Aye aye, my watch has been dismantled again.
The "S" value should be stamped on the tow bar assembly for the vehicle., It will probably be in the hand book also.
Agreed, but why not simply get it from the handbook rather than grot about on the floor. My statement
Your car will have a figure defined in the manual.
is not incorrect.
Prof wrote
It is wrong to assume the S value for any vehicle . You should always check it for the specific vehicle involved. Different version of the same vehicle can have different S Values - Always check.
There was no suggestion that one should assume this figure, I was generally giving a guide, nothing more. Most cars do seem to have a noseweight figure of 75 kg, but you do have to be careful hence me stating that some can be lower. And it is true that most 4x4s have a considerably higher noseweight allowance.
The holy grail is to have the noseweight as close to the cars limit as possible.
Again, nowt wrong with this statement. It isnt rocket science to know that, all other factors being equal, and being within the cars accepted value, a slightly heavier noseweight is better than one that is too light. On a single axle caravan, a noseweight that is very light will often indicate poor loading.
And I suggested
Get a noseweight guage, they cost very little
Again nothing wrong with that idea or your method of stacking the bathroom scales on a pile of magazines to raise it to the towball height. Both methods are acceptable and used, and neither is fully accurate. Bathroom scales are usually fairly inaccurate and unless you are going to have the road surface levelled and calibrated, neither method will be 100% accurate. whichever method you choose will only be an indication.
The difference here prof between you and I is that I dont get bogged down with finite figures. Caravanning isnt an exact science, and many of your answers can make newbies think it is. I am not trying to be unkind here but in reality, its never going to be laboratory level, but more using all these items as sensible practice.
At the end of the day it all comes down to personal choice as to how you prepare for a journey, and the tug and caravan that you choose. And over time, everybody develops their own "best practice", but you will never ever get everything exact. And the kicker to this is that often, if you do get somewhere close, the actual tow experience will be somewhat less than optimal. It all comes down to learning your own particular outfit and how it feels on the road.