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Subject Topic: A few questions! Post Reply Post New Topic
31/10/2014 at 8:35am
 Location: Lancs
 Outfit: Outwell Montana 6
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Hi, after a couple of great years camping we have taken the plunge and bought a caravan. Nothing fancy, its a 96 Elldis 4 berth, although it does have most of what we need to start of with. it had some damp at the front which wasnt too bad however I ripped the front inside out and replaced it, following some of the great advice linked in these forums.

Anyway, planning to take it out next weekend and would just like to ask and check a few things if thats ok. sorry if some of these seem obvious, ive tried to research things however would just like to be sure. if anyone can help if appreciate it.

The van has a plated weight showing MAW at 1100 and another figure below CAP of 281. iif imright the 1100 is the max allowable weight and that the 281 is the user payload so effectively i can add about 281kg of 'stuff' to an empty van max but mustnt exceed 1100kg.?

how exact does noseweight have to be? ive bought some cheapo bathroom scales to check before we leave. the car is a 2014 ford kuga 2.0d awd with a max of 105kg, the towbar says 120kg so is it right that i take the lowest figure of 7% of the total van weight which i make to be around 75-80kg, if anyone can narrow this down though that would be great.

i cant work out the tyre pressures. the car , im told is 41psi back, 35 front. the van i have no idea though as its had two new tyres, well last year anyway. apparently they are commercials although thats only what the last owner said. the only markings i can see are

155r13 - doublestar ds805 - 85/85n 6pr. standard rim 450b - max 487kg, max single 515kg at 61psi cold. none of this makes sense to me to be honest. anyone confirm these tyres are ok please and what the pressure should be?

ive bougt and fitted an alko aks2004 hitch to replace the original, anything i need to watch out for when hitching and towing. ive towed a few trailers with standard hitches but thats about it and never with a stabiliser.

ive bought some extending mirrors, jack, triangle and a spare, anything else i might need emergency wise?

what tools do you consider to be must haves in the van?


and finally (whew) does this setup sound ok, would you be happy towing it fully loaded 100 miles across to Whitby next weekend?

sorry lots of questions, just saved them up until now 😄

thanks a lot

Regards
Ron


31/10/2014 at 10:12am
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The 85n load rating you state, 515kg for caravan tyres is barely adequate, 515kg x 2 = 1030kg so below max weight of caravan. I would change them or risk motorway blow out. 165X13C commercial van tyres should fit & be of adequate load rating.

Yes you are correct about 281kg is max payload, including gas bottles & batteries.

Set your car tyre pressures to max loaded pressure for car. It will be the higher figure indicated in car handbook & on sticker in door jamb.

Set caravan noseweight for 70-80kg, not critical but this sort of weight is ideal for 1100kg caravan & no worries about exceeding car towbar weight.

Post last edited on 31/10/2014 13:51:40


31/10/2014 at 12:59pm
 Location: Lancs
 Outfit: Outwell Montana 6
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Hi and thanks for the reply.

Disappointed about the tyres, the previous owner was very proud of the fact he had the tyres (which he called commercials) fitted just before he went to France last year (which to be fair he did as Ive seen the pics!) so I thought they were the least of my worries!

For what they cost I'll get them swapped out if they are not up to the task though, thanks for the heads up.

Regards
Ron


31/10/2014 at 2:01pm
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Its your choice about the tyres, some would say that as they have combined load rating of 1030kg & caravan is unlikely to be loaded to it's max weight, ie 1100kg then tyres should be ok, particulary as quoted tyre load ratings are at max speed rating for tyre which is probably over 100mph.

So you can work it out for yourself that tyres are barely adequate but as they are only a yr old they may well do the job. Caravan manufacturers do tend to specify tyres with barely adequate load rating & obviously tyre maker will build in a slight margin.

Thats it really, but going up to 165X13C van tyres will give you a better margin. These usually have load index of 94 or more giving a combined weight for both tyres of 1340kg.


31/10/2014 at 9:21pm
 Location: West country
 Outfit: Mondeo
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I guess you could subtract the nose weight from the van weight to say what load is on tyres. So 1030 (max on tyres) + 70 (noseweight) = 1100. Just there.



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