Recently changed from a Sterling Europa 540 windward to a Bailey Unicorn Vigo 2, with my old Europa I often lifted the front of the van to put asome wood under the jockey wheel, I've just tried to do the same on our first trip with the new van on grass and there's no way in heaven I'm lifting it!
I've not much in the 2 side lockers and nothing under the 2 settees, how can I remedy this as it seems too heavy?
Thanks
Is there a carrier for the spare wheel behind the axle?
If there was one on the Sterling and not on the Bailey then this will make the noseweight a little heavier in comparison.
Quote: Originally posted by checkley1973 on 26/5/2017
If you can't lift it I agree it suggests it's too heavy. Have you an on board water tank? 2 gas bottles?
Or make the same mistake I did once trying to lift it when the rear steadies were down !
That made me giggle😂no steadies up
Gas bottle in side box towards axle
Water empty
Quote: Originally posted by martindoggy on 26/5/2017
Quote: Originally posted by checkley1973 on 26/5/2017
If you can't lift it I agree it suggests it's too heavy. Have you an on board water tank? 2 gas bottles?
Or make the same mistake I did once trying to lift it when the rear steadies were down !
That made me giggle😂no steadies up
Gas bottle in side box towards axle
Water empty
And I'm no lightweight
Thanks for the replies
That's odd if you have a side gas Locker too.
And yes I was suitably embarrassed when I realised what I had tried to do :-)
Quote: Originally posted by checkley1973 on 26/5/2017
If you can't lift it I agree it suggests it's too heavy. Have you an on board water tank? 2 gas bottles?
Or make the same mistake I did once trying to lift it when the rear steadies were down !
I did exactly that when we had loaded up for our first ever trip, salesman had said nosweight would be ok if I could just lift the font - we faffed about for an hour until we realised the rear legs were down!(1982!)
The spare wheel is behind the axle,its a wind down type accessed under the bed.Theres a blanking plate to cover the winder.
We have a Vigo 2, I am not in the habit of trying to lift it-not wanting to hurt my back.
To check noseweight you can use a bit of wood and bathroom scales if you don't have a gauge.
If you want to put a peice of wood under the nosewheel you can put the steadies down once van is level,then wind up the jockey wheel and put the wood in,then wind down.
They are nice vans hope you enjoy it.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
Quote: Originally posted by 664DaveS on 27/5/2017
The spare wheel is behind the axle,its a wind down type accessed under the bed.Theres a blanking plate to cover the winder.
We have a Vigo 2, I am not in the habit of trying to lift it-not wanting to hurt my back.
To check noseweight you can use a bit of wood and bathroom scales if you don't have a gauge.
If you want to put a peice of wood under the nosewheel you can put the steadies down once van is level,then wind up the jockey wheel and put the wood in,then wind down.
They are nice vans hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for the info
Was going to use steadies to hold up while I put block under jockey wheel but felt it was so heavy didn't want to strain them
You could put the wood in front or behind the wheel and pull or push the van onto it while attached to the car, or use a mover if you have one.
Assuming the block is not too thick!
I have used one of my ramps when grass is soggy, just pushed the thin end of it under the wheel.
------------- DS-There's more to life than football!!!
If you want wood under jockey wheel then site van & once steadies are down lift jockey wheel & put wood under. No point in wrecking your back trying to lift front of caravan ever. I think Freelander allows well over 100 kg on towbar so if caravan tows ok I wouldn't worry about it.
Yes the freelander towbar limit is 150kg but was told by dealer the damper wouldn't work at anywhere near that weight.
Just can't believe the weight of it, old van had a big front locker with 2 gas bottle and loads of other stuff, new van not much up front and not much I can lose?
Thanks
Some caravans though are renown to having a heavy noseweight which I believe Coachman and Bailey are both known for this, that's why Coachman on their later caravans have re-positioned the battery box nearer towards the front of the axle. I have the same problem with my caravan being an older Coachman but it's a matter of counter-balancing the caravan with equipment providing you are sensible and don't load everything at the very rear merely because of instability issues. That's why a noseweight gauge plays an important part when you have a caravan with a heavier noseweight so you can adjust prior to setting off to get the balance more accurate.
Quote: Originally posted by Ray Clayton on 27/5/2017
The Barcelona is the same, heavy front end.
Even worse after grandaughter fills the lockers up!!
I end up towing at around 110kg nose weight.
Do you counter load behind the axle or just not load much to the front?
Cheers
I had nose weight problems with a Bailey Unicorn 1.It came from Thea Tory at 100 kg n/w empty.
They gradually changed the layout to reduce the n/w. In later models and I think gas is now further back.
In my case the n/w when loaded normally was 136. The Land Cruiser was Ok as was the tow bar but the caravans limit was 100 kg. The dealer encouraged by trading standards moved the spare wheel carrier back and moved the motor mover to behind the wheel.
I think most vans have a n/w limit of 100 kg .You should load to the lower n/w figure of tow car , tow bracket and caravan.
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Topic: Bailey Unicorn Vigo 2
