Overloaded Honda CRV?

[jerry4]

I have recently changed my tow car to a 2005 model Honda CRV.
When I hitch up my caravan (Bailey Ranger 540/6) and have the family plus luggage in the car, the the back end of the car seems quite low down. I check the noseweight each trip with a guage I got from the local caravan accessory shop and reads around 65kg which, if anything, is probably a bit on the light side . I'd be interested if anyone else has had a similar problem.
Possible reasons I can think of are:
Noseweight guage is inaccurate (I read a long thread on this forum recently about that) so I will probably check it with some scales.
Car springs are too soft - I wnder if anyone has had experiance of fitting spring assisters to a CRV?
Ask my two sons to go on a diet and lose some weight!! I can imagine their response to that.
A couple of C&CC wardens at a site I stayed on recently seem to relish the opportunity to tell me that my car looked overloaded and I was lucky not to get stopped by the police.
Any comments, ideas gratefully received

 

[Lutz]

You don't say what you've got loaded in the back of the car. Maybe it's not the caravan but all the stuff in the boot that's bringing the car's back end down. 65kg noseweight shouldn't make that much difference. It's relatively easy to do a rough check. If you're reasonably fit, 65kg is about the weight that one can comfortably lift for a few seconds when straddling the A-frame. If you can't lift the A-frame then it does look as though your noseweight gauge is inaccurate and the noseweight is a lot higher. Another check worth doing is to see whether the centre of the towball is lower than the legal minimum (350mm) above the the ground.

 

[TheTravellingRooster]

Hi Jerry,before you follow this advice about 'Straddling the 'A' frame' and lifting the front of the van;just be sure that you have a tightly fitted Blindfold over your eyes to help retain them in their sockets and a Nurse on Hand to help you with your Hernia!.

 

[Lutz]

Really? If your eyes fall out of their sockets when lifting 65kg you're in need of a bit of exercise. I can't claim to be a trained weight lifter but I have no trouble in raising 65kg for a few seconds and I've carried a whole trailerload of 50kg sacks all the way from the car to the back garden without losing my eyeballs.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Jerry,

You have raised the issue of spring assisters.

Spring assisters do not increase the load capacity of your car. Neither should they be necessary to correct any shortcoming you may attribute to the car. e'g soft or depressed suspension. Fundamentally if the hitch rides too low (i.e. less than 350mm ground to centre of ball) then either the vehicle is overloaded, or some part of the vehicle is broken or not to specification.

The additional stiffness spring assisters give to the cars natural suspension will modify its ride characteristics, and unless the devices are approved by the car manufacture they will take the vehicle outside of its designed range of specification and performance.

The manufacture will have specified the standard car with the necessary suspension and spring rates to cope with the maximum designed loads in the specifications. The only reason to fit spring assisters is to modify the ride height for purely cosmetic reasons.

I suggest that you check all the loads you are adding to the car.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi Jerry.
I recently purchased a 06 CRV 2.2 diesel and tow a 07 Bailey Pageant Champagne.
Ive checked my noseweight with both one of those gauges and bathroom scales and mines about 80-85kg.
Its just myself,wife and small dog.
I carry the leisure battery on the floor behind drivers seat(secured of course).
Porch awning and poles,pegs etc. on floor behind the passenger seat.
Clothes and towels on back seat.
Lightweight barbie,basic tool kit,drill,basic food supply,ground sheet etc. goes in boot.
I find that my CRV sits perfectly with this set up.
I can email you some pics with the van and car loaded if you wish so you can see.
Adrian.

 

[jerry4]

Hi

Thanks for all your comments, much appreciated and food for thought.
I think I'll check the noseweight with some bathroom scales as My feeling is it could be too high and the guage inaccurate (the back of the car does seem to go down quite a bit as I lower the van onto the car. In fact I did a quick test by standing on the tow ball and seeing how much the back of the car went down and it was nothing like as much as it does when I hitch the van on (think I weigh about 60kg).
Next is the loading of the car. We do put quite a bit in the car, food, clothing, Bicycles on the roof, gen holiday clutter so perhaps I can redistribute some carefully in the caravan (all low down, over the axle, and with van MPTM etc etc - I know all about the dangers of snaking ).
Lastly, and more of a problem, is the towball height. I'll check if it complies with the legal limit (350mm). If it doesn't I guess the only think I can do is to replace the current fixed towball with a detachable one that will go in front of the number plate

 

[jerry4]

I also mean't to say George and Ade I would be interested in seeing some picks of how your van looks. I'm a bit new to the forum though and don't think I'm supposed to put my e-mail address on here. How do I get my e-mail address to you?

 

[jerry4]

And finally... Will try to avoid a hernia, been there, done that and don't really fancy going under the knife again!

 

[Lutz]

If you know your own weight, standing on the towball to see how far the back end of the car goes down is as good a rough test as any.
By the way, maybe the car is already overloaded judging by the list of things mentioned that all go in. Back in the early 90's, Mercedes had one model of their S-Class range which was already overloaded with more than 3 people on board and no luggage!

 

[xtrailman]

I can just about lift a bag of potatoes 25k i think they weigh, at any rate the ability to lift weights is more about physical strength, not fitness.

Lifting heavy weights is best avoided, a back injury may never be recovered, i would recommended using the jockey wheel, brains not brawn?

 

[Parksy]

I also mean't to say George and Ade I would be interested in seeing some picks of how your van looks. I'm a bit new to the forum though and don't think I'm supposed to put my e-mail address on here. How do I get my e-mail address to you?

I can forward your email address is you want me to

 

[Lutz]

Oh dear, looks like I opened a can of worms with my suggestion to lift the coupling of the caravan by hand. I'm sorry, but although I'm over 60 and have never done much in the way of sports I don't find 65kg uncomfortably heavy. I suppose it's all relative, depending on what one feels confident with. One's got to judge for one's self.

 

[KeithJ]

I know what you mean, Lutz - I do the same myself as a rough check. I wouldn't take any risks with my back, but think I know my own strength and uuse care and common sense.

 

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi Parksy.
I would be grateful if you could forward my email address to Jerry,or vice versa.
Thanks.
Adrian

 

[Parksy]

Consider it done Adrian