Knightonday replied on 02/11/2024 13:32
Posted on 02/11/2024 13:32
Just purchased a Bailey Unicorn Madrid V 2024. I didn't check the nose weight when I picked it up and now find that the nose weight tips the scales at 128kg.
I suspect the dealer will say it's due to the mover, battery and gas bottles so I've worked out that as the 30kg mover is located 0.6m in front of the wheels, it only contributes 4.3kg to the nose weight (using 30 x 0.6 = R x 4.18 where 4.18 is the distance from the nose to the wheels). Similarly the 21kg battery is 1.02m forward of the wheels, increasing the nose weight by 5.12kg and for the gas bottle, increasing the nose weight by 2.51kg - the total for all these being 11.93kg. So, if I took them all out, the nose weight would be around 116kg.
If I were to travel with them all in the caravan, I would need to counterbalance the 28kg excessive nose weight (Bailey say max nose weight should be 100kg) by having a counter balance of 44kg right at the back of the caravan. The distance from the wheels to the rear of the 'van is only 2.63m so a much larger weight is needed to counterbalance the 28kg.
I haven't contacted the dealer with this information yet but has anyone had a similar experience and did they feel the need to reject the caravan as being unroadworthy?
Fortunately my car will take 140kg nose weight and the Alko hitch will take 150kg.
Knightonday
Caravanner from Lincolnshire