Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 488
Does nose weight matter?
Towed cars on trailers all over the country, never once did I think about noseweight...
Caravaners seem obsessed with it.
So the Caravan is 800kg & 1000kg loaded max & BPW Hitch is 150KG limit
Disco is 150kg NW & 3500kg
Towing such a small van with a D4 does it actually matter?
20th Jun 2015 1:00 pm
Tiger
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 488
Here it is BTW
20th Jun 2015 1:03 pm
sean 471
Member Since: 26 Apr 2011
Location: Sheffield
Posts: 2990
You need some nose weight typically Around 7 per cent of the weight of the van. So yes it does matter even on a d4. But the towbar max weight of the disco will exceed the maximum nose wieght of the ban so you should be fine.
Too much nose weight can have an adverse effect, bringing the stability programme in if the front end gets unsettled Altox GSM FBH controller thread
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20th Jun 2015 2:15 pm
Tiger
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 488
But do I need to bother weighing it?
20th Jun 2015 2:17 pm
Apache
Member Since: 17 Oct 2011
Location: Yorkshire
Posts: 691
If I have a loaded trailer on the last thing I do is disconnect the drawbar and ensure I can lift it.
20th Jun 2015 2:19 pm
Tiger
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 488
Fair point, if I can lift it 1 handed it should be less than 150kg
20th Jun 2015 2:40 pm
wvlenthe
Member Since: 07 Jan 2009
Location: Arnhem
Posts: 1967
I have no experience with a 'van like yours.
Mine is 1600 kg loaded.
I have driven with < 100kg noseweight once and will not try that again, feels like going all over the place. I am usually somewhere between 110 and 130 kg and that feels much better.
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20th Jun 2015 3:56 pm
Wolfpack
Member Since: 28 Jul 2014
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 121
UK caravans on Alko chassis have a limit of 100kg...Alko's limit, not LR capacity.
20th Jun 2015 9:14 pm
Tiger
Member Since: 13 Mar 2006
Location: Wales
Posts: 488
Tis ein German van mit Winterhoff hitch 150kg
20th Jun 2015 9:22 pm
Wolfpack
Member Since: 28 Jul 2014
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 121
Sure...but other readers with UK caravans might make the assumption they can load to the LR limit.
20th Jun 2015 9:30 pm
wvlenthe
Member Since: 07 Jan 2009
Location: Arnhem
Posts: 1967
You are right Wolfpack, my mistake for which I apologise.
Never exceed trailer or vehicle max weight but within these limitations, don't keep the nose weight too low. My dad used to speak of 25 kg... I don't want to try that.
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20th Jun 2015 10:59 pm
Wolfpack
Member Since: 28 Jul 2014
Location: Norfolk
Posts: 121
For some reason, no matter what we load in the caravan the noseweight is always around 90-95kg. Maybe it's years of practise loading.. so I instinctively distribute the items weight evenly? On previous cars with 70kg noseweight limit it has been too high, needing some rearrangement. But with the D4 I don't have that low limit and in truth I never bother to check noseweight anymore.
21st Jun 2015 10:34 am
DiscoDunc
Member Since: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 16390
nose weight of our Lunar Delta Twin Axle and the Abbey before it is/was 138Kg !!!
its over the ALKO limit but its been like that since 2006 and no chassis issues.
the more nose weight you can get the better for stability.
the nose weight on the Discovery can be increased from 150kg to 350kg , but only by reducing the max load in the vehicle by 200Kgs (ie 500kgs down to 300Kgs - but this is not legal in the UK - I think its OK in Australia though)Duncan
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21st Jun 2015 10:47 am
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Our Bailey Unicorn liked more nose weight, it towed much better the higher the nose weightMY17 D5 1st Edition Namib Orange
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