Showering in the caravan
95 replies
young thomas replied on 10/04/2017 17:55
Posted on 10/04/2017 17:55
unless one weighs the/your actual van fully loaded as TG has done, just adding the weight of loaded items to the 'brochure weight' of a caravan or MH is hardly accurate.
manufacturers have a 'tolerance' (inaccuracy) of +/- 5% so a caravan weighing 1500kg in the brochure might actually weigh 1575kg, so if you are running anywhere near the 'theoretical' maximum, the van may already be significantly overweight. with paltry caravan payloads, this might be crucial.
on a 3500kg MH, this tolerance could be as much as 175kg, a significant amount to be short of in the payload department.
i had this van weighed in a known state prior to purchase (including factory fitted extras) rather than relying on the catalog figures, and weighed all equipment that got loaded into the van, including us
, so i know the true weight of this actual van.
stay safe out there.....
KjellNN replied on 10/04/2017 18:20
Posted on 10/04/2017 11:27 by CornersteadyYou'll not be surprised to know that everything I have in the van that stays permanently in there (aqauroll, wastemaster, gas, sleeping stuff, pots and pans, plates, cutlery, shower stuff, front locker tools and hoses, stuff in the front drawers... whatever) has been weighed before being put in and accounted for in my caravan spread sheet. We have those blue ikea large bags for clothing that when full weigh about 6kg so we know exactly what our van weighs when being towed. Can you say likewise?
Posted on 10/04/2017 18:20
Yes, I can.
Did you weigh the empty van first, then add on your weights, or did you use the manufacturer's figure?
Our MIRO(we are in the old ystem as a 2008 van) is given as 1532kg, and our MTPLM is 1900kg, so theoretically we have a decent payload of 368kg.
Allowing for battery 20kg, gas 20kg, air con 32kg, mover 33kg, Fiamma 11kg, and say a generous 30kg for other bits we have added ( shock absorbers, extra sockets, extra shelves, Alde accessories, dish racks, a little water in the toilet, and water in the HW tank)......a total of 146kg......we should still have 222kg left.
This has to cover food, clothes, shoes, toiletries, cleaning materials, toilet chemicals, cooking equipment, dishes, bedding, towels, prescription items, Wastemaster, pipes and hose, spare EHU cable, and about 10kg of assorted spares and tools.
This should be plenty, it is considerably more than the total allowed for many newer vans, yet when we weighed the van fully loaded last year, we found we were on or even above our limit, depending on the accuracy of the weighbridge, so we are having a ruthless cull.
I suspect the van must have weighed a fair bit more than the 1532kg stated originally, just sorry we did not weigh it when we first got it!
JVB66 replied on 10/04/2017 18:25
KjellNN replied on 10/04/2017 18:29
Posted on 10/04/2017 17:55 by young thomasunless one weighs the/your actual van fully loaded as TG has done, just adding the weight of loaded items to the 'brochure weight' of a caravan or MH is hardly accurate.
manufacturers have a 'tolerance' (inaccuracy) of +/- 5% so a caravan weighing 1500kg in the brochure might actually weigh 1575kg, so if you are running anywhere near the 'theoretical' maximum, the van may already be significantly overweight. with paltry caravan payloads, this might be crucial.
on a 3500kg MH, this tolerance could be as much as 175kg, a significant amount to be short of in the payload department.
i had this van weighed in a known state prior to purchase (including factory fitted extras) rather than relying on the catalog figures, and weighed all equipment that got loaded into the van, including us
stay safe out there.....
Boff replied on 10/04/2017 18:32
Posted on 10/04/2017 17:52 byYou can however boost the water temperature on the Alde which raises the temperature.
How much hot water does the system produce?
The Alde Compact boilers uses a store of 8.4 litres of hot water at >50 °C. When mixed at the fixture to a usable 38 °C, this amounts to ≈12 litres of heated water every 30 mins. Cold water <10 °C will take longer to heat.
The Hot Water Boost function—the tap icon on the digital control panel—cuts out the central heating for 30 mins while another 8.4 litres of hot water is heated to >65 °C. This amounts to ≈15 litres of heated water, mixed. Assuming an average flow rate of 3 litres per minute, this gives ≈5 minutes of continuous heated water for showers.
This can also be used to kill Legionella bacteria if the system has been standing unused for a spell. (Legionella bacteria dies within 2 mins at 65 °C.)
Posted on 10/04/2017 18:32
But the boosted temperature is the same temperature as the ultrastore on electric ~65C and as the tank is smaller less hot water. The anti legionella setting is true but slightly misleading because I believe that the greatest risk would be from the shower head, as legionella is typically transmitted in aerosols, and this isn't exposed to high temperatures. The risk must be pretty infintesmal anyway so I wouldn't worry.
We will be away for 4 nights over Easter, the shower will be getting plenty of practical use as a shower.
young thomas replied on 10/04/2017 18:33
KjellNN replied on 10/04/2017 18:34
Posted on 10/04/2017 18:25 by JVB66The best investment we have made is the Riech caravan system the caravan version can weigh up to 1000kg per wheel ,the motor caravan version i think is up to 1500kg per wheel
Posted on 10/04/2017 18:34
We have one of those, but struggle to get an accurate figure as we have no flat area at home on which to use it, and it did not like being put on the gravel on a hardstanding either.
Will need to take it with us again and find a nice flat, quiet bit of site road to try it out on!
KjellNN replied on 10/04/2017 18:36
Posted on 10/04/2017 18:33 by young thomas...or the least?
Cornersteady replied on 10/04/2017 18:37
Posted on 10/04/2017 17:37 by TammygirlNot weighed individual items but the M/H did get weighed when fully loaded and we have plenty of weight allowance, unlike the last caravan. Interesting 6kg of clothes which one walks around naked
Cornersteady replied on 10/04/2017 18:41
Posted on 10/04/2017 18:20 by KjellNNYes, I can.
Did you weigh the empty van first, then add on your weights, or did you use the manufacturer's figure?
Our MIRO(we are in the old ystem as a 2008 van) is given as 1532kg, and our MTPLM is 1900kg, so theoretically we have a decent payload of 368kg.
Allowing for battery 20kg, gas 20kg, air con 32kg, mover 33kg, Fiamma 11kg, and say a generous 30kg for other bits we have added ( shock absorbers, extra sockets, extra shelves, Alde accessories, dish racks, a little water in the toilet, and water in the HW tank)......a total of 146kg......we should still have 222kg left.
This has to cover food, clothes, shoes, toiletries, cleaning materials, toilet chemicals, cooking equipment, dishes, bedding, towels, prescription items, Wastemaster, pipes and hose, spare EHU cable, and about 10kg of assorted spares and tools.
This should be plenty, it is considerably more than the total allowed for many newer vans, yet when we weighed the van fully loaded last year, we found we were on or even above our limit, depending on the accuracy of the weighbridge, so we are having a ruthless cull.
I suspect the van must have weighed a fair bit more than the 1532kg stated originally, just sorry we did not weigh it when we first got it!
Posted on 10/04/2017 18:41
We used the weight given by the manufacturer empty and if they get it wrong, well maybe a rethink is in order, but even so now there's only two or three of us at one time and it's a six berth caravan and I allocated 36kg for clothes we should be well under.
We weighed everything that went in, not individually but in batches .
Rod235
Caravanner