Nosewight confusion

[Sproket]

Morning !

i have just been reading this article from a link on the home page !!

It is a legal requirement that the noseweight should be 4% of the weight of the trailer or at least 25kg, whichever is the higher.. For safety you should aim for, but not exceed, the lower of the 2 figures specified for caravan and car respectively.

Question !!

i have just had my hymer up to the weight bridge ( the rollover type what wagons use ) got each axle weight ok , disconected the van & got weight of my truck, hm! van weighs 1520kg as is with mover fitted & wheel clamps ect on board, went home got the bathroom scales out and my nose weight is 85kg max van weight is 1600kg going by what i have read and the 4% rule im 20 kg over, ( my truck allows me 125kg on the tow bar )

help !!

Steve

 

[WatsonJohnG]

The noseweight is largely governed by what the towbar/car manufacturer states

There was a study but that recommended 7% of van weight

I have found that to be of no use to me as I have struggled with a series of rear fixed bed vans to get the noseweight down to 100kg even with the spare wheel at the back and loading under the bed.

I would say aim to be as near to the permitted towbar limit for max stability

 

[WatsonJohnG]

The noseweight is largely governed by what the towbar/car manufacturer states

There was a study but that recommended 7% of van weight

I have found that to be of no use to me as I have struggled with a series of rear fixed bed vans to get the noseweight down to 100kg even with the spare wheel at the back and loading under the bed.

I would say aim to be as near to the permitted towbar limit for max stability

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/Documents/Matching%20Car%20and%20Caravan.pdf

 

[rayc]

Sproket, "It is a legal requirement that the noseweight should be 4% of the weight of the trailer or at least 25kg, whichever is the higher"..

This is saying that the MINIMUM noseweight is 4% not SHOULD be 4%. As John has said there were recommendations that the optimum noseweight should be 7% but this has been found to be impractical as vans have got heavier.

In your case you could aim for up to 125kg, assuming that the caravan tow hitch has not got a lower limit e.g. 100kg.

 

[Sproket]

Sproket, "It is a legal requirement that the noseweight should be 4% of the weight of the trailer or at least 25kg, whichever is the higher"..

This is saying that the MINIMUM noseweight is 4% not SHOULD be 4%. As John has said there were recommendations that the optimum noseweight should be 7% but this has been found to be impractical as vans have got heavier.

In your case you could aim for up to 125kg, assuming that the caravan tow hitch has not got a lower limit e.g. 100kg.

Hi Ray

Thanks for that i will try to find out what it states in the handbook / tow hitch

Steve

 

[Lutz]

Ray, I'm afraid you've got it wrong. The legal requirement is that the noseweight must be at least 25kg or 4%, whichever is the lower, not whichever is the higher. The same goes for the maximum limit, which is that of the car and caravan respecitively, whichever is the lower. It is sensible to aim to get the noseweight as close as possible to the maximum limit. The 7% formaula is an anachronism from the past when no legal requirements existed and has no real relevance today.

 

[rayc]

Lutz, that is what I have said, that the nose weight should be in excess of 4% i.e 4%is the minimum.

If I have got that wrong please explain.

 

[rayc]

Lutz, that is what I have said, that the nose weight should be in excess of 4% i.e 4%is the minimum.

If I have got that wrong please explain.

obviously in Sproket's case the 25kg is not relavent.

 

[RogerL]

The 7% figure came as a generalised recommendation from experienced caravanners - before ANY research on trailer stability had been done. It originates from the days when most caravans were under 1000kg gross.

It's not difficult to show that heavier noseweight gives more stability - all other things being equal - but 7% is beyond many car's capability when coupled with an otherwise suitable trailer.

In my opinion, the noseweight should be "as heavy as possible but within the limits imposed by car, towbar, towball and trailer hitch".

 

[Lutz]

No, Ray(c), I'm afraid you've still got it wrong. If 4% is more than 25kg, then 25kg is the minimum. The 4% minimum would therefore only apply to a trailer less than 625kg, which excludes pretty well all caravans.

 

[rob_jax]

And the 7% guideline talked about on here - is a recommendation based on years of experience of UK made caravans.

Your Hymer caravan has a different geometry to UK caravans (longer A-frame - increased stability for same nose-weight) and you may well find that above 4% and less than 7% works very on a Hymer. And I would expect a Hymer ballasted to around 4% would tow similarly to a UK caravan ballasted to around 7%.

So if you are happy with the stability of your caravan with a 85 kg nose-weight, then I'd suggest you keep with that weight.

We tow a 1000kg Eriba Triton (same Hymer geometry) with a nose-weight of around 40 kg...

 

[WatsonJohnG]

And the 7% guideline talked about on here - is a recommendation based on years of experience of UK made caravans.

Your Hymer caravan has a different geometry to UK caravans (longer A-frame - increased stability for same nose-weight) and you may well find that above 4% and less than 7% works very on a Hymer. And I would expect a Hymer ballasted to around 4% would tow similarly to a UK caravan ballasted to around 7%.

So if you are happy with the stability of your caravan with a 85 kg nose-weight, then I'd suggest you keep with that weight.

We tow a 1000kg Eriba Triton (same Hymer geometry) with a nose-weight of around 40 kg...

Wow I could only dream of that !!

 

[Sproket]

Hi Rob_jax

Thanks for that,

When I pulled it back from Wales it didn't seem a problem, but since then I have had a mover fitted and I have got round to weighing the whole unit, but I noticed more bump on the back end of my truck from the nose of the trailer, that's the whole reason I weighed the nose, maybe I'm feeling it more because of the leaf springs not being so forgiving ?? And the mover is mounted forward of the axle, I know we are going to have to experiment with loading.....Steve