Towing caravan completely level

[GeorgeandAde]

Hi.
Just returned from Hillhead,Brixham after a lovely weeks holiday.
I have a 2014 Bailey Pursuit and tow with a 2011 Volkswagen Tiguan 2.0 TDI 4 motion.
Both vehicle and van have a 100kg. Max. Load weight.
However,im a bit of a fanatic when it comes to caravan noseweight and aim to keep mine at 90-95 kg.but the caravan sits perfectly level without the slight dip at the front.
The boot of the car is reasonably well loaded without being silly.
I do feel the rear of the van twitching from side to side very occasionally(I always keep speed down to 55ish when towing).
All my other vans were very slightly nose down.

 

[Lutz]

Contrary to common belief, so long as the noseweight is set correctly with the hitch at the same height as when towing, it makes no difference if the caravan is sitting level, nose up or nose down.

 

[Raywood]

I do agree that it makes very little difference if the nose is up or down provided it is not too great. The CAMH does suggest that slightly nose down is best though.
If the combination is twitchy though I would have another look at the loading as the Tiguan is a very good tow car and should be steady.

 

[otherclive]

As well as noseload and caravan loading and distribution are the cars tyres at the right pressure for towing? I’d assume steering alignment and shock absorbers are all okay.
Tiguans and the Skoda equivalent have a good reputation as tow cars so I suspect that the twitching is caused by something or a combination of small things not quite right. Was this your first outing with this car and caravan.

 

[Dustydog]

What were the corcumstances of the twitches? Coming out of a screened area and crossing a viaduct or open country winds can blow without warning. Is your ATC fully functional. Is your Al-ko hitch correctly set, ie the friction pads.
We’re you passed by a large car transporter or coach?

 

[ProfJohnL]

The EU construction and use regulations set limits for the height of a loaded towball on cars of between 350 and 420mm from the ground to the geometric centre of the towball.

They also set a range of height a tow ball coupling should be when a loaded caravan's internal floor is level of between 385 and 455mm.

These two different directives means it is possible for a car and a caravan at opposite ends of their regulatory ranges to present with nose up or nose down attitudes. There will be an aerodynamic effect but in practice the differences would be swamped by other structural differences of cars and caravans and its unlikely any normal driver would be able to detect the difference.