nose weight

[pappajohn]

just found this on practical caravan website.

Noseweight

It is a legal requirement that the noseweight should be 4% of the weight of the trailer or at least 25kg, whichever is the higher..

this puts my coachman t/a at 64kg. totally impractical unless i put my wife (shirley) in the rear bathroom.

i thought a rule of thumb was 7 per cent of mtplm.

john

 

[pappajohn]

just calculated 7 pc and that gives 112kg which is nearer to what it actualy is.

john.

 

[Lutz]

The legal requirement is only a minimum requirement. Anything higher can only be beneficial although of course you need to watch what the respective manufacturer's stated limits are.

 

[Steve L]

I'm afraid this is where I get on my soap box.

First of all you must not exceed the "LOWER"stated nose/hitch weight of either the caravan or the tow bar of the car.

If you have excessive nose weight you run the risk of the caravan over run brake mechanisum failing to operate due to excessive frictional resistance in the bushes caused by excess weight.

I all too often see cars towing caravans with the back of the car almost on the floor and the front is heading for the stars. This is clearly too much nose weight and bloody dangerous. You see as soon as you hit the brakes in vengence, the wheels lock up and you have lost steering control. Most cars these days are front wheel drive and in the load condition described you will have difficulty pulling away from junctions without spinning the wheels.

By the way all of the above is also illegal under "construction and use" or "dangerous/driving without due care and attention" laws. 3 points and a hefty fine is the result if caught.

Firstly you should establish the correct nose weight for your caravan via the manufacturer or an owners club. Then consult your car hand book and talk to the tow bar manufacturer to get the data for your car. The lowest figure quote by either is the max safe/legal nose weight.

For my oufit 75Kgs is the figure and towing at between 65 and 75Kgs on the hitch gives an excellent tow even with a 20ft twin axle van behind our 1998 Laguna estate. (100% of cars tow capacity)

I would say conservatively that 75% of all towing accidents are caused by lack of attention to load distribution and that means any trailer.

I'm afraid the next comment might twang a few raw nerves among our "all wheel drive community", but all too often I get the impression that the ill informed car driver seeks comfort in using a heavy 4X4 to compensate for poor loading skills.

Now before the barage of insults start about what I drive or how I drive, I will add that I have driven all types of tow vehicles from a Morris Minor, Landrover, Diahatsu, Unimog etc etc right upto 44 ton artics. Oh and of coarse driven cars faster than most folk can think of as I'm an experimental engineer and prototype tester by trade. Im also AIM and ROSPA trained and approved by Aston Martin/Lotus for high speed test track driving.

Even with a large repatoire of experience and 30 years of towing behind me, I still weigh the hitch before a journey. Also as with any driving I still see things to learn from on the roads to day.

It's attention to the fine details that will make your caravanning life both easy and enjoyable.

Steve L.

 

[RogerL]

Which part of MINIMUM and MAXIMUM don't caravanners understand?

With one or two exceptions, the basics of arithmetic seems to have escaped several generations!

 

[Lutz]

In fairness, Steve, when you see a car with the back end way down and towing a caravan doesn't necessarily mean that the noseweight is too high but only that the car is overloeded. Who knows what they've got in the boot? I know that when our children were younger and we went on holiday either with or without a caravan, the boot was so full you could hardly close it, but at least I made sure that the stuff wasn't too heavy.

 

[ProfAlGoogle]

Would this be the same Steve?

Now before the barage of insults start about what I drive or how I drive, I will add that I have driven all types of tow vehicles from a Morris Minor, Landrover, Diahatsu, Unimog etc etc right upto 44 ton artics. Oh and of coarse driven cars faster than most folk can think of as I'm an experimental engineer and prototype tester by trade. Im also AIM and ROSPA trained and approved by Aston Martin/Lotus for high speed test track driving.

From a previous post :

Fuel economy is good too. We went to Illcaston (Derbyshire) from Leominster (Herefordshire) and back on saturday to collect the same car but in automatic format for my father-in-law, which again is going to be used for caravanning. Even doing a steady 90Mph going up (80% motorway), "and on the way back I did go to 125Mph a few times" so he could try the auto to the limit, we done the whole trip on

 

[Lutz]

Why use a percentage figure at all?

Stick to the lower of the two limits specified for car and caravan respectively and you can't go wrong.

 

[cooky1]

I wonder how many people actually measure their noseweight before each journey. They may do it before leaving home but I don't see many people do it when they leave sites.

Graeme.

 

[lunar2000]

I wonder how many people actually measure their noseweight before each journey. They may do it before leaving home but I don't see many people do it when they leave sites.

Graeme.

Or check there tyre pressures for that matter Graeme.

 

[lunar2000]

Or check there tyre pressures for that matter Graeme.

Should be 'Their tyre pressures on the car and van' I don't think I have ever seen anyone letting the rear tyres down on arrival at site, and/or blow them up when leaving.

 

[Bazz1]

Just had a look in the Owners Technical Data book that came with the van, a 06 Coachman Pastiche 540/4, it states the nose weight for the van is 100Kg. Has i have a L/R this does not get any where near the 150Kg recomended by them. Dont all C/Van manufacters give this info in there data sheets. This would be very helpfull at being legal. Bazz.

 

[Lutz]

You say your Technical Owner's Data book says the "noseweight for the van is 100kg." If that is the exact wording then it is incorrect. It should state that the noseweight limit for the caravan is 100kg. No caravan manufacurer can guarantee an actual figure that is valid for all conditions (empty/loaded).

 

[Bazz1]

Tom, had alook at the booklet and it says " Empty Nose Weight=49Kg" and "Maximum Hitch Weight= 100Kg". Where does that leave us .Bazz.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Bazz

The caravan manufacture has given you the acceptable range for the nose weight of the caravan.

You should aim to keep the caravan nose weight within those limits, AND observe the maximum permitted limit for the cars tow ball.

In your case the limiting factor is the maximum for the caravan which is 100Kg, even though the LR has a limit 150Kg.

For most people their cars have a limit of about 75Kg, so if they were using your caravan, the 75Kg would be the maximum nose load permitted.

 

[alan_374306090]

Hi Bazz / Have you weighed the van empty ! I'll bet it's heavier than 49Kg

 

[Bazz1]

Alan, with having a L/R to lug the van around I have'nt even checked the actual weight of the van. But I shall when the time permits.Bazz.

 

[alan_374306090]

Sound! it will be interesting to see what the weight is empty (or nearly empty)

 

[alan_374306090]

pappajohn / What is the all up weight fully laden of your coachman

 

[Robert_374242026]

My Coachman works out at 54 klg, again totally impraticul and my Shirley reckons i'm mad the way i carry on trying to get 75 klg.

 

[Robert_374242026]

Just had a look in the Owners Technical Data book that came with the van, a 06 Coachman Pastiche 540/4, it states the nose weight for the van is 100Kg. Has i have a L/R this does not get any where near the 150Kg recomended by them. Dont all C/Van manufacters give this info in there data sheets. This would be very helpfull at being legal. Bazz.

Hi Bazz, my Coachman 460/2 does not say anything about noseweight but as the towbar says' max' 75 Klg i stick to that.

 

[alan_374306090]

Robert ? Your coachman is that the weight laden or empty!..I'd be quite happy if my van was that weight empty!

 

[Bazz1]

Alan, John L and Lutz, just had a conversation with the guy's at Coachman, they advise a limit of 70-75 Kg to keep well within the 100Kg Hitch limit. Why dont they say that in the paperwork that comes with the van, plain english would not go amiss. Also had the chance to check it at home today and it was 88Kg and thats with an 1x empty gas bottle in the locker and not much else in the van. Bazz.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Bazz,

I am really not sure what the point is you are trying to make! Your caravan manufacture states a range that is acceptable from their perspective,

Your car manufacture states a range that is acceptable, you just need to make sure that your actual reading falls in the region where both manufactures ranges over lap.

The majority of experiences suggest that you make it as high as possible, but within the ranges.

Getting a caravan manufacture to give what amounts to a fixed limit, is not particularly helpful, as what is best is dependant on a range of things outside of the caravan manufacturers control, its basically down to how you load the caravan by distributing the weight.

 

[Bazz1]

I would have thought that anyone looking in the same booklet might assume the limit to be 100Kg when it clearly is'nt. If it's a "Safe Margine" then I think it should state that, rather than some unsuspecting vanner get it wrong. All this is to help us enjoy our pastime safely. Bazz.