Does anyone know the recommended nose weight of a Bailey Scorpio 2 berth caravan please? Would you believe Bailey haven't a clue!! Ours is an excellent 1990 van and Bailey don't keep records of it.
Nose weight
- Thread starter Chris_5076168
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- Mar 14, 2005
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I think you must have been in touch with someone at Bailey who was just too lazy to check. Because of the legal implications of noseweight, they must have records somewhere in case of possible litigation.
I don't know what the actual figure is but as you say it's a 2 berth caravan, it will most probably be 75kg. Lower limits are rare and confined to a few cars and very light trailers and higher limits for caravans are usually only found for big twin axled caravans and trailers.
Don't forget, however, that whatever the caravan's max. noseweight is, you may not exceed the figure specified for the towcar, either.
I don't know what the actual figure is but as you say it's a 2 berth caravan, it will most probably be 75kg. Lower limits are rare and confined to a few cars and very light trailers and higher limits for caravans are usually only found for big twin axled caravans and trailers.
Don't forget, however, that whatever the caravan's max. noseweight is, you may not exceed the figure specified for the towcar, either.
From http://www.eclipse.co.uk/samwise/thecode05.htm
The noseweight should be approximately 7% of the actual laden weight for optimum stability. However, this may be restricted by the towing vehicle manufacturer's limit and the caravan's hitch limit.
The noseweight should be approximately 7% of the actual laden weight for optimum stability. However, this may be restricted by the towing vehicle manufacturer's limit and the caravan's hitch limit.
- Mar 14, 2005
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In practice, the noseweight will often be limited by car or caravan manufacturer's specification as 7% of the laden weight of the average family caravan will already exceed either or both these figures. But even for lightweight caravans I would recommend making full use of the available noseweight limit rather than working with the 7% formula.
Chris,
Looked up a very old Baileys club site which lists older vans,
unfortunatly they do not have the nose weights but they do have the following, should it be of any use for you:-
Scorpio 1990
1) model 390/2
ex work weight 13.9 cwt.
max auth weight 17.8 cwt.
2) model 450/2
ex works weight 15.1 cwt
max auth weight 19.6 cwt.
As already mention, that some nose wights that exceed the car as does my Bailey imperial 100 kg, where as my car has a max of 0.75 kg
which I can achieve with no problem, the van tows like a dream.
Royston
Looked up a very old Baileys club site which lists older vans,
unfortunatly they do not have the nose weights but they do have the following, should it be of any use for you:-
Scorpio 1990
1) model 390/2
ex work weight 13.9 cwt.
max auth weight 17.8 cwt.
2) model 450/2
ex works weight 15.1 cwt
max auth weight 19.6 cwt.
As already mention, that some nose wights that exceed the car as does my Bailey imperial 100 kg, where as my car has a max of 0.75 kg
which I can achieve with no problem, the van tows like a dream.
Royston
- Mar 14, 2005
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Hello Steve,
The 7% figure is starting point and a useful guide. In much the same way as the 85% figure is often missquoted as a "rule" each combination of tug + trailer will need to be trimemd, and the best results may lie either side of the 7% or 85% figures.
This being so the 7% does not necesarily give the optimum noseload figure.
Hi chris i noticed that you asked for the nose weight of the caravan ,and every one seems to be giving you the answer for the car ,if its an Alko chasis its normaly a maximum weight of 100 Kg ,for what ever car you are driving refer to your drivers manual ,but do not exceed the 100 Kg
- Mar 14, 2005
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Actually, the limit for the AlKo 3004 coupling, if one is fitted, is 150kg but the limit for the drawbar can, and often is, lower, usually 100kg.
As stated in other replies, it is always the lowest of the figures for drawbar, coupling, car and towbar which define the max. limit for noseweight.
I think you are more likely to find the noseweight in you towing vehicle's handbook, as the noseweight affects thetowing vehicles handling and is normaly set by the vehicle manufacturer rather than the caravan manufacturer. No matter what van you tow, you must not exceed the noseweight set by the vehicle manufacturer! Anyone know differently??
Tankie
Tankie
Sorry folks, I have just re-read my caravan service handbook and find I missed the fact that Swift refer to noseweight as "Static Load on Coupling Head", which, incidently is 100kgs for all Swift models,Charisma, Challeger & Conqueror of year 2004 vintage. So as someone said earlier, you must not exceed the lowest of the two.
My apologies Tankie
My apologies Tankie
Wich in my case for a Renault Scenic is 75kgs, which is quite difficult to achieve with 2Berth end bathroom van. I once asked a salesman the best way to achieve it? he replied that they have no problem, the use 2kg bags of nails and just move them as required!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tankie
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