We have a Baily Pegasus 462 2011 model with mover.Fortnight ago went on holiday but called into weigh station to see how heavy It is . The max for the 462 is 1326 which for our Skoda 2.0 dsg Elegance is also 1326 using the 85% guide. Skoda nose weight is 75 klg but the 462 whilst Bailey say 80 klg I have great trouble of getting near it. Back to the weigh in, we had 1380 klg so took out most of the loose items in the caravan but this made the car heavy at back hoping it came down to nearly 1326 klg.The nose weigh was 90 klg and could not alter that as there was nothing forward of the axle so empty cupboards and lockers.apart from that 23 ltr on board tank which had nothing in it. Where we live its all hills so cannot do checks at home but what comes to mind is when i put the nose weight tool under the ball and let the caravan down on it the gauge says 100 klg or more as the tool only goes up to 100 klg.So do I get the reading when the caravan is level or let it sink on the gauge?.Would appreciate advice , thanks. PS regardless what the weigth was the Skoda pulled great and at 30/33 mpg I thought good.
Nose weights again
- Thread starter Robert_374373903
- Start date
Noseweight should always be measured with the caravan standing at the same attitude as when it is hitched up to the car (and both car and caravan are standing on level ground). Of course, the lower the front end of the caravan, the higher the noseweight, all other conditions being equal.
If 75kg is the limit for your Skoda then you will have to adjust the noseweight so that it does not exceed this value, even if it means adding ballast behind the axle.
If 75kg is the limit for your Skoda then you will have to adjust the noseweight so that it does not exceed this value, even if it means adding ballast behind the axle.
Mel
Moderator
Our previous van (a swift) was very noseheavy when, like you, we only had fixtures and fittings forward of the axle. However by loading heavy items on the floor (awning, cadac) and slightly rear of the axle (not right at the back) the noseweight came down to the 85kg we were aiming for. Try moving stuff about.
mel
mel
Hello Robert,
All the previous replies are good, but I would like to explain one of the points you state.
You state "Bailey say 80 klg" for the nose load. As far as I know Bailey only state the "Ex- works" nose load. That is the nose load as the caravan leaves their factory, It is not a target or a limit that you have to try and achieve. It has little relevance to the caravanner as the nose load is not a fixed value but a variable amount that depends on how you load items into your caravan. very few people tow caravan in the ex-works condition so it has little practical relevance to most owners.
There are regulations for nose load when hitched to a car, and you must be no less than 25Kg or 4% of the trailers MTPLM (which ever is greater) and no greater than the lower of either the cars nose load capacity or the trailer nose load maximum value. Most caravans have a limit of 100Kg but check the chassis for details.
In your case and based on the figure you give the minimum legal nose load value should be 4% of 1326 = 53Kg and the maximum 75Kg
The nose load only has to be big enough to allow the outfit to tow stably There is no magic figure for this its down to trial and error - but in your case and as a guide aim to 70 to 75Kg and perhaps reduce it until the outfit feels unhappy and then just up it a bit to keep things steady.
People often forget that during a holiday different things get added and taken away from the caravan,(souvenirs and food) so the nose weight will be different on outward and return journeys. It is advisable to check the nose weight before every journey.
I shoudl add that when the caravan is hitched with the in range nose load, the tow ball must settle to withing 350 and 420 mm from teh gound to teh centre of the ball. If its outside these regulated limits, then soemting is notright. In your case it reads as though it may be too low, in which case it points to overloading the car.
All the previous replies are good, but I would like to explain one of the points you state.
You state "Bailey say 80 klg" for the nose load. As far as I know Bailey only state the "Ex- works" nose load. That is the nose load as the caravan leaves their factory, It is not a target or a limit that you have to try and achieve. It has little relevance to the caravanner as the nose load is not a fixed value but a variable amount that depends on how you load items into your caravan. very few people tow caravan in the ex-works condition so it has little practical relevance to most owners.
There are regulations for nose load when hitched to a car, and you must be no less than 25Kg or 4% of the trailers MTPLM (which ever is greater) and no greater than the lower of either the cars nose load capacity or the trailer nose load maximum value. Most caravans have a limit of 100Kg but check the chassis for details.
In your case and based on the figure you give the minimum legal nose load value should be 4% of 1326 = 53Kg and the maximum 75Kg
The nose load only has to be big enough to allow the outfit to tow stably There is no magic figure for this its down to trial and error - but in your case and as a guide aim to 70 to 75Kg and perhaps reduce it until the outfit feels unhappy and then just up it a bit to keep things steady.
People often forget that during a holiday different things get added and taken away from the caravan,(souvenirs and food) so the nose weight will be different on outward and return journeys. It is advisable to check the nose weight before every journey.
I shoudl add that when the caravan is hitched with the in range nose load, the tow ball must settle to withing 350 and 420 mm from teh gound to teh centre of the ball. If its outside these regulated limits, then soemting is notright. In your case it reads as though it may be too low, in which case it points to overloading the car.
Thank you gentlemen for reply to my problem, as I said before we had to unload the caravan much as possble to get within the max' weight , in doing so the car was lower at back. in doing so there was only the 6 klg bottle and mover forward of the axle.The point of doing the nose weight at both car caravan being level answers one of my concerns .
I think you may have misunderstood our replies, Robert. The car and the caravan do not have to be level, they just have to stand on level ground when measuring the noseweight. Unless the car has self levelling suspension it will not necessary stand level and whether the caravan is level or not will depend on the amount of payload on board. Then there is always a tolerance in the height of the towball which can also affect the result.Robert_374373903 said:
Hello again Robert,
Its not clear from your posts whether you are removeing load from the caravan and adding the items to the car, or whether you are removing items from the rear of the caravan which is causing the nose load to increase.
Either way it seems you may be over loading both the caravan and the car. If that is the case, then you either have to ditch more items or get a bigger car and caravan.
As you point out in your first post. 85% is only a guide, so you may have extra capacity in the cars towing ability, but it would still need a caravan with a bigger load margin to accomodate your holiday items.
Its not clear from your posts whether you are removeing load from the caravan and adding the items to the car, or whether you are removing items from the rear of the caravan which is causing the nose load to increase.
Either way it seems you may be over loading both the caravan and the car. If that is the case, then you either have to ditch more items or get a bigger car and caravan.
As you point out in your first post. 85% is only a guide, so you may have extra capacity in the cars towing ability, but it would still need a caravan with a bigger load margin to accomodate your holiday items.
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