Empty Nose weight of Swift Challenger 580
Hi
I am in the process of changing my caravan for a new make and model and I was wondering if the owners of late models of a Swift Challenger 580 could help out with some information that Swift customer service could not. I need to establish what the empty nose weight of this model is fitted with Alde wet C/H.
Alternatively your opinion on towing this caravan with a car similar to mine would also be helpful. My tow vehicle, a Mercedes E250 Sport Estate is a 79% MTPLM match that has a maximum permitted nose weight of 84kg.
Thank you for your help
Comments
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There may be a few kg's difference between all the same caravans so I would take a nose weight gauge with you and remove everything that's in the van, EHU cable, waste tank and anything else and do a weight yourself as this will be your working point for the rest of ownership. I would put a bet on there not being much left of the 84kg car hitch weight.
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I would second that! Not the same van but my Bailey Olympus 464 had a factory nose weight, empty of 83kgs!
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Thank you all.
My current caravan is a used 2012 Lunar Clubman SI . Before I purchased I checked the nose weight empty and it was an amazing 32kg, I really thought I had got it wrong but no. It meant that I could load the front locker. Twin calor lite, hitch lock and other drainage bits you do not want inside etc etc.
My previous caravan was a Compas Magnum 534 which I had to remove the spare wheel and back load to compensate for the excessive nose weight. It never really towed in a comfortable way. As I will be purchasing new this time round I will check the N/W if the dealer still has a demo.
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For a large saloon that is quite a low noseweight limit and a strange figure. I would have expected 100kg and it may be worth investigating further.
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I used to have a Mercedes 240 petrol estate which proved to be a very fine tow car, being large, powerful and having air suspension on the rear. I expect your estate will also have air suspension. I would not have any doubts about you cars performance. On the question of nose weight you should be able to achieve a workable balance. I remember a Bailey Seville and t/a Barcelona hitch weighing 100kg empty but I achieved a workable balance by restricting the front locker to essentials there (such as gas cylinder etc) then carrying other items just behind the rear axle at floor level under a double bed. Avoid carrying heavy items at the very rear or high up. I had no stability problems.
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Thanks Tirril
I expect it will involve some trial and error, I do have a log somewhere of the weights of all items fitted and carried onboard so that I do not exceed MTPLM. I also make a trip to the local weigh bridge to check out the weight of Car plus caravan, and caravan only loaded out for touring then pretty much stick to that loading. As you say it will be back to a balancing act, I've been lucky with the Lunar never had to worry much.
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Glider
i bought the 580 Challenger Alde edition 2 years ago. I didn’t measure the nose weight empty, but what I did find that once I put the battery and one gas bottle in and very little else at the front, the nose weight was 130KG. It was a real shock as the Alko hitch limit is 100kg and my car towbar was 90kg
i had to do some real balancing when loading without filling the back end with heavy stuff which would destabilise it more. What I suspect is that the van (or my version) has bike rack mounts on the rear panel which would very quickly start to level out the noseweight imbalance if it were used. However, I don’t have a clue how anyone could use the rack mounts in reality due to the low payload of the van.
i have now got the loading sorted, although took some doing. My observations are
If the nose weight goes more that a few kg under 90 the van tends to be a lot more unstable when towing and difficult to go much over 50 mph
i asked for an MTPLM upgrade from Swift which was free as with the mover and Alde heating the payload is worse than some. Only got 20kg but better than nothing
I reduced weight in the front locker by only having one gas cylinder. I have a Safefill so is lighter than the usual Calor etc and is see through so don’t risk running out. I find that the Alde heating is brilliant but if it is cold it does need to use the gas to respond quicker so use a lot of gas...which when you pay LPG prices isn’t an issue
To balance noseweight I put heavier stuff under the bed but towards the back centre. In reality the payload (as with other vans) is so poor I load anything really heavy in the car boot. I’m lucky it is large.
Separate to the nose wight, I hope your van is better quality and build than mine. In two years I have had:
Drawer/table unit - top veneer bubbles and lifted. The hinges also fell off. The unit had to be replaced
Alarm kept activating and was replaced
Drawer latches routinely come away
The lifting slats to the front seats - brackets came away as screws inadequate
Pull down front panels to the under seats - magnetic catches keep coming off and falling apart
The brakes continuously squeal terribly. I now understand this is a fault from Alko and has been rectified so yours should be ok
Front locker - the latch mountings fall apart routinely. Better to glue them back together yourself as the dealer replaces them and they fall apart again.
External Arial point. Loses so much signal it is unusable in the van. They tested it and said it was ok but when I have tested it and plugged the lead directly to the TV, mine works perfectly so is clearly signal loss
i suppose I should be grateful I haven’t had any structural or damp problems. What I would say is that I have just come out of the experience of buying a new car...with 2. 1/2 years of constant serious faults. The manufacturer has no liability. It is the supplier so I hope that you have bought it from a local dealer and not one hundreds of miles away.
good luck...we love the layout but that’s it!
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Had a similar experience with Bailey Olympus. Empty noseweight 84kgs balanced by awning etc all rear of wheels. gets me to the 90kgs that my car will take.
I left Citroen when their C5 saloon permissible noseweight dropped to 65kgs, and my 'old'one was a great towcar! Citroen Customer Services actually rang me after I pulled out of the purchase of a C6 for the same reason and professed to be unaware of the drop in towing capability. I have difficulty believing that they were unaware after being Towcar of the Year for many years previously.
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Thanks MDD10 for your comprehensive response.
I will have to consider the Swift very carefully as I suffered from having to back load the caravan when I owned the Compass Magnum. Towing that with a Mercedes E220 saloon was anything but relaxing, overtaking trucks on the motorway at times was frightening, especially when a Merc Sprinter van overtook you at the same time doing 70+mph. That combo was well within the 85% MTPLM rule also.
We are used to Alde wet heating with our Lunar Clubman we boost ours with gas when the weather is cold, or nip to the nearest supermarket for food and leave it on electric.
I will be certainly paying the dealer a visit with Nose Weight gauge in hand. I will also check out our second choice a Coachman Pastiche 575.
Crying shame that Lunar have gone, well balanced rig to tow with all the heavy stuff where needed.
I think that nose weight is going to become a real issue soon as the car manufacturers search for weight reduction to improve their eco credentials. Some new SUV 4x4 models have lower max nose weight than on the previous models.
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Follow up information.
I have just visited my local Swift and Coachman dealer armed with my nose weight gauge and here are the results taken from showroom models
Coachman Pastiche 575 Empty nose weight 50KG
Swift Challenger 580 with Alde Heating (includes solar panel and external entertainment hatch.)Empty nose weight 59KG
Hope this helps others.
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