Message Forums

Apologies first as my post are probably gonna come thick and fast over the next couple of weeks as we've just bought our first van and have never towed or caravaned before (previous tenters)

I read an article somewhere that said one of the most vital but often overlooked bits of kit is a nose weight guage (sp?) now I understand the principle behind not having too much weight in the nose but my friend said could I just but a set of scales under the jockey wheel to weigh it?

At which point me and OH looked very blanky and said well we wouldnt know what was a safe weight anyway and surely the caravan would be too heavy to register on scales?

So what is a safe weight and can i use scales?

x

There are two aspects to nose weight.  Firstly, there is a figure recommended by the caravan manufacturer.  Secondly, there is a limit for your car.  You need to find out both of these numbers and never exceed them.

As far as the scales are concerned, there's no problem.  You aren't putting the whole caravan on the scales, just the nose, the same weight that will be on your tow ball.  You need to get the caravan on level ground,put a bit of wood on the scales to spread the load, and place a stick upright on the scales with the top end in the hitch, where the towball would normally go.  This stick needs to be of the right height, so that the hitch is at the height where it would normally be on the towball.

It's important to get it right, because noseweight and proper loading are vital to caravan stability.

Jim

The caravan should have a specification/handbook which will indicate the max tow ball weight. Then your car handbook will indicate the max weight on the tow ball. The tow ball itself should have on it the max weight it can carry and that should tally with the car's handbook. Whichever is the lightest weight specified should be the max weight that should be placed on the tow ball. Aim for less than that but not by so much that it is just too light. e.g My Caravan indicates a tow ball weight of 100Kg but my cars towball weight is 75Kg and I tend to travel at 65-70Kg. Remember the max weight your car can carry when loading that and take into acount that it already has 70Kg (or whatever) in from the towball weight.

If you're too light the back end of the van drops down and lifts the rear of the car (tricky if your rear wheel drive) and if its too heavy then the caravan puts too much weight on the back of your car and the front wheels lift. (Possible tow ball damage)

Load the van and then check the tow ball weight. I use a milenco guage which is the only one calibrated to a British Standard (I believe) and which costs about £27. Bathroom scales are ok but are not calibrated for these purposes. You need to place a stick under the hitch to rest o nthe scales to take the reading.  Anyway, bathroom scales can give different readings dependent upon the surface they are on.  (My wife sometimes weighs herself on the carpet on the landing rather than a hard bathroom floor and as the carpet absorbs some of the pressure she is lighter!!!) Further, the stick you use with the scales must have the hitch at the tow ball height to give a valid reading.

Load the van (in the recommended manner), place the guage under the hitch and then wind up the jockey wheel and lower until the jockey wheel is off the floor and the guage has taken all the weight. You may need to keep the hitch fully open with one hand as once the guage and hitch meet it may clamp down on the guage thinking it is the tow ball!!!

If the reading shows it is too light or too heavy then set jockey wheel down again and  move the load about. Too heavy move stuff to the axel or towards the back. Too light then move stuff to the front. It doesn't take much movement of the payload to alter the tow ball weight.

Once you are at the right weight you're done.

Once you have your load right for the correct tow ball reading then just pack the same way everytime. Coming home the balance may be different especially if you have taken food/wine with you. Always worth a quick check before you set off.

Enjoy

Phil

Ha ha everyone trying to help all at the same time

Phil

Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 08/4/2010

---

Load the van and then check the tow ball weight. I use a milenco guage which is the only one calibrated to a British Standard (I believe) and which costs about £27. Bathroom scales are ok but are not calibrated for these purposes. You need to place a stick under the hitch to rest o nthe scales to take the reading.  Anyway, bathroom scales can give different readings dependent upon the surface they are on.  (My wife sometimes weighs herself on the carpet on the landing rather than a hard bathroom floor and as the carpet absorbs some of the pressure she is lighter!!!) Further, the stick you use with the scales must have the hitch at the tow ball height to give a valid reading.

 

I can't see how bathroom scales aren't calibrated to weigh things. Weight is weight Phil. Have you not heard the one about a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks.

 

Steve

Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 08/4/2010

---

Load the van and then check the tow ball weight. I use a milenco guage which is the only one calibrated to a British Standard (I believe) and which costs about £27. Bathroom scales are ok but are not calibrated for these purposes. You need to place a stick under the hitch to rest o nthe scales to take the reading.  Anyway, bathroom scales can give different readings dependent upon the surface they are on.  (My wife sometimes weighs herself on the carpet on the landing rather than a hard bathroom floor and as the carpet absorbs some of the pressure she is lighter!!!) Further, the stick you use with the scales must have the hitch at the tow ball height to give a valid reading

---

Steve asks "I can't see how bathroom scales aren't calibrated to weigh things. Weight is weight Phil. Have you not heard the one about a ton of feathers or a ton of bricks."

Two points...

1. Didn't say that you cannot use bathroom scales. Merely indicated that there are one or two points to bear in mind to use them properly as an indicator of noseweight. e.g surface they are on and the right height for the stick. I didn't say that bathroom scales are not calibrated to weigh things, I said that bathroom scales are "not calibrated for these purposes" ( testing the noseweight) which they are not.

Then there are bathroom scales and bathroom scales. Cheap ones which are about there in terms of weight. Then more expensive ones with greater precision. Older scales which are tired. Guages that need recalibrating but when new will have been certified (which presumably the new caravanner who originally posed the question would be buying if he goes for the guage.)

For the OP, historically, the Camping and Caravan Club conducted a study on Noseweight Gauge’s and found them to be inaccurate and unreliable. As a result they asked Milenco to produce a gauge to the standard BS7691, which was written in 2004. 

So, in response to the OP ("what is a safe weight" has been covered) "can I use bathroom scales?" A qualified yes but for £27 odd why not use the tool developed for the job? Saves taking the bathroom scales on holiday

Would add that I have yet to see someone check their noseweight before leaving a site. At a site the other week as I was checking the nose weight someone actually asked me what I was doing. Then asked what nose weight was! Mind, once you have got the loading right and load the same way everytime the weight should, more or less, be the same each trip.

Phil

Phil

Would add that I have yet to see someone check their noseweight before leaving a site. At a site the other week as I was checking the nose weight someone actually asked me what I was doing. Then asked what nose weight was! Mind, once you have got the loading right and load the same way everytime the weight should, more or less, be the same each trip

You have answered your own question why people dont check their noseweight on site!!!

A great deal of pitches are grass so checking on pitch could give erronous results.  If everyone then pulled their vans onto the site road, unhooked and then checked their noseweight before leaving you would have chaos.

I will pop out at luch and try and get hold of the Milenco guage.

Quote: Originally posted by cwdc56768 on 08/4/2010

So, in response to the OP ("what is a safe weight" has been covered) "can I use bathroom scales?" A qualified yes but for £27 odd why not use the tool developed for the job? Saves taking the bathroom scales on holiday

---

---

I had one with my van when I bought it, The van was empty, absolutly nothing in it. The tool the guy gave said that it was well over weight when it was impossible to be.

Gauge went straight in the bin as didnt want the extra weight for nothing!

Your probably right Mr Rune Caster, best not to use the tool designed for the job. To think I've wasted my money on

A tyre pressure guage (calibrated of course) when I could just kick the thing to test it

A Torque wrench when I could just count that there are still five nuts in there

Levellers when I could just pile up under a tyre all that gravel they use on hardstandings

Battery Charger when I could just stick my finger in the battery to see if its Ok

Specialist Toilet chemicals when the animals and birds on a site don't bother

Waste Water Hog when the ground is naturally designed to drain water away 

and I I've just found that note I have of the Tyre size when I all I need is a round one (easier than remembering all those numbers)

No...wait a minute....my milenco is stated to be accurate for over 1000 uses. That's say, 500 trips at say 50 holidays a year that's 10 years before it needs re calibrating or maybe just replaced with bathroom scales in 2020. Hey that's not bad value for money (or I could be wrong) 

Well maybe I'll just continue to use the right tool for the job and see how it goes

Phil

Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 08/4/2010

---

"caravan needs to be on smooth level ground tho."

Why is it thought necessary to check the noseweight on level ground? If it made any difference then when you are going uphill it would be less and downhill it would be more.
Saxo1

---