Ulti-mates after another sleepless night I have managed to clarify the nose weight issue you advised me on in your earlier post.
I have been told by Baileys caravan head office that the nose weight of my Indiana is 80kg as it leaves the factory and after speaking with a tow bar fitter this morning, we have learnt that if we fit a Witters tow bar to my van it will have a nose weight of 85kg
Now is there anything else i need to clarify before i pick the van up and die of a stress related illness haha.
You guys really have helped to be honest and will make receiving the caravan that bit more special.
Well, that all sounds good then - it was certainly wise to check.
The only thing that puzzles me about that, is that you have established the towbar's potential loading, but it is usual for the vehicle's manufacturer to specify the vehicle's limit and I'm still left wondering if that might be lower than Witter's 85kg limit.
For example, Ford specify our Mondeo Estate's limit to be 75kg. I'm not sure what make of towbar we have fitted (it was not factory fitted) and could well be a Witter. Therefore, if we were choosing an Indiana, it's noseweight would be beyond Ford's specification, although not beyond Witter's !!
At risk of turning you into a nervous wreck, would it be possible for you to check the van manufacturers specifications?
It does all seem a bit of a trial, but it will be worth it in the end and hopefully you won't in future be one of those unfortunate people who post questions about their van wagging and bouncing along behind them.
One other thing which I think I've already mentioned
What is the maximum payload of the van? I was once told by a driving instructor that the weight being towed added to the weight being carried in the van can't exceed the vans maximum payload.
Ulti-mates you really have put a spanner in the works this time
I have phoned my Vauxhall van dealership and got no answers as the documents regarding my Vivaro van show no mention of the nose weight limits of my van anywhere in all there technical bumf from vauxhall head office.
I then phoned Vauxhall head offices customer services this dinner time and they too couldnt find anything and have had too send a internal email to there Technical team and i was promised a call from them within a couple of hours, but as yet i have heard nothing.
I understand your point though as you say that although we are having a witters tow bar fitted with a nose weight limit of 85kg it in no way gives a idea as too what the vans actual nose weight limit is allowed on the suspension.
It looks like its going to yet another long weekend waiting for answers and i will be sure too let you know how i get on
Thanks for your input buddy and highlighting your concerns for us.
When speaking with Vauxhall we have never had the issue you raise, mentioned, and to be honest there wont be much payload in the van anyway only a few belongings.
We are finding it really difficult to find out the nose weight capacity of our van though and any help with this concern would be gratefully welcomed and after searching the net most of evening dont seem to be able to find the info anywhere and dont think we can last until Monday when we hope to hear back from Vauxhall technical dept.
Can anyone shed any light on our current concern ?
Omg at last i heard from Vauxhall head office this morning from there executive customer care technical team, glad it wasn't urgent.
Its taken them approximately 2 weeks to confirm that my 3 year old van has a nose weight limit of 80kg, although the witters tow bar is to have a nose weight limit of 85kg.
Am i right in thinking that my 80kg nose weight Indiana being pulled by my 80kg capable van will be ok as long as i load it correctly and would it make much difference if i went slightly over the 80kg with a bp light gas bottle being fitted in the front of my caravan which weighs 5kg ?
Thanks again everyone for your help as we only have approx 6 weeks to waite now
Hiya, I think the noseweight figure is a legality and if exceeded and you have an accident you may have difficulties with the law and your insurance company.
NOSEWEIGHT A caravan’s noseweight is the weight that it applies to the towball. The maximum noseweight must not be exceeded. This tends to range from 50-100kg but you should really work to either the caravan chassis or tow vehicle manufacturer’s figure – whichever is less. Generally speaking, the heavier the noseweight the better the caravan will tow. But finding the right noseweight for optimum towing performance is a matter of trial and error. One way of calculating noseweight is to take seven percent of the MTPLM, or you could alternatively use a noseweight gauge.
Better off re-jigging your locker to achieve the required weight Daz.
I just read the Caravan magazine you mentioned and found it very enlightening and a good read and in fact ordered the next 3 issues for £1.00.
We are approximately 6 weeks until we pick up our caravan now and had the witters tow bar and Alko tow ball fitted with twin electrics to our van today for £205.00 all in, and that was done outside our house so don't think it was a bad price ?
We are so pleased that we found this site and have had the help of such a great bunch of people and fellow caravaner's willing to offer there help and support every time its asked for in a genuinely friendly way.
We hope we can help someone in the future with some reviews of sites we visit and our many experiences yet to be discovered. It wont be long now
Hi there, aw I bet you are excited I have never had a brand new caravan before so I know what I would be like in the run up to collection!
The caravan mags tend to repeat themselves after a few issues but if you have never read them then worth a year's subscription. Mine has just ended but I am gonna re-subscribe I think. If you do Tesco points, Caravan magazine is available for £9.50 worth of points so £40 odd of subs dirt cheap! I did that one too.
Your tow bar sounds like excellent value for money.
Well good luck with it all and glad to be of help.
Ali, the caravan magazine has already been ordered using clubcard deals
It always seems that whatever we want we have to wait for and it seems forever having to waite for the Indiana to be delivered Although i have heard that delivery times are now slipping for new orders of the new Bailey Indiana and Burgundy range and is now December time at some dealers. Now that would do my head in.
Daz and family
Ps yes we are excited, especially after clearing up all the issues in the above posts.
He he he, it has been a rough ride but better safe than sorry Daz eh. We didn't mean to give you palpitations but how cross would you have been if Bailey had gloated about their warranty conditions if anything went wrong?
I hope your delivery time doesn't slip and it goes smoothly from here on in, I am sure you are going to love the van when it arrives, how jealous am I!
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: will my new outfit be legal and ok ?
I have managed to clarify the nose weight issue you advised me on in your earlier post.
