Max nose weight on car

[StevePeters]

Replaced my Pageant Vendee with a Pegasus 534, using a Mondeo 2.0 estate to tow. Mondeo tows both very well the Pegasus has a slightly higher MPTLM however as there are only 2 of us it is normally running light. My problem is the high nose weight of the Pegasus and the pain in adjusting the weight (without putting it too far back) to reduce the nose weight.
I have always used very small gas bottles as we do not use much and carried 2 in case one ran out. Due to the nose weight problem I can only carry one. I have taken all other items out and these go on the back seat of the car. Not a good idea to do this with the spare gas bottle.
So my question is – what can I do if anything to the rear suspension on the car to increase the max tow ball weight.

 

[JohnGriffiths]

Nothing I'm afraid. My understanding is that the tow ball weight is a legal limit set by the manufacturer of the car (and recent towbars) and you cannot modify it. Altering the suspension may make it ride higher but the same limits will apply. If you start trying to strengthen mount points etc you will probably invalidate the type approval of the the towbar. Loading stuff further back and low if possible is the sensible solution, (or buy a 4x4).

 

[Damian]

As John has said the car towball limit is set by the manufacturer and cannot be changed.
The Al_Ko hitch has a 100kg Max limit.
Your hitch limit is determined by the LOWER of the two figures, either car or van.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Steve,

Sadly there is nothing you can do to increase the maximum nose load for the car. That is fixed and unalterable by the car manufacture. Spring assistors or any other type of changes to the springs has no strengthening effect on the tow bars mounting points so you are limited to what the manufacturer states.

Overloading is illegal and dangerous, so don’t even contemplate it.

The fact is that all caravans have to be trimmed by careful loading to produce the correct nose load, even if it means moving or adding mass behind the axle.

Care must be exercised as increasing rear end loading, but you only need to move enough to redress the excess nose load. I have never yet found a caravan that cannot be trimmed to match suitable towcars and still maintain adequate safety and stability.

 

[MichaelE]

Im not saying it is the correct thing to do and you should stick to what the manufactures say, but i used to tow with a Citroen Xantia, i set my van up to be below the approved tow bar weight used a noseweight gauge and loaded my van carefully but it was awful to tow and i never felt confident,tried lots of things more weight in the boot and continued to play around with weight distribution etc but still the same.
I then increased the noseweight of the van and it towed completely different much more stable and my confidence returned.
I know its not correct but has anyone else had to do the same, i know of a friend who had a LR TD5 and it used to tow better nose heavy

 

[xtrailman]

I wouldn't if i was you.
Remember the cavaliers, noted for the tow bar ripping the spare wheel well off.

Some cars just don't have the structural strength to support the extra load.

My xtrail rated at 100kg, doesn't look as beefy as you would expect.
And don't assume all 4x4 have a 100kg nose limit, they don't.

 

[NickinFrance]

And don't assume all 4x4 have a 100kg nose limit, they don't.

Very true, the GMC SUV we hired in the US last month had a 600 kg nose weight limit

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Michael,

It is never a good idea or acceptable to tow with a nose load above the manufacturers limit. It is illegal your car is technically over loaded, and as such you insurance company can legitimately decline any claim.

I think I know what you mean by your last sentence, but to be legal all trailers need to be nose heavy, just not heavier than the vehicle manufacturers limits.

There is no legal requirement for all car and caravans to be able to tow well and at the legal maximums, and in fact there are some outfits where the weight ratio’s may seem good, but in practice just don’t work well together until the loading has been sorted out.

Ultimately if an outfit despite being loaded optimally is still difficult, then it must be driven at lower speed.