perfect in terms of space, but will suit us in the transition period, we are so glad we "popped" into our dealer for a browse!