Problem with noseweight

May 10, 2007
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Hi, we are new to caravanining and are going to a site tomorrow for the first time. I have loaded the van but I cant get the noseweight down to 75kg. With the van empty the noseweight is 105kg. I have had to put everything well to the rear of the axel, in the rear washroom. Is this normal. I have a Bailey Senator Arizona. When I collected the van I had to put 50kg of potting compost in the washroom, which got the weight down to about 72kg and towed it 150 miles home with no problem. Is it safe to move one of the gas bottles into the rear of the van? as I cant see any other way to get the required noseweight. Any help greatly appreciated.

Alan
 
May 10, 2007
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Sorry, just to say a bit about ourselves. We are completely new to caravaning, never considered it before, we are in our late fifty's, well actually I am 60. We have two dogs and about to get a third and are looking forward to taking them and our grandson away to as many sites as posible. Still working but can take time of, weekends etc. Any recomendations for dog friendly sites would be appreciated. Thank you

Alan & Christine
 

Mel

Mar 17, 2007
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R u sure u were measuring it right. We are also new to this and got one of those noseweight gauges. the weight was going over 100kg, with a very small gas bottle and an aquaroll in the front locker and the rest of the caravan efffectively empty apart from fixtures and fittings. we assumed that we were doing it wrong, specifically that the van was not level. We are of course complete idiots in technical matters and always assume we've got it wrong!
 
May 31, 2007
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Hi, we picked up our Bailey on Friday and I was the same, when I weighed it at the weekend it was over 100kg I had to empty the front locker apart from the gas bottle which needs to be securly fastened in the locker and load the van with spare wheel and chairs etc inside the van back from the centre of the axle. It towed ok but I wouldnt like to tow with so much weight on the hitch again the limit recommended on my tow bracket is 75kg that is with the gas bottle in the front locker. Don't forget when you get all your equipment in the van it will even it out but remember to load the van correctly.
 
Jan 2, 2006
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A word of caution from an old hand of 30+years towing do not under any circumstances load the van to the rear to reduce noseweight you will end with car and van in a heap at the side of the road.Few vans load to the noiseweight quoted load it to the weight for the towbar.Heavy items over the axle ,only light items evenly spread in roof locker and the rest mainly to the front.
 

Mel

Mar 17, 2007
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OK I am now thoroughly confused.

1. My experience and others in this thread is that a new essentially empty van, has a noseweight over 100kg.

2. The way to get the noseweight down is to put weight in the back.

3. Putting weight in the back is a definate no no.

4. I assume every Bailey Senator Arizona and Swift Challenger is built much the same so they are building them with heavy noses.

There is something fundementally wrong here? What? answers in words of one syllable suitable for stupid people please.
 
Jul 15, 2005
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Mel, Alan, et al.

You're not wrong in your assumptions - a number of modern UK made caravans have been designed and built with rather (excessively) heavy nose-weights - beyond the limit for most normal saloon cars - and sometimes beyond the design limit for the AL-KO coupling on the caravan.

In the example posted by Alan - a measured 105kg nose-weight is 5kg above the design limit for the AL-KO coupling.

The nose-weight is one of the legal requirements you must comply with when towing a caravan, so you need to load the caravan - placing heavy items low down and just behind the axle so that the nose-weight reduces to legal levels.

Loading the rear of the caravan - to the exclusion of the area behind the axle - so you have a dumbbell like weight distribution is not the greatest idea (and the Plotter has already suggested avoiding this). But be aware that you may need to move weight backwards from the axle to achieve a reasonable nose-weight.

This, and other issues, is one reason I like German caravans - these are designed with a longer A-frame compared to a UK caravan - and this means that nose-weights are typically in the 30 kg to 60 kg bracket for all German caravans.

Robert
 
Mar 14, 2005
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I can only confirm Rob_jax's statements. I also have a German caravan. Although I have an 11kg and a 5kg gas bottle, the spare wheel and various other junk (cables, wooden blocks, etc.) in the front locker, the nose weight does not exceed 75kg when the caravan is otherwise empty.
 
Jan 2, 2006
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Sorry Lutz/Rob-Jax you have lost me there if the fulcrum point is the axle and you increase the distance from it to the towball by increasing the length of the A frame surely this will increase not reduce the noseweight.Possible (very possible) I am missing something long time since i was a school doing all the various maths (geometry,trig etc.)
 

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