I can't believe some of you people are for real! It's not rocket science. All this calibrated, ratios and even body mass index! Pleeeze it's boring pedants (no names no pack drill) who give caravanners a bad name. The poor bloke at the begining only asked if anyone could recommend a gauge!!!! He ends up with War and Peace! I had to keep reading coz I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
I am at a loss to understand why some people think that the law does not apply to them.
Crissbee It only takes one case to be prosecuted, to show the foolhardiness of ignoring the law.
Bigfam,
The question was raised "can anyone recommend a good, accurate, easy to use gauge please"
The answer is that no one has reported good one or an accurate one, as for easy to use all of them need to be used properly and that means finding level ground which may not be easy to do.
I have sought to offer genuine safe advice. I note that no one has found a technical answer to contradict me - only the lazy approach of a few Kg here or there wont matter. Well it does, if you exceed the limit for your combination. Now what is wrong with pointing out bad practice, and explaining why it is bad, and offering advice to help avoid it in the future.
Crissbee It only takes one case to be prosecuted, to show the foolhardiness of ignoring the law.
Bigfam,
The question was raised "can anyone recommend a good, accurate, easy to use gauge please"
The answer is that no one has reported good one or an accurate one, as for easy to use all of them need to be used properly and that means finding level ground which may not be easy to do.
I have sought to offer genuine safe advice. I note that no one has found a technical answer to contradict me - only the lazy approach of a few Kg here or there wont matter. Well it does, if you exceed the limit for your combination. Now what is wrong with pointing out bad practice, and explaining why it is bad, and offering advice to help avoid it in the future.
Well I for one will continue to use my uncalibrated bathroom scales and cut off broom handle. My car drops the suspension automaticly at motorway speeds so according to this thread the noseweight will increase with speed. I don't know (or care) how the aerodynamics will change with this lower tow hitch height, will air flow under the van lower or raise the noseweight? I could leave a large allowance and run with a light noseweight to ensure I'm not over my noseweight limit but I don't want to feature on the traffic news as an "overturned caravan"
Ys, I understand the importance of obeying motoring law, I bet I'm one of the few people using a calibrated tyre pressure gauge. Sorry, I don't know where to get my scales calibrated cheaply.
Ys, I understand the importance of obeying motoring law, I bet I'm one of the few people using a calibrated tyre pressure gauge. Sorry, I don't know where to get my scales calibrated cheaply.
the police do have a purge now and again with caravans ,a few years back at Easter we were going along the M4 ,and along came a motor cycle cop and indicated for us to pull in the services at Leigh Delamare , as we got in there they had some more Police and 3 engineers checking the vans allthough they didnt check the nose weight ,they checked the lights ,tyres ,and looked under the van ,checked the hitch for movement ,they also looked at our bike rack ,checked the lights ,there was a few vans in front of us and 2 of them were still there when we left ,one of them you could see the nose weight was heavy ,the front of the car was pointing towards the sky ,but it was quite a freindly experience ,the policeman was a caravaner so we had a bit of freindly banter between us
Well done Chrisbee you beat me to the response!!!!!!!!!
I for another will continue to use my bathroom scales and broom stick as it has proved the most reliable (and simple) way of doing this task.
I have tried both the types of guage on offer from Towsure and both have proved inappropriate to the task.
This is not supposed to be a academic mathematical formula it is called "common sense". The recommended noseweight is APPROX 7% of the MTPLM. But the advice is that the controlling factor is whatever the lowest figure is for either the car, towbar or caravan.
The word pedantic seems to cover some of the responses made to this innocent question on a "simple topic".
I'm off for a large G&T and test my "nose weight" against the glass!!!!!!!
I for another will continue to use my bathroom scales and broom stick as it has proved the most reliable (and simple) way of doing this task.
I have tried both the types of guage on offer from Towsure and both have proved inappropriate to the task.
This is not supposed to be a academic mathematical formula it is called "common sense". The recommended noseweight is APPROX 7% of the MTPLM. But the advice is that the controlling factor is whatever the lowest figure is for either the car, towbar or caravan.
The word pedantic seems to cover some of the responses made to this innocent question on a "simple topic".
I'm off for a large G&T and test my "nose weight" against the glass!!!!!!!
I have no problem with caravaners using bathroom scales, as was suggested it is possible to ascertain their accuracy by using pre measured bags and sacks of produce as test masses.
But if you are going to cut a length of wood to act as your sprag to transfer the nose load to the scales, why not cut it to give the minimum height and thus maximum nose load.
I shy away from saying it is common sense, because clearly there are lots of people who do not see it that way, so I prefer to call it good sense.
The 7% recommended towing figure falls into the same category as the fabled 85% ratio. They are both only recommendations, and neither takes in to account changes in vehicle design, and changes to the law.
I disagree with Alun J's comment that the content of some replies has become pedantic. If a practice is flawed and will lead to breeches of the law, is it not only right to expose the suspect practice but also to explain why.
What is unforgivable is to describe a practice and suggest it should be used when the writer knows it is wrong.
Enjoy your G&T and I hope the barpersons measure is over size!
But if you are going to cut a length of wood to act as your sprag to transfer the nose load to the scales, why not cut it to give the minimum height and thus maximum nose load.
I shy away from saying it is common sense, because clearly there are lots of people who do not see it that way, so I prefer to call it good sense.
The 7% recommended towing figure falls into the same category as the fabled 85% ratio. They are both only recommendations, and neither takes in to account changes in vehicle design, and changes to the law.
I disagree with Alun J's comment that the content of some replies has become pedantic. If a practice is flawed and will lead to breeches of the law, is it not only right to expose the suspect practice but also to explain why.
What is unforgivable is to describe a practice and suggest it should be used when the writer knows it is wrong.
Enjoy your G&T and I hope the barpersons measure is over size!
With caravans getting heavier all the time but max. noseweight for many cars limited to 75kg it is time that the 7% formula disappeared from published guidelines.
For those really concerned about possible inaccuracy of their scales, what is to stop anyone from setting the noseweight to 70kg in the case of a 75kg limit? Then you still have a 5kg margin to cover yourself for errors in measurement. On the other hand, the odd trip at 80kg is unlikely to result in material failure or prosecution in the event of a police check, which as many have indicated, is highly unlikely, anyway. I would think that the police would only step in if load distribution obviously appears to be wrong. I am sure there are plently on the road in well excess off 100kg even though the manufacturer's limit is only 75kg and you don't need a calibrated scale to identify that.
For those really concerned about possible inaccuracy of their scales, what is to stop anyone from setting the noseweight to 70kg in the case of a 75kg limit? Then you still have a 5kg margin to cover yourself for errors in measurement. On the other hand, the odd trip at 80kg is unlikely to result in material failure or prosecution in the event of a police check, which as many have indicated, is highly unlikely, anyway. I would think that the police would only step in if load distribution obviously appears to be wrong. I am sure there are plently on the road in well excess off 100kg even though the manufacturer's limit is only 75kg and you don't need a calibrated scale to identify that.
Hi Guys
re my ongoing noseweight problem, i found i had to load at the the extreme rear to bring my noseweight down to 100 kg ish - now tows better, car higher which reduced weight too. reluctant to try the stick and scales - have a stick gauge but the graduations are only transfers which are being scraped off by the top seal!
cheers
Howard
re my ongoing noseweight problem, i found i had to load at the the extreme rear to bring my noseweight down to 100 kg ish - now tows better, car higher which reduced weight too. reluctant to try the stick and scales - have a stick gauge but the graduations are only transfers which are being scraped off by the top seal!
cheers
Howard
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