Low towbar

[RPWC]

Depends on what you are loading it with, the general consensus is that the heaviest of items need to be over the axle, with the rest being distributed evenly front and back. When we go away, the heaviest things are the porch awnings, the clothes we take hang in the wardrobe, which is above the axle anyway, and no matter how I load it, the towbar is still low, even with the 'van empty.

[rich17865]

I didn't want to alter the ride on my car either, that's why I fitted MAD Assister springs and Grayston Spring Assistors

[Darcydog]

Originally Posted by Chezza

well after some research i found my caravan nose weight to be 100kg unladen
i wanted to beef up the springs but don't want to alter the geometry of the car
so if i spread the load when fully laden should drop the nose weight and higher the back end.
What do you reckon??

Have you checked what Billy1Mate asks? - simple point but I too have met people that only screwed the wheel up and not lifted the whole assembly up and out of the way.

Also the 100g nose weight figure - presumably that is from something you have read/researched?

Why not do a simple check of what your actual nose weight is? To do this with reasonable accuracy (tho better to get a proper nose wt gauge -
http://www.towsure.com/camping-carav...eweight-gauges )

Take your bathroom scales and cut a piece of 2x1 (or similar) wood to be the tow ball height less the thickness of your bathroom scales.

Put the scales under the caravan tow hitch and fit the top of the bit of wood up into the tow hitch and have the bottom of the wood resting on the scales.

Gently wind up the Jockey wheel until it is well clear of the ground.

Read off the scales what your actual nose weight is.

This method obviously depends on the accuracy at the bottom end range of the scales - hence better to get a proper gauge. But it will give you an indication of what you are actually dealing with.

[Chezza]

After removing everything from the van and weighing it all and then Doing some maths I can get the nose weight to 75 kg on the proper gauge. Most items are under the fixed bed and only 1 gas bottle up front with is a 7kg nearly empty.
Went to Sherwood forest and the car still grounded speed humps and seems low.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by Darcydog

This method obviously depends on the accuracy at the bottom end range of the scales - hence better to get a proper gauge. But it will give you an indication of what you are actually dealing with.

It is not the bottom end of the range of a pair of bathroom scales 70 to 100kg is in the normal range of a person. Bathroom scales are usually a far more accurate method than a noseweight gauge. I use 75kg as my noseweight and calibrated that as a reference, using my bathroom scales.

I use a length of wood between hitch and scales, of a length which matches the height when coupled up. 75Kg is about the limit for an normal adult male to be able to lift with a struggle.

I must say I have never had a problem with my 75 for towing, though it is a saloon. The back end barely moves down, when I hook the van on.

I use a method of adjusting the noseweight once, accurately, by moving things around, I then subsequently, just make sure I load the movable weighty items in the same places every time. The rule is heavy things as low as possible and as near as possible to the axle - for best stability. I make a point of making sure there is nothing heavy in any of the roof level cupboards, before setting off. My o/s is heavier than my n/s of my van due to cooker+ fridge + water heater + table, just the heating system on the n/s - so the heavy items fit on the n/s of the isle in the van so as to help balance it.

Move things a little forward of the axle to increase noseweight, a little to the rear to decrease.

My vans unladen noseweight used to be a bit higher than I would like, but I got it down using BP light type plastic gas bottles. 100kg is the maximum for the 75.

[GJ53 DGO]

Ever considered removing the jockey and putting it in the boot? Should give you a few inches of extra ground clearance.

[Jim Jamieson]

I found that my Coachman sat low at the tow bar when hitched onto the diesel 75 with the standard Witter detachable.

I've since refitted the tow bar onto my V6 using a Witter Quantum detachable and this system means the tow ball is approx 25mm higher.

The result means the caravan now sits on a more level plane.

[KWIL]

Specification for Tourer trailer nose weight is 100Kg MAX.

I have MGR detachable hitch and that seems to be the correct height.

[HarryM1BYT]

Originally Posted by KWIL

Specification for Tourer trailer nose weight is 100Kg MAX.

I have MGR detachable hitch and that seems to be the correct height.

Caravans are supposed to tow nose down a bit. Nose up or close to level is quite an unstable way to tow. There is a range of acceptable height for two ball centres and from memory mine is close to the top of that range. I use a fixed ball, a personal thing, but I don't entirely trust detachables. I replaced the standard ball, with an pukka Alko one, that has a slightly taller neck which increases the height slightly.

I have never felt the need to remove the jockey wheel and never had it hit anything, but the parked position of the wheel is alongside the A frame - it only protrudes down around three inches below the A frame.

[GJ53 DGO]

I've never felt the need to remove a jockey wheel either and regularly tow various items (though not with the zed), but I just thought 3inches is a large percentage of the total ground clearance of the hitch so would be enough to make a difference for the OP, a nice cheap fix to if it stops any grounding