Noseweights
Comments
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Heavier the nose the greater the stability. Don't exceed the Alko hitch limit of 100 kg or the cars rated maximum. Shift weight forward if you are too low and be aware of the Club guidelines for the minimum (5% - 7% of MTPLM I believe, but somebody may correct
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Irrespective of the
carrying capacity of the actual hitch fitted,
I believe you will find most European caravans have chassis
limited to 100kgs noseweight.So even if your vehicle is able to carry above 100 kgs that is the limit.
Most things considered, IMO the towing experience will be “better” using the maximum value the car can take up to that 100 kgs.
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Thanks very much - that helps a lot. In 'towing configuration' (ie, loaded, hitched & ready to go) my caravan has a noseweight of around 30kg towing with a 3 ltr Hilux. I'll play around and get some more weight onto the hitch. It tows perfectly but I can
appreciate the target weight especially when running in rear wheel drive mode. Thanks very much for your replies0 -
30 Kgs is very low indeed and IMO far too close to inviting instability issues. For example induced by wind/ passing bow-waves slams into the van's front so unloading much of the hitch load. In German I believe the legal limit is 4% of the van's weight but
not less than 25 kgs. I suspect you are under that as most vans are way over 750 kgs!0 -
As per hitchglitch 5-7% of MTPLM is recommended.
I also agree.
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We set our nose weight to 5% of the vans 1300kg and find this is fine for us
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Many modern vans have the opposite problem of excessive noseweight. I think in some cases this is due to the fact that they are pushing the limit for single axles with quite large rear overhangs.
From my experience 30 kg nose weight would not be good for towing and much more prone to instability/sway. You really do need to load the gas locker and front lockers more, preferably shifting weight from the rear.
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I put more weight in the front and am glad I did ! I towed back from Cumbria yesterday and the additional weight on the hitch was very appreciated. Speeds were down to 55, even 50 in places with high side & nose winds, and the 'revs' were considerably 'up' because of this
I've since found out (back at home) that the 'ideal' noseweight for my caravan & car combination is 85 Kg, so I'll be making whatever adjustments are necessary to achieve this on my next outing
Thank you very much for all your replies on this thread
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I've the same motor as you moonchip , the only time I have measured the nose weight and loaded the caravan accordingly it towed horrable I stopped and threw all the gear back to the front of the caravan and it tows much better.
Mine seems to prefer more wieght on the back,
My Hilux always has weight in the back.
Do you run yours lightly loaded?
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I've the same motor as you moonchip , the only time I have measured the nose weight and loaded the caravan accordingly it towed horrable I stopped and threw all the gear back to the front of the caravan and it tows much better.
Mine seems to prefer more wieght on the back,
My Hilux always has weight in the back.
Do you run yours lightly loaded?
Hello
The back seats of the cab are always full of kit (which I could put in the caravan to increase nose weight).
The buck (load area) is usually full though not always with heavy things. Next time I tow I'm going to try about 200Kg's and see if it makes any difference
Thanks for your reply
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do you have a hard top on yours?
i have a truckmann top with no side windows. I ve made a shelf at the back that runs half way up the load area which I find very handy rather than piling all the gear on top of each other.
I often tow a 2.8 tonne trailler fully loaded, god knows what the nose weight is on that, have had the jockey wheel bending before.
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I've the same motor as you moonchip , the only time I have measured the nose weight and loaded the caravan accordingly it towed horrable I stopped and threw all the gear back to the front of the caravan and it tows much better.
Mine seems to prefer more wieght on the back,
My Hilux always has weight in the back.
Do you run yours lightly loaded?
Hello
The back seats of the cab are always full of kit (which I could put in the caravan to increase nose weight).
The buck (load area) is usually full though not always with heavy things. Next time I tow I'm going to try about 200Kg's and see if it makes any difference
Thanks for your reply
Write your comments here... At 200 kg you will be well over any vehicle or trailer limit! Perhaps your front wheels will even be off the ground
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I've the same motor as you moonchip , the only time I have measured the nose weight and loaded the caravan accordingly it towed horrable I stopped and threw all the gear back to the front of the caravan and it tows much better.
Mine seems to prefer more wieght on the back,
My Hilux always has weight in the back.
Do you run yours lightly loaded?
Hello
The back seats of the cab are always full of kit (which I could put in the caravan to increase nose weight).
The buck (load area) is usually full though not always with heavy things. Next time I tow I'm going to try about 200Kg's and see if it makes any difference
Thanks for your reply
Write your comments here... At 200 kg you will be well over any vehicle or trailer limit! Perhaps your front wheels will even be off the ground
You must have softer suspension than mine. 600 Kg of paving slabs and the suspension on mine is only just starting to 'give'
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At 200 kg you will be well over any vehicle or trailer limit! Perhaps your front wheels will even be off the ground
You must have softer suspension than mine. 600 Kg of paving slabs and the suspension on mine is only just starting to 'give'
Whether the suspension 'gives' or not doesn't change the weight distribution between the front and rear axle, though. A car can sit perfectly level and yet the permissible rear axle load can still be exceeded.
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UPDATE :
3rd trip away of 2016, this time showing a noseweight of 81Kg and approx. 180Kg in the buck of the Hilux.
The extra weight in both has made a considerable difference. It was stable before but now is much more so. Thoroughly rock-solid stable at 60 mph even with strong head, side & tail winds. Also now completely unaffected by passing HGV's & coaches
Thanks so much for all your replies - really apprecaited
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