weights

[Simon_374364308]

my caravan is a senator 6 with a MTPLM of 1500kg.My tow car is 07 passat tdi sport,we try and put most of the are belongings in the car but we don,t take alot.I am finding that once I hook up the back wheels of the car go into the wheel arches and the clearance at the front of the van is not alot and this is with just the gas bottle in the front locker.Has anyone got any ideas

 

[weejock]

It maybe the case that you are overloading the back axle of the car depending upon the weight of the items you are putting in the boot.

 

[TD42]

simon, Just a question have you checked the nose weight of your Loaded van & is it within the tolerances of your car?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Simon,

As Tony writes, you do need to check your nose weight. The maximum nose weight your car can accept should be stamped on the towbar. To be legal you must not exceed this figure. There have been extensive posts on this forum about how to measure nose weights - use the 'Forum Search' facility to check them out.

As the height of the towball is primarily dependant on the compression of the cars rear springs, you should also check the weights in your car. Don't for get that the nose weight produced by the caravan also adds load to the rear axle.

When you have got you weights right, the final check is to see that the centre of the towball is between 350 and 420mm from the ground. These are also legal limits