Have just bought (but not yet collected) a Conway Classic. It seems to be one of the weightier of their range, which has me wondering - How much weight can I remove from it?
I got it for a couple of trips here I'll be using my big, heavy, estate car, but also like the idea of hooking it up to my smaller car from time to time. But that's on the limit with the factory spec weight.
I figure there's about 50kg in the kitchen unit, but what about the awnings? Most times I'm not going to need the cavernous "Our largest square meterage ever" space, but is there really much weight in a few m2 of canvas and a pile of poles?
Until someone replies with direct experience, have a look online at Motorhome drive away awnings - they’ll have the weight, which might give you a steer. If your awning is cotton, it’ll weigh more.
The time between arriving and sitting down with a coffee or can of beer will be a bit quicker without an awning too.
But someone will be along with a definitive answer soon….
according to the conway owners club, the weight of this is 360kgs then 100kgs carrying capacity, giving a total of 460kgs, what is your "smaller" car as most if not all can manage this no bother
i would not be removing the kitchen if i was you as this will affect the balance of the trailer.
"Smaller car" number one is an early Metro. It can do it, but I'd prefer not to be approaching the legal (and mechanical) limits with it. Smaller car number two... I'm going to avoid the ridicule of saying, but we'll go with "It's got a rated towing capacity of 610 braked".
Although, as the newly acquired Conway Classic blew a tyre 7 miles after buying it, 20 miles from home, in -2c temps, and the spare's flat... This is currently all moot.
I did wonder about the kitchen/ weight balance. But then I see some models came as kitchen/ kitchenless, seemingly using the same body and chassis. Plus, maybe without the weight of awning and poles, and with a decent leisure battery placed near the back, the trailer wouldn't get too nose heavy.
Quote: Originally posted by Exasperant on 08/2/2023
I did wonder about the kitchen/ weight balance. But then I see some models came as kitchen/ kitchenless, seemingly using the same body and chassis. Plus, maybe without the weight of awning and poles, and with a decent leisure battery placed near the back, the trailer wouldn't get too nose heavy.
Maybe.
We had a trailer tent many years ago that had a choice of kitchen or no kitchen. We bought the one with no kitchen at first as we were cash strapped at the time and then bought the kitchen a few years later. However, when we were having the kitchen fitted, the dealer had to do something with the axle as well to sort out the balance. I don’t remember all the ins and outs of it, as it was a long time ago, but I remember it wasn’t as simple as just sticking the kitchen on the back. If you remove the kitchen, you would need to check if you need to do anything else to ensure a correct balance.
Looking into it a bit more, it appears the chassis is pre-drilled to relocate the axle approx 20cm forward. So that'd be the weight distribution/ something needed to do bit.
But it would also mean cutting the floor and extending the inner arches/ liners to suit. Not a massive job, but all these "It's only" add up. Going to think on this a while. I don't need to do any of this if I only tow with the big car, but it's currently getting sub 20mpg *without* a third of a ton of trailer tent hanging off the back of it!
Quote: Originally posted by navver on 09/2/2023
Is the camper braked or unbraked. That will make a big difference to a small car's towing ability
Unbraked, which is part of why I've not got a lot of wiggle room on the weight. Although even braked, I'd still prefer not to be dragging more mass than necessary for the odd mini break.
I'm almost regretting not going for a within the budget Challenger I saw, but the easily removed drawbar on the Classic makes it much, much, easier to store the three hundred and something days a year it's not in use. Well, at least in theory. It came with the side storage brackets, but I've not tried them yet. That's a hernia for another day.
why are you having a mare and saying about wishing you got a challenger, when that is much more weight at 560kgs empty/ 750kgs fully loaded, when the one you have now is perfectly fine for your smaller cars with the classic being only 360kgs empty/460kgs fully loaded
side storage bars not as hard as you think to get on its side, easier with 2 people, esp when putting back on its wheels, but even i could do ours on my own
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Topic: Conway Classic Weight Saving
via mobile 06/2/2023 at 6:19pm
