Noseweight

[AlanfromKent]

Hi, Can anyone give any advice on how to get the noseweight down. I have a Bailey Senator Arizona and when I collected the van I checked the noseweight and it was over a hundred kilo's with nothing in it except a gas bottle and a Aqua roll in the front locker. To get the weight down I had to put 50kg of potting compost in the rear bathroom I then towed it home 150 miles with no problems. I go on holiday tomorrow for the first time and I have loaded the van by putting all the heavy stuff like awning and dog cage in the bathroom but the noseweight is still too high at 85kg. My car says 75kg max. Is it safe to move the gas bottle into the rear of the van. Other than that I can't think what to do. Any advice would be much appreciated. By the way we are compleetly new caravaners, so am a bit green.

Thanks

Alan

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi alan

seems a bit heavy does that especialy on a empty bailey I have the opposite problem not enough nose weight its only 45kg with two full gas bottles on board in the front locker

are you sure you are mesuring it right the van must be on level ground legsup and brakes off (but chock the wheels)check inside the van under front benches ect for any heavy items like awnings ect that may have been left in and put the spare wheel in a carrier at the back load the van up ready to go and check the weight again moving stuff around if nessesary carry some water in the container for balast and if the hot water boiler is in front of the wheels drain it and try it again oh and check the weight at the tow hitch, not with a bathroom scales under the jocky wheel as some have done,

let us know how you get on

colin

 

[Ewan_5130997]

Hi Alan

Must be a Bailey thing......I have a Ranger 550/6 which when empty has a nose weight of nearly 100kg. Add the gas bottle in the front locker and the problems really start. I have stored the spare wheel under the rear bunk and have to carry the awning, aquaroll, wheel lock etc at the back to meet the 70 kg noseweight of my car

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Alan,

Nose weights are often a problem, and answer is that you have to take care on where you place items in the caravan. I think you appreciate that a caravan is like a see-saw, so the nose weight can be adjusted by moving items around in the caravan. By careful positioning it should be possible to achieve the optimum figure.

Do bear in mind that both the car and caravan manufactures specify maximum figures. You must keep the load within the lower of the two figures to remain legal. In your case 75Kg. It is generally accepted that you should arrange to use as much of the available nose load limits as possible to maximise the stability of the outfit.

With regard to the gas bottle; the regulations require that a gas bottle must be transported, used and stored in an upright position; It should be secured to prevent movement, and contained in a space with free ventilation above and below the bottle. So moving it to the rear of the caravan is not an option. Consider only taking 1 bottle or a smaller one, and changing it when necessary at your destination.

Colin of Yorkshire has given some practical advice, though in addition it is important that the tow hitch must be at the same level as when it is attached to the car. Otherwise a false reading will be obtained.

It is always advisable to the weight of all items a small as possible, and regardless of where the water heater is, it should be drained, not only to keep the overall weight down, but to protect the heater its-self from having 9Kg of water sloshing around, the momentum of which has been known to weaken tank seals.

Always keep heavy items as low in the caravan as possible.

 

[AlanfromKent]

Hi, thanks for your tips. I have made sure thet the van is level and I have managed to get the noseweight down to the required 75kg. but I have had to put virtually everything into the rear washroom. If I load over the axel I cant get below 95kg. It seems daft to me to have the facility to put two gas bottles in the front box when it makes the noseweight excessive.

What I cant understand is that with a completly empty van the noseweight is over 100kg

Alan

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello again Alan,

I note from your last reply that you have arranged to get the caravan level.

That may not be right - The weighing must be done on level ground, but the caravan must be set up so that the hitch is at the same height as if it were connected to the car, which means the caravan it self may not be level, more often than not actually slightly nose down.

It all to do with the fact that the caravan's centre of gravity will move relative to the contact point of the main road wheels on the road as the caravan is tipped. The higher the tow hitch, the further back the CoG will move and in some cases it can pass behind the road wheels and the caravan may tip back and stay. Conversely the lower the tow-hitch, the further forward the CoG moves and the nose load increases.