Nose weight question for newbie

Thanks for all your help, great to know such great advice is just a click away.   I’m going to do a few things....

1) double check my milenco gauge  v bathroom scales

2) locate and drain the water tank and empty it

3) try the awning (20 kg) in the rear of the van rather than the car 

i need to rebalance by c.15kg so I’m hoping this may do the trick.

I will also start to use a checklist to avoid any other rookie mishaps!

other than that we are off to ambleside next week, snowdonia the week after then off to Northumberland a couple of weeks after that.... I expect I will have learned much more by then but I suspect this is a hobby  where you never stop learning... which will be part of the fun.

thanks all

Andrew

Where was your EHU cable as these are a considerable weight. if it was in the car then next time try putting it just behind the axle on the floor as this will help with nose weight and not compromise stability.

I have a 2012 Lunar Clubman SB and carry one calor lite gas bottle. When towing I empty the hot water tank and reduce the water in the toilet flush tank as instructed. Two Aqua rolls and a Wastemaster go in the van at the front while the tv and hook-up cable go under the nearside front seat. The only things that go in the back, laying on the beds are our two folding chairs. With that configuration I get about 70kg nose weight, which suits our tow-bar limit of 75kg. 

We also empty the cupboards of of heavy items and carry these in the car.

Plus two and I managed to drive quite a distance too - I was on a hill start and thought the car being lazy!  Flagged down by a concerned kind French driver telling me the caravan was smoking! 

Someone had one of those Acronym things for remembering brakeaway cable electrics jockey wheel brakes and mover - but I can't remember what it was exactly.  A check list? 

Pippah, sounds like im amongst good company with the motor mover!

DMiller, im a little more puzzled now as you have very similar caravan and much lower nose weight than me (yes you have a lighter gas cylinder, have emptied the water but added two aqua rolls, wastemaster and TV to the front (versus my set up that was empty apart from the water tank) but im getting 45kg heavier on the nose.... just makes me think I may not have been level when I tested it or the gauge is wrong. but as I said I will calibrate against bathroom scales (although these always show me as being heavier than I should be :-) )   thanks again for comments. Andrew

Just another thought.....do caravan manufacturers not publish what the empty nose weight is for all their models.....   this would be a really great place to start so you could get a better feel for what you are adding. but i guess it will come with experience anyhow.....

Im guessing once you are satisfied with your nose weight you don't need to measure every time as long as you pack the same way

Lutz is the expert on this and I hope he answers your question, but I think he said previously that manufactures do not publish a nose weight but do publish a maximum nose weight, not quite the same. Could be wrong though.

Andrew.  Care about putting your awning at the rear of the caravan.  It is probably the heaviest item you will take with you.  If you put it too far to the rear it will induce a pendulum effect; by all means place it near the axle but care. All the stuff you listed above should not be loaded in front of the axle as it will just worsen your problem.  If you must take so much you must be warry where you load it for towing.  dmiller has given you some good guidance above. If you have space in your car put the awing in it as I advised earlier.  Think you may be at risk of overloading your caravan.  I manage to get a nose weight of 90kgs easily in my Ranger GT60 520/4.  I don't think manufacturers publish the empty nose weight of their caravans because they could vary so much by Dealer specials, battery in or out, spare wheel etc etc etc.

Im guessing once you are satisfied with your nose weight you don't need to measure every time as long as you pack the same way

And yes to this. We all started out like you and thinking back with what I know now I wouldn't let myself go out like I did

We just bought a caravan after hiring one, loaded it up and off we went. It was only after reading articles and books (there was very little on line in 1999) did I learn about things like nose weight and I hate to think what it would have been! 

once you have loaded the van correctly and tested the nose weight and stability, take a photo on your phone and then you can get it the same every time without the worry if the nose is to heavy/light.