I'm new to caravaning, and am about to buy my first towcar. I looked at a Kia Ceed 3 door hatchback 1.6 petrol, and phoned the caravan Club to ask about suitability. The lady told me the towball weight of the Ceed is 50kg and not suitable for my caravan - an Eldiss Hurricaine Vouge. I didnt fully understand what this meant - could someone explain?
Towball weight?
- Thread starter James_374553979
- Start date
A vehicles towball weight of nose weight is the load that the vehicle structure has been designed to take as a force weighing down on the ball.
A caravan absolutely must apply part of its weight down on the coupling hitch on to the towball of the vehicle, otherwise it will be very unstable; as a guide that force should be quite high generally from 75 to 100kgs. The larger the vehicle and caravan allow that weight to be the more stable things are. Part of the reason for this is that the wind drag on the front upper face of the caravan is trying to tip it backwards and reduce that stabilising load on the ball; so the more it is static the more there is when travelling.
Your 50 kgs is awfully low and really indicates the vehicle is not well suited for hauling a caravan, probable its aimed more at a small trailer where that tipping force will not exist.
A caravan absolutely must apply part of its weight down on the coupling hitch on to the towball of the vehicle, otherwise it will be very unstable; as a guide that force should be quite high generally from 75 to 100kgs. The larger the vehicle and caravan allow that weight to be the more stable things are. Part of the reason for this is that the wind drag on the front upper face of the caravan is trying to tip it backwards and reduce that stabilising load on the ball; so the more it is static the more there is when travelling.
Your 50 kgs is awfully low and really indicates the vehicle is not well suited for hauling a caravan, probable its aimed more at a small trailer where that tipping force will not exist.
Thank you JTQ. Can I ask if the 75 to 100kgs is a general towball weight that suits all caravans, or will there be a stated towball weight for my particular caravan? I would assume the towball weight is also dictated by the way the caravan is loaded?
James, there is unlikely to be a stated towball weight for a UK caravan. There has been a guide figure of about 7% of the vans maximum weight but with larger/heavier vans this is unachievable. Most UK supplied vans have chassis and hitches rated at a maximum of 100kg. Some Continental vans have the wheels located further aft, usually by using a longer "A" frame and this facilitates lighter nose weights down to about 4%.
A good guide figure is to work close to the limits dictated by vehicle or caravan, whichever sets the limit. Its also very unwise to work with levels as low as 50 kg with a normal sized UK manufactured caravan.
Many are restrained by their tow vehicle to a limit of 75kgs and this seems to result in nice stable units, where the van is not a long one.
The towball weight is indeed dictated by how the van is loaded, and thus this is how you control what it is. Don't forget however that the biggest masses and bulk of the mass must be located near the axle as this reduces the moment of inertia of the van swinging about the axle line.["snaking/yawing"]
So with the big masses in place near the axle, logically one side of the axle or the other to get towards the right nose weight, then trim with moving one of these items either a bit one-way or the other. It soon becomes evident what you need to do and where things travel.
A good guide figure is to work close to the limits dictated by vehicle or caravan, whichever sets the limit. Its also very unwise to work with levels as low as 50 kg with a normal sized UK manufactured caravan.
Many are restrained by their tow vehicle to a limit of 75kgs and this seems to result in nice stable units, where the van is not a long one.
The towball weight is indeed dictated by how the van is loaded, and thus this is how you control what it is. Don't forget however that the biggest masses and bulk of the mass must be located near the axle as this reduces the moment of inertia of the van swinging about the axle line.["snaking/yawing"]
So with the big masses in place near the axle, logically one side of the axle or the other to get towards the right nose weight, then trim with moving one of these items either a bit one-way or the other. It soon becomes evident what you need to do and where things travel.
Parksy
Moderator
- Nov 12, 2009
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Hi James
Your caravan will have a noseweight which must not be exceeded and your towcar will also have a noseweight which must not be exceeded so you need to work to the lower of the two.
As JTQ has pointed out caravan stability depends on a realistic noseweight and the figure of 50kg is unsuitable for your caravan.
The relevant section on towing law from the Home Page of this website states:
Noseweight
'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.
Your caravan will have a noseweight which must not be exceeded and your towcar will also have a noseweight which must not be exceeded so you need to work to the lower of the two.
As JTQ has pointed out caravan stability depends on a realistic noseweight and the figure of 50kg is unsuitable for your caravan.
The relevant section on towing law from the Home Page of this website states:
Noseweight
'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.
- Mar 10, 2006
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james
you also need to consider the M.T.P.L.M, of you caravan, i looked at a Elddis Hurricane this afternoon, very impressed.
The 2010 brochure shows a weight of 1440kgs for the latest version of your caravan.
So your tow car must be capable of towing this weight.
you also need to consider the M.T.P.L.M, of you caravan, i looked at a Elddis Hurricane this afternoon, very impressed.
The 2010 brochure shows a weight of 1440kgs for the latest version of your caravan.
So your tow car must be capable of towing this weight.
Looking at the Ceed specs, the 1.6 petrol kerbweight is only 1230kg and its max towing capacity is 1200kg, the towball limit is 55kg. The 1.6 diesel however has a kerbweight over 1350kg, a max towing capacity of 1400kg and for some strange reason an towball capacity of 75kg. So it's the diesel you want but you'd be towing at over 100% if your van is 1400kg which is not advisable if you are a novice and may be illegal depending on when you passed your driving test.
Hi, the ceed should be ok against the Elddis Hurricane Vogue 855kg ULW if it is the 1997 year, this is nowhere near 1400kg what others are suggesting.
Thank you all for you assisatnce. I now realise the Ceed isnt up to the job. However, the garage has a 1.8 three door Astra hatchback which I like. Would this tow my caravan, which is 1200kg in weight?
Thank you all for your assistance. I now realise the Ceed isnt up to the job. However, the garage has a three door. 1.8 Astra hatchback which I like. Would this tow my caravan, which, accoding to the paperwork, is 1200kg in weight?
- Mar 14, 2005
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To the best of my knowledge, all Astra models have a maximum permissible noseweight of 75kg. But more important than the noseweight is the permissible towload. A 1.8 Astra will probably have a limit of at least 1200kg, but you need to check with the data on the car's VIN plate for definitive information as there may be variances depending on model year, whether manual or automatic, etc.
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