Nose Down

[SEMPTIE]

Hi All
I am the proud ownwer a new Coachman VIP 560/4. I have noticed that with this van that it is towing nose down whereas my previous van (Bailey Senator) seemed to be lying practically level. I have tried to observe other Coachmans, but they seemed to be few and far between, to see if this is the norm.
I checked noseweight etc all well within limits (Car and Van). I was wondering if anyone has noticed this either on the road whilst out and about or those of you that own a Coachman.
Oh! I tow with a 2011 Landrover Feelander 2.
Regards
Simon

 

[ProfJohnL]

Nose up, nose level or nose down, is all dependant on the height to the coupled hitch. The EU regulations state the centre of the ball when hitched and ready to tow shoudl sit between 350 and 420mm above the level road. Providing yours is within these limits and has the requiste nose load, then this should be nothing to worry about.

 

[woodsieboy]

We tow our Coachman with Shogun and it does look a little nose down,I put it down to the fact that it is a single axle and our previous Bailey was a twin,also the layout of our van has more weight on the front than the back,but so far we have had no problems when towing.While I take on board the Profs comments our towball height has not altered between the 2 vans, so maybe it is a 'Coachman thing'

 

[otherclive]

Our Sorento towed the van with a slight nose up attitude, whereas the XC70 tows the van with a slight nose down attitude. Both cars had SL suspension and the same noseweight of 90kg, so I guess its just that the two cars have slightly different towball height settings. With the Sorento the nosewheel didnt scrape the drive, whereas with the XC70 it just glances the drive as we come off, but both set ups were fine on speed humps and ferry ramps.
Nothing to worry about.

 

[Mel]

It is a long time since I did school girl science (Prof john be gentle, my postgrad degree is not in Physics). But I seem to remember that it is not just the weight that is a variable here but the distance of the weight from the pivot (I might be making this up). So if the towball height is constant (same car as before) and the measured noseweight is the same, the difference may be in the length of the van. Could be cobblers but its all I've got.
mel

 

[Mel]

....or the wheels on the Coachman are bigger.
mel

 

[Lutz]

No, Mel, you haven't got it wrong. The shorter the distance from towball to axle, the greater any change in height will make to the attitude of the caravan. A shorter caravan will appear more nosedown than a longer one, even though the difference in height at the towball is the same.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mel,

I concur with Lutz and you on this one, but its just a matter of appearance rather than a problem.

Just out of interest, All the caravan manufactures know the EU height requirements and they should design their caravans to cope with the full range of 350 to 420 mm. So provided the nose weight is correct and the caravan is hitched to a car capable of towing it, the all the road clearances should be met.

The only fly in the ointment is some commercial 4x4s are exempt from the height limits so they might have some problems with grounding.

 

[Raywood]

The caravan club does suggest a slight nose down attitude as best when towing so it should not be a problem if the weights are correct.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Ray,
There is technically no reason whatso ever for this suggestion. Some may say the caravan will be more stable, but there is no evidence to support that contention. Provided the car and caravan are both in good condition, and the hitch is within the correct height range and with a correct nose weight, then the caravan will assume whatever attitude those conditions create.
To most people either a level or slightly nose down looks better, but thats just asthetics not a safety or technical requirment.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

On one of the caravan channels this week an expert stated that caravans with a nose down attitude were more likely to be stopped on suspicion of overloading

 

[Surfer]

On one of the caravan channels this week an expert stated that caravans with a nose down attitude were more likely to be stopped on suspicion of overloading

That woudl eb just about every caravan including twin axles. Seems quite a few errors have crept into the program recently with a number of incorrect statements being made.

 

[Surfer]

On one of the caravan channels this week an expert stated that caravans with a nose down attitude were more likely to be stopped on suspicion of overloading

That would be just about every caravan including twin axles. Seems quite a few errors have crept into the program recently with a number of incorrect statements being made.