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Subject Topic: Reducing nose weight
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PersonDTH58
29/2/2016 at 4:26pm
 Location: didcot
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I have a Honda CR-V with a tow bar max weight of 100kg and my caravan is a Bailey Pegasus 624 (twin axle) I know the towing ratio is a good match but I'm having a problem with nose weight.
I've loaded the caravan up with all we need and put the awning at the rear of the caravan. We have fairly light equipment at the front end with 1 X 6kg and 1 X 3kg gas bottles in the front locker.
I was amazed to find the nose weight of the Bailey was 125kg when I tested on the scales.
other than putting the gas bottles in the back of the caravan I don't know how I can reduce the nose weight further ?


woodman2
29/2/2016 at 5:32pm
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sorry I can't help much, but I have a similar problem.
I have a e350 merc which can only take 85kg!
I have a payload of 155kg in my coachman 460/2 so cannot load in the back of the caravan to compensate.
I just put as much as I can in the car, but still travelled round France last year at about 95kg nose weight.


Personmisterg
29/2/2016 at 6:38pm
 Location: East Midlands
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I am not sure about the lay out of your van but in my case I moved the spare wheel inside the van under the fixed bed towards the back of the van. I also had the motor mover refitted behind the axle from front of axle. I think this (mover change) made a difference of about 6 or 7 kg.I carry just one full Calorlite and go on electric sites but it is not easy to always have a full one or nearly full but I have several and switch with home BBQ. I got spare bottles from local council recycling place.

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Mister G


PersonDTH58
29/2/2016 at 7:02pm
 Location: didcot
 Outfit: Bailey Pegasus 624 View DTH58's Profile View Profile   Reply to DTH58 Reply   Quote DTH58 Quote  
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I've done some further investigation and the nose weight of the Pegasus 624 is 90kg. So I only had 10kg to load to max the Crv tow bar limit.
I've reconfigured the storage and now I'm 10kg over, something I will have to live with.


PersonRay Clayton
29/2/2016 at 9:17pm
 Location: Ilkeston. Derbyshire
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Hi
Thought the Pegasus was the same as the Senator 100kg nose weight.
ALKO tow hitches are 100kg max.

Might be wrong but sure i read that somewhere?


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Cheers
Ray

Discovery 4 & Bailey Barcelona 4







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Personcheckley1973
29/2/2016 at 11:13pm
 Location: Sheffield
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What are you using to measure the weight?


PersonSkoda Bob
29/2/2016 at 11:18pm
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Being a twin axel, I wouldn't be to concerned about getting up to the max nose weight, due to a twin being much more stable to tow, I would have most of the heavy stuff over the axels and around 75 to 80 nose weight, thereby giving the vans 4 wheels the load


Persontango55
29/2/2016 at 11:35pm
 Location: Lichfield
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Does the caravan have a spare wheel carrier under the chassis behind the axle? If it does is there a wheel and tyre in situ as if the carrier is absent of the spare wheel then this can contribute to the problem.
Is the hot water tank towards the front end? If it is then is the tank empty or full?
Do you have any other heavy items in the front locker besides the two gas cylinders?
Are there any other items under the seats such as a lifting jack, hitch lock or barbecue that could be pushed further back and exchanged for lighter items?
If all the above tick the boxes and you are still struggling to achieve the correct nose weight you could as a final trial fill the toilet flush tank to counter balance the unit and then check the noseweight but it's not recommended really due to instability reasons. However, the flush tank must be either empty or full and nothing in between as it's the bow wave in the tank that can cause a pendulum effect, that's why I stated that it's not recommended and only conducted merely as a test to see if the noseweight is achievable.


PersonDTH58
01/3/2016 at 6:02am
 Location: didcot
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My issue is I'm 10-15kg over the 100kg nose weight max for the Honda CR-V. All heavy items removed to the back of the unit with the exception of the gas bottles. It's unrealistic to have to either put them in the car or stabilise them in the back of the caravan every time I do a journey.
I've used both bathroom and milenco scales to test the nose weight.


Persontango55
01/3/2016 at 10:30am
 Location: Lichfield
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I encountered exactly the same problem as my car towball weight limit is only 75 kgs. but the noseweight was reading 84 kgs. with a Milenco noseweight gauge. What I did was change the two standard gas cylinders for 6 kg. Calorlite ones as they are half the weight and managed to reduced the noseweight to 78 kgs. I shuffled a few bits around in the caravan and eventually managed to hit the target of 75 kgs. The initial cost may be a little expensive but once achieved the task is complete and problem solved. Searching for second hand Calorlite gas cylinders is the cheapest way but at least it's going to reduce your noseweight considerably as 2 x 6 kg. Calorlite cyliders are the weight of one steel one.


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PersonSkoda Bob
01/3/2016 at 12:43pm
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Are you absolutely sure your over, as I have said with the van having 4 wheels, it will be hard to get an accurate weight, due to the van trying to level itself, when you put the scales under the drawbar


Persontango55
01/3/2016 at 1:14pm
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Skoda Bob is quite right because a single axle acts identical to that of a see-saw so you can counter-balance either side of the axle by distributing weight each side of the centre pivot accordingly. A twin axle therefore is going to much more difficult to balance either one way or the other so achieving the correct noseweight may never be possible.


VangoMan02
01/3/2016 at 1:42pm
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I was thinking the same as Skoda Bob and tango55.

I have no experience with twin axle vans but you would imagine that the the van will always find its own level on the four wheels.
Would be interesting to know if caravan is still level when attached to the car or is the van slightly higher at front when attached??

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It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.


Personcheckley1973
01/3/2016 at 1:56pm
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Quote: Originally posted by DTH58 on 01/3/2016
My issue is I'm 10-15kg over the 100kg nose weight max for the Honda CR-V. All heavy items removed to the back of the unit with the exception of the gas bottles. It's unrealistic to have to either put them in the car or stabilise them in the back of the caravan every time I do a journey.
I've used both bathroom and milenco scales to test the nose weight.



Hi, I also have a twin axle and you have to ensure some conditions are met when measuring the weight.

Caravan must be on a level surface and the hitch must be at the same height it would be when attached to your car.Handbrake must be off. You can reduce the nose weight by lowering your towbar, if this is an option on the one you have fitted.


PersonDTH58
01/3/2016 at 5:55pm
 Location: didcot
 Outfit: Bailey Pegasus 624 View DTH58's Profile View Profile   Reply to DTH58 Reply   Quote DTH58 Quote  
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Hi

Some great replies which leads to more questions.

My caravans stored on uneven ground so levelling to get a correct nose weight will be a problem. I will exchange the propane bottles for Calorlites at the weekend.
Why do you need to have the handbrake off when measuring the nose weight?
I understand you won't get the seesaw effect with the twin axle as I did with the single axle.
The service centre who sold me the caravan told me the best method is to view the caravan when hitched up to the car. If it sits level you haven't got to much to worry about ?


Personnavver
01/3/2016 at 7:28pm
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The hand brake can stop the car suspension settling to its correct height after you add the load of the caravan.

Even a single axle van will give very different nose weight readings at different tow hitch heights. It needs to be measured at the height it will be when hitched to the loaded car.



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