Low Nose Weight on New Bailey

[NeilHoskins]

Good morning. We picked up our shiny new Phoenix 420 Black (no traditional gas locker on the A-frame) a couple of days ago and am slowly learning all about it. When we got it home, we found that, while moving it around on the motor mover, moving it backwards then stopping suddenly resulted in the caravan's nose jumping into the air, making me think maybe the noseweight might be low. I was surprised to find that I could lift the hitch into the air quite easily.

Measuring the noseweight using the traditional bathroom scales and length of broom handle method, I found it to be around 36kg, or 3% of the MTPLM of 1186kg, compared to the recommended 5-7%. By putting a load of dive weights into the inside front locker and moving the gas bottles into the inside front of the van, I managed about 50kg or about 4% of MTPLM. There's not much more weight behind the axle that can be moved and, short of buying a load more dive weights, I'm not sure what I can do to try to get it up to 5-7%.

Or am I worrying about nothing? The drive back (Skoda Octavia tow car) in pretty awful crosswinds on the top of the Pennines felt stable at 50mph; I didn't like the feel at 60mph but maybe this would be fine in better conditions.

 

[otherclive]

It’s not designed to be 5-7% unloaded. Often a couple of gas bottles get the noseweight up.But in your case it’s not possible although bottles in your gas locker if it’s in front orvthe axle will go towards increasing the noseweight. It’s better to be nose light than heavy when unloaded. As you put load in the caravan your noseweight will increase. Surely you carry more items than dive weights? Bedding, food, kitchen kit, tool bag, awning, etc. Just distribute your payload to get the noseweight close to what your cars towball can take, without exceeding the caravans maximum specified hitch load.

 

[Mel]

Do you take an awning away with you. Try this in front of the axle. Also put your boxes or tinned food and…..erhm…..booze there as well. That should do it.
Dive weights are just eating payload
Mel

 

[Jcloughie]

In 1990 we has a new Compass Shadow. Complete and utter rubbish. I feel I can say that on here as the company as was is no more. The nose weight was negative. I had a job to load it to achieve some. Towing was frightening. I even had the ministry of transport test it who said it should not be on the road, but strangely the could not enforce this, Compass expected me to be thankful that they had taken it back to the factory twice!!! They even put 10kg of steel behind a new false wall at the front bulkhead.

I ended px’ing through a dealer as I would have felt guilty to sell it privately.

Getting a true balance in the factory should only be a matter of moving the body forwards or backwards on the chassis.

I think you just need to do some trial and error work to improve your nose weight.

John

 

[Sam Vimes]

I think I'd be tempted to try the water container, inside near the front. You can then fill it with an amount of water that gives you what nose weight you want.

 

[Woodentop]

You ain't the only one sunshine. Our last van was a Unicorn 4 Seville 2018 and empty that was 31kg on the nose. The gas locker, cooker, most of food storage and the bathroom were all at the back. We loaded up as familiar and the nose was then 10kg!
Moved a lot of stuff around, put the small awning and bits plus a plastic crate of tinned food etc as far forward as possible but got only 53kg. Therein got son - 76kg - to stand inside as far forward as possible and we got 74kg!
We settled for the 53kg and off we went. Never had a moments trouble, initially towing with a Passat Executive Style TDi140 estate and then changed to a Passat 150TDi GT estate, and finally to a Skoda Karoq Sportsline 2L TDi (150bhp), and never had a moments problem. All three vehicles had the same type of Westfalia removeable hitch.
Interestingly Bailey reworked the Seville as the Merida after less than 12 months because of the noseweight problem!

 

[Dustydog]

Last year Baileys were nose heavy! How the tide turns.

Post in thread 'Nose gauge & weight distribution problems'
https://forums.practicalcaravan.com...eight-distribution-problems.70310/post-632958