Carrying bicycles inside - causing weaving?
Answers
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If you haven't had weaving when towing without the bikes, then the obvious answer has to be "Yes". Were the bikes able to move side to side? What was the nose weight after loading up, and indeed the overall weight. It wouldn't surprise me if you were considerably over the permitted load weight, by the time you have allowed for the usual gubbins we all carry, including motor mover etc, etc.
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5 bikes is more likely to be nearer 75kg and that is a significant % of the paltry payload of most vans. Add in the possibility that the majority of the weight may be forward of the axle and it really could effect the nose weight and lead to potential stability issues.
What is your caravan and what are the weights on the plate?
Colin
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A top end road bike will be around 6kg but an average one about 8 to 9 Kg.
If they are mountain or hybrid bikes then around 12 to 15 Kg.
A ebikes will be 25 Kg plus.
That's a lot of weight to add, do you know the combined weights and as posted by @eribaMotters what's your caravan payload. How did you secure them?
Thinking about it there's probably extra weight in locks and other cycling accessories.
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We're on a CS at the moment and a van turned up yesterday afternoon. They were 'newbies' - bought the van new, a year ago and have only used it once since then. He was having trouble unhitching so I went to help him and during the process he mentioned that he had experienced severe snaking whilst towing. He was driving a Honda CRV towing a small Bailey Phoenix and whilst I haven't checked the match, it looked OK.
I asked him if he had checked the nose-weight before setting off and he said "no" - haven't got a guage but have been meaning to get one. "Do you have one - will you check it for me?" I did - and it was barely 20kg!
I suggested that was where his problem was!
@KEVINR - regardless of being over weight - which I suspect you probably are - did you check the nose weight before setting off?
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I doubt anyone can truly help without knowing the size of the van, what is towing it, type of roads used and just how much over 50mph you were travelling, to be honest. Were they immobilised inside the caravan, was the weight evenly distributed, and how much actual payload were you carrying?
Put bluntly, five bikes, most of which are likely to be heavier MTB type, adult size, carried inside van does sound irresponsible. No doubt your family will have been with you inside this accident waiting to happen, not to mention other road users oblivious to you coming along. You need to do some thinking around better bike transportation to be safe next time out. Seen a number of caravans and cars overturn, and the results aren’t pretty!
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I agree with the others in that the payload may be being exceeded although the location of the bikes could be the main problem if they are near the front or rear. If carried near the ends then they could cause a pendulum effect which could be the problem. Weighty items should always be carried over the axle to prevent this.
We are not told what the caravan is, but with the bikes on top of everything else carried I would suspect the caravan is well overloaded This could cause instability, but it would also make the outfit illegal leading to prosecution and any insurance claim being turned down.
The car roof is probably the best bet for the bikes or at least the heavier ones and a close look at the loading and weight of everything being carried is needed. Heavier items must be as near the axle as possible and a check on the nose weight should be done. The car makers will give a maximum weight for the hitch load and that should not be exceeded. You can buy devices to check this or use bathroom scales with a stick from the hitch to the scales.
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