My self and my partner Jacky are about to buy a new van. A retreat Whitehaven. We love the van but we are a bit concerned about the high ball weight of 282kg .
We are going to tow this van with a Mazda Bt50 with a max ball weight of 350kg. and a GCM of 6000kg
What worries me is that by the time we add a couple of gas bottles, a generator, a couple of push bikes to the drawbar and then load the van that we might exceed our 350kg limit.
The van has a tare of 2798kgs. ATM 3500kgs
I suppose the question is, if you start with a 282kg ball weight. What do you suppose the ball weight might be when the van is loaded ?
Are there any Whitehaven owners out there that can help me ?
Young Simmo said
02:50 PM Nov 6, 2015
You could put one of those modern Aluminium tool boxes on the back, and fill it with bits and pieces. It worked on our rig as our BA Falcon sedan was miles too soft in the back suspension. Also if you have any annex walls or roof you can put them at the back on or under the bed etc.
Goodluck.
Simmo.
Delta18 said
03:38 PM Nov 6, 2015
If you start with 282kg on the ball and spread the load throughout the van evenly the weight doesn't need to change too much.
I would be reluctant to attach the genni to the drawbar for safety reasons. Mine travels in the ute tub.
Due to the 'Pendulum effect' boxes of stuff at either extremity is asking for trouble.
If you want to look after your car and arrive at your destination safely, load the heavy stuff in the car, it takes less effort to Carry stuff than to Tow it.
Cheers neil
Bill B said
04:39 PM Nov 6, 2015
Where are the water tanks located ?
Desert Dweller said
06:49 PM Nov 6, 2015
Bill B wrote:
Where are the water tanks located ?
We always partly fill our fresh water tank which is located BEHIND the axle to offset the weight of 2 full gas bottles to keep our vans ball weight to a reasonable & allowable level. Setting up a van to tow safely is really just a balancing act.
Gary Andrew said
10:46 AM Nov 11, 2015
Hi Young Simmo.
Great idea.
The box is about to happen.
Gary Andrew said
10:49 AM Nov 11, 2015
Hi Neil.
Thanks for the tips.
I am putting an alloy box on the back of the Mazda so I am going to spread the weight around as best I can trying not to exceed the vehicles GVM and the GCM
Gary Andrew said
09:14 AM Nov 14, 2015
Hi Bill.
I have discovered that I have 2 tanks behind and one in front of the axles. So That ought to help me.
Thanks again
Gary
rockylizard said
09:30 AM Nov 14, 2015
Gday...
I would be very careful in following exactly some of the advice offered above.
This video was posted just recently (by cupie) - I would suggest you watch it and be aware of the criticality of how you spread the load within your van.
Hi Everyone.
My self and my partner Jacky are about to buy a new van. A retreat Whitehaven. We love the van but we are a bit concerned about the high ball weight of 282kg .
We are going to tow this van with a Mazda Bt50 with a max ball weight of 350kg. and a GCM of 6000kg
What worries me is that by the time we add a couple of gas bottles, a generator, a couple of push bikes to the drawbar and then load the van that we might exceed our 350kg limit.
The van has a tare of 2798kgs. ATM 3500kgs
I suppose the question is, if you start with a 282kg ball weight. What do you suppose the ball weight might be when the van is loaded ?
Are there any Whitehaven owners out there that can help me ?
You could put one of those modern Aluminium tool boxes on the back, and fill it with bits and pieces. It worked on our rig as our BA Falcon sedan was miles too soft in the back suspension. Also if you have any annex walls or roof you can put them at the back on or under the bed etc.
Goodluck.
Simmo.
If you start with 282kg on the ball and spread the load throughout the van evenly the weight doesn't need to change too much.
I would be reluctant to attach the genni to the drawbar for safety reasons. Mine travels in the ute tub.
Due to the 'Pendulum effect' boxes of stuff at either extremity is asking for trouble.
If you want to look after your car and arrive at your destination safely, load the heavy stuff in the car, it takes less effort to Carry stuff than to Tow it.
Cheers neil
We always partly fill our fresh water tank which is located BEHIND the axle to offset the weight of 2 full gas bottles to keep our vans ball weight to a reasonable & allowable level. Setting up a van to tow safely is really just a balancing act.
Hi Young Simmo.
Great idea.
The box is about to happen.
Hi Neil.
Thanks for the tips.
I am putting an alloy box on the back of the Mazda so I am going to spread the weight around as best I can trying not to exceed the vehicles GVM and the GCM
Hi Bill.
I have discovered that I have 2 tanks behind and one in front of the axles. So That ought to help me.
Thanks again
Gary
Gday...
I would be very careful in following exactly some of the advice offered above.
This video was posted just recently (by cupie) - I would suggest you watch it and be aware of the criticality of how you spread the load within your van.
https://youtu.be/PFzrWHTG5e8
Weight on the extremities of the van are most likely to create instability - it is much better to spread the weight within the van along these lines.
Conventional thinking is that the ballweight should be between 8% and 12% of the total weight of the van - perhaps even upto 15%.
The key is to rearrange the load of the van along the lines as shown in the attached diagram to achieve an 'acceptable' ballweight.
It is wise to avoid having heavy items particularly in the rear (or hanging off the rear bumper) and to some extent on the A-frame.
Cheers - John