b9k9uk Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Hi I have been doing some research into nose weights and came across an interesting combination graded 'orange' by the Tow Match service. I quote: Although the towcar has a potential noseweight of 150kg, that is within the target noseweight (69 - 96kg), however the actual hitch limit of the caravan is only 100kg. This combination is therefore constrained by the hitch limit set by the caravan manufacturer. Always check the noseweight of your caravan/payload before purchase and when loading. If the maximum advised noseweight of the caravan is less than the maximum permitted by the towing vehicle surely this is a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Suggest you post in the caravan section for an answer! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b9k9uk Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 Oops :$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caddies104 Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Nose weight,.? hitch limit, ? Max permitted ?? Threading Awnings 2/3 hours set up?! Say no more!! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b9k9uk Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 Oops! :$ *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 b9k9uk - 2016-02-06 12:58 PM Hi I have been doing some research into nose weights and came across an interesting combination graded 'orange' by the Tow Match service. I quote: Although the towcar has a potential noseweight of 150kg, that is within the target noseweight (69 - 96kg), however the actual hitch limit of the caravan is only 100kg. This combination is therefore constrained by the hitch limit set by the caravan manufacturer. Always check the noseweight of your caravan/payload before purchase and when loading. If the maximum advised noseweight of the caravan is less than the maximum permitted by the towing vehicle surely this is a good thing? What they are saying is that whereas the car itself has a noseweight limit of 150kg, the actual hitch on the caravan has a 100kg limit, so that with this caravan the full towing capacity of the car cannot be used. Their comment on the "target" noseweight is confusing, as it implies a caravan with a laden weight between 990 and 1370kg. There is no explanation in your quote of this wide variation in laden weight. Assuming the "usual" recommendation for noseweight of at least 7% of actual laden weight is adhered to, the maximum recommended laden weight for the caravan, as determined from its tow hitch, would be 1370kg. Anything less would therefore be fine. However, it is probable that the plated maximum allowable mass (MAM) of the caravan will be below that figure. This must be checked. Your quote considers noseweight only. No mention is made of the tow vehicle's gross train weight (GTW) limit, which must also be respected. If GTW is sufficient, the car could tow a van weighing up to 2140kg laden - subject to a suitable towbar/towball being fitted. The actual laden noseweight is important because to be legal it must remain within the hitch limit, the towball and towbar limits, and the tow car's noseweight (trailer downforce) limit. Don't forget that, as above, the caravan will also have a plated MAM which must not be exceeded. The limits for the car are thus its GTW limit, its noseweight limit and, if lower, its towbar and towball limits. For the caravan, its load limit is will be its plated MAM. (The tow hitch fitted should be suitable to take at least 7% of its MAM, so should not additionally restrict the laden weight of the van. However, this should be verified.) Then, providing that the caravan is loaded within its MAM, that its noseweight is within both its tow hitch limit and the car's towbar and noseweight limits, and that the combined weights of laden car and laden caravan are within the tow car's GTW, all should be fine and legal. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teflon2 Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Caddies104 - 2016-02-06 2:35 PM Nose weight,.? hitch limit, ? Max permitted ?? Threading Awnings 2/3 hours set up?! Say no more!! :-D Oi don't tar us all with the same brush, it takes me about 15min to hook up turn on gas and connect water then if I decide it's needed about 30mins to fit the awning. Record for taking everything down according to swmbo is 25 mins in the dry no fun in the wet. John ( I have no parking problems with the tow car.) 8-) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b9k9uk Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 Brian Many thanks for taking the time to respond. The last paragraph clarified things for me. Assuming that the caravan MIRO is within the allowable GTW of the towing vehicle and its Nose Weight does not exceed (a) Permitted nose weight on the tow ball (b) permitted nose weight of the hitch on the caravan and finally © does not exceed 7% of the MIRO (recommended I should be OK). As I said this was just research to a better understanding, out of interest the vehicle was a Land Rover Discovery and the Caravan a Bailey Pursuit 550-4 (which I got my eyes on) . I don't own the Land Rover Discovery nor likely to. :'( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 I have a widow sticker 'Motorcaravanners do it without a hitch' MMM gave them away years ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b9k9uk Posted February 6, 2016 Author Share Posted February 6, 2016 George Collings - 2016-02-06 7:17 PM I have a widow sticker 'Motorcaravanners do it without a hitch' MMM gave them away years ago So are you now officially dead with your widow sticker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan D Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 . This is quite true, in Spain last year the record was set for me by an adjacent Tugger of 7 hours of battering the pegs in. Now when a Tugger turns up and I hear that great clunk of 1000 two feet long awning pegs as the bag hits the ground, I`am off . Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 I used to caravan in the early 90's and nose weight was very important for towing stability. Like many others, we would use a gauge to measure the nose weight before we hooked up the caravan. In the last 12 months, I have only seen one caravanner do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 So I made a single mistake, I thought that all proof readers took early retirement back when spellcheck came in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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