noseweights and tyre pressures

Mar 31, 2006
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hi just this minute enrolled on this superb sight and im trying to find out some info about a 21 yr old abbey cambridge i plan to tow this van with a 94 1.8 vauxhall cavalier does any one know the max nose weight and the correct tyre pressures for the abbey cheers john
 
Mar 14, 2005
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Hi John.

Welcome to the crazy world of camping!!

The noseweight is the downwardload on the towball, car & van makers both give this figure in their handbook, which can be anything from 75kg-100kg whichever is the lower figure that is the one to go by,IE: if car has 75k and van 100k then stick to 75k. the ideal is about 7% of the acual laden weight of the van,

To find if your car is able to tow your van, find the kerbweight of the car(in hand book)Devide this figure by 100 then multiply by 85 this will give you 85% recomended towing limit.If you dont have handbooks , use a public weighbridge about a fiver or so,

I am assuming you are new to towing if so, I would highly recomend a towing course with the Caravan & Camping Club,

I hope this is a help, anything else come back,

Enjoy It is great fun..

Jim M
 
Mar 14, 2005
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John

Sorry mate I forgot to say about tyres, youu will find that in hand book also on the side of the tyre, It is important to run any tyre at it's optimum pressure, How old are the tyres, It is recomended that the be changed at least every Five years, because they may look good but by it's nature a van spends 90% of it's life stood still with all the weight in one place.This can cause deteriation in the sidewalls.

If you'r not sure change them anyway, It's your life.

Jim M
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I towed with a 1.8 Vectra/Cavalier for a good many years and can confirm 75kg is the max. permissible noseweight. It would be worth sticking as close as possible to that figure (without exceeding it though) regardless of the weight of the 'van. I'd forget the 7% formula.

The maximum permissible towload is 1300kg. I used to tow almost on that limit but ideally it would be better to leave yourself with a slightly bigger margin, as Jim.M says.
 
Nov 6, 2005
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Although the '94 1.8i Vauxhall Cavalier / Opel Vectra had a towing limit of 1300kg, the Cavalier's kerbweight ranged from 1146 (LS saloon manual) to 1206 (GLS hatch auto) so it would be wise not to exceed 100%.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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My 1.8 manual LS hatchback at the time weighed 1243kg (with towbar). Just goes to show what differences there are between published and actual figures. (The towbar including all its mounting hardware already weighed getting on for 40kg and that's not included in any published data).
 
Nov 6, 2005
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My 1.8 manual LS hatchback at the time weighed 1243kg (with towbar). Just goes to show what differences there are between published and actual figures. (The towbar including all its mounting hardware already weighed getting on for 40kg and that's not included in any published data).
Vauxhall's figure for a 1.8 LS hatch manual is 1161 kg. Opels may have had a different specification but generally UK cars are said to have more equipment than their equivalents elsewhere.

A manufacturers figure is all we have to go on when selecting a new car, they don't make it easy do they.
 
Mar 14, 2005
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My 1.8 manual LS hatchback at the time weighed 1243kg (with towbar). Just goes to show what differences there are between published and actual figures. (The towbar including all its mounting hardware already weighed getting on for 40kg and that's not included in any published data).
Nearly all manufacturers, including Vauxhall and Opel, quote the lowest possible kerbweight in their publications and do not take into account any regular production options, production tolerances, etc.

Actual series measurements of bodies-in-white during production, i.e. without power train or any final assembly components, revealed differences of up to 15kg in the body alone. This is accounted for by tolerances in sheet metal, paint and underbody corrosion protection thicknesses. Add to that optional equipment not accounted for and there can easily be large differences between 2 vehicles of the same model variant and invariably cars are heavier than published.

On their website, Ford, for example, quote a spread of between 1669kg and 2003kg for the Galaxy, That's a whopping 334kg between the lightest and the heaviest variant!
 
Mar 31, 2006
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My 1.8 manual LS hatchback at the time weighed 1243kg (with towbar). Just goes to show what differences there are between published and actual figures. (The towbar including all its mounting hardware already weighed getting on for 40kg and that's not included in any published data).
thanks to jim ,lutz and roger for your very prompt response and technical data i will certainly ask again if i get any problems ,thanks again
 

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