Unladen nose-weight
Comments
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I have a quite low nosewieght limit on my car of 60kg; then again I am only towing a 900kg all-up van- but I check my noseweight everytime I hitch- at least when I leave the storage site. I do find there is quite a variance- the fridge loading is the principle
one it appears for me, and if both gas cylinders are full or not. It only takes a minute or two to check the noseweight, so I don't find it an inconvenience. To trim I mainly move the electric cables (25 and 15m) to balance out from/to the front locker.0 -
Moving two sets of electric cables back or forth within the caravan is not going to change the noseweight to an extent that should in any way affect its handling or stability. The change at the hitch will probably be ±5kg at the very most. There would be
something seriously wrong with the outfit if that is going to make a difference between good and bad.0 -
My own experiance was with a 2014 Lunar Cosmos(Quasar) 544 which when loaded I could not get below 90 Kg. This is not good when the towcar's limit is 75 Kg.
Lunar proudly advertise their caravans as 'lightweight' and yet they still persist in making units with an excessive nose weight. The market they are suposely targeting tend to use small and medium sized towcars which generally have a noseweight limit as
low as 75 Kg. as does my car.Bailey redesigned their caravans with gas bottle storage, heater unit and fridge all moved rearwards and battery and electrical system moved to the rear of the axle. I no longer have a noseweight issue with my new Pegasus Rimini. Other manufacturers need
to do a similar redesign to make their units more compatible with increasingly lighter towcars. Nose weights at or near the chassis manufacturers drawbar limit of 100 Kg. are no longer acceptable. Not all of us want to drive 4x4 bricks.Write your comments here...So how did you solve the problem of 90kg vs 75kg?
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I didnt solve it. I'd already loaded all the heavy items to the rear of the axle. Eventually traded the Lunar for a Bailey Pegasus Rimini which I can get down to 75 Kg.
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I have a quite low nosewieght limit on my car of 60kg; then again I am only towing a 900kg all-up van- but I check my noseweight everytime I hitch- at least when I leave the storage site. I do find there is quite a variance- the fridge loading is the principle one it appears for me, and if both gas cylinders are full or not. It only takes a minute or two to check the noseweight, so I don't find it an inconvenience. To trim I mainly move the electric cables (25 and 15m) to balance out from/to the front locker.
I see that if you have a low noseweight allowance it can make a difference. Whether I have 85kg or 90+ is not a problem as I have a 100kg allowance and only use 3.9kg bottles.
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Moving two sets of electric cables back or forth within the caravan is not going to change the noseweight to an extent that should in any way affect its handling or stability. The change at the hitch will probably be ±5kg at the very most. There would be
something seriously wrong with the outfit if that is going to make a difference between good and bad.Write your comments here...
That's potentially a 10Kg change overall, enough to exceed a commonly found tow bar limit of 75Kg by over 10%, or reduce it to a less stable 65Kg. Underweight isn't to be ignored in my experience.
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If only noseweight gauges were that accurate.
I would estimate that the noseweight of my caravan when I pick it up from storage, before loading up for a trip, must be somewhere in the order of 25kg. Only then am I starting to feel a slight degree of unease, but even then it's still quite manageable for such a short distance.
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We've never devised a simple way to check nose gauge accuracy, but Milenco claim a long term +/- 2 Kg
http://www.milenco.com/products/noseweight-gauge/
25Kg on the nose of a caravan probably won't be a problem under 40mph, but could turn nasty after that Unless the van is very lightweight like a folder.
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We found the Milenco very accurate - it was checked against the dealer's spring balance. The Milenco gauge has a "life" of about 5 years I think. After that you are suppose to have it recalibrated at a cost including postage of much the same as a new one!
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Was your caravan level when you checked your nose weight? If not it will make a big difference. I use the Reich CWC scales and can get a difference of +/-30kgs either way when winding the jockey wheel through the level position.
One should not be checking the noseweight with the caravan level unless it happens to be level when hitched up.to the car as well, especially if you note such a big difference depending on hitch height.
Noseweight should always be checked with the caravan standing on level ground and at the same attitude as when hitched up, whether nose up or nose down.
Write your comments here... Just to clarify this then Lutz, so I know if I'm using the Milenco correctly. Have the caravan on level ground, then wind the hitch to the point it would sit when hooked up to the car? What about the Jockey Wheel, if it's still
taking the load at that point?0 -
We've never devised a simple way to check nose gauge accuracy, but Milenco claim a long term +/- 2 Kg
http://www.milenco.com/products/noseweight-gauge/
25Kg on the nose of a caravan probably won't be a problem under 40mph, but could turn nasty after that Unless the van is very lightweight like a folder.
Actually it's an 1800kg caravan and there's even a a mile or two of motorway between the storage place and my home.
Write your comments here... Just to clarify this then Lutz, so I know if I'm using the Milenco correctly. Have the caravan on level ground, then wind the hitch to the point it would sit when hooked up to the car? What about the Jockey Wheel, if it's still taking the load at that point?
That's correct. Obviously the jockey wheel would have to be wound up so that it's not taking any load at that point.
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