G-day all. Since leaving mid north coast nsw in oct we have travelled up to Cairns via Moree then up to Cloncurry across to Mackay then on to Cairns where we will be staying untill march then off to wa. This was our virgin trip, all when well. Now to make a few changers to the van {viscount Sportz} single axle.
Number one.The water tank 60lt is at the front off van. We could move it back about 4 feet to the centre of van Question is do we need too,would it even out the weight in van. Would be like putting a new one on as pipes and wiring will not reach.
Putting an extra tank behind existing one would be good,but then good old weight then becomes an issue.
Other the w.t just change lights to led and a couple of small things in side van to suit swmbo.
Appreciate any comments on water tank change. Thanks woody 2
Peter_n_Margaret said
11:03 AM Dec 10, 2015
Moving the tank so it is closer to the axle will improve the inherent instability of the van.
Cheers,
Peter
Bill B said
12:03 PM Dec 10, 2015
What is the total weight & ball weight of the van in a fully loaded state ?
What tow vehicle do you have ?
Yuglamron said
12:08 PM Dec 10, 2015
I agree with Peter. Move the tank as close to the axle as possible. It will make the van more stable.
Check out some of the posts on here Re. Led's interfering with TV reception.
PeterD said
06:06 PM Dec 10, 2015
Yuglamron wrote:
Move the tank as close to the axle as possible. It will make the van more stable.
Why will it make it more stable? The stability will not be affected when an empty tank is empty no matter where the tank is located. If the ball weight is a little light on then a bit more weight on the ball may make the stability improve a bit compared to an empty tank. I think Bill may have been thinking the same way when he requested more details.
Woody, I know you told us the model of van you have but very few of us would know the weight of it and certainly no one would know the actual loaded and ball weights. Please give us details of your rig.
greyhoundtom said
07:22 PM Dec 10, 2015
Because of some concerns about the ball weight of the van, and having two water tanks one on each side of the wheels, I decided to move the font tank to the area central above the axels.
Well that was the idea.
Got as far as disconnecting the wiring and actually took one of the supporting brackets off before I decided to hold that bracket in the spot where I was going to relocate the tank to.
Bugger ....... I then found out that the areas where the tanks are located have the floor joist further apart to fit the tanks, and the tank simply won't fit where I wanted to place it without major alterations and a fair bit of welding.
Took the rest of the afternoon to put everything back the ways it was before I pulled it apart.
Couple of days later I did relocate my two batteries from under the bed at the front of the van to under the cafe seating located above the wheels opposite the kitchen. At least that worked reasonably well and while I haven't had a chance to recheck the ball weight that should have helped a little bit.
Going by my experience please double check the new tank location to make sure it will fit before disconnecting anything.
Woody2 said
07:20 AM Dec 11, 2015
Thanks for your replys. The van loaded is 1550 kgs. The ball weight was 220kgs with full tank. Towed with a ford ranger 2008 pj. The van towed beautifully on the trip up and the pj realy did not know it was behind. Just worried a bit about ball weight.
The rails are no problem thanks Tom same distance apart right though.
Explorer said
09:01 AM Dec 11, 2015
Woody2 wrote:
Thanks for your replys. The van loaded is 1550 kgs. The ball weight was 220kgs with full tank. Towed with a ford ranger 2008 pj. The van towed beautifully on the trip up and the pj realy did not know it was behind. Just worried a bit about ball weight. The rails are no problem thanks Tom same distance apart right though.
If it ain't broke why fix it?
The 10% tow ball weight is regarded as a minimum, normal reccomedations is 10%- 15%. Just go and enjoy your travels.
G-day all. Since leaving mid north coast nsw in oct we have travelled up to Cairns via Moree then up to Cloncurry across to Mackay then on to Cairns where we will be staying untill march then off to wa. This was our virgin trip, all when well. Now to make a few changers to the van {viscount Sportz} single axle.
Number one.The water tank 60lt is at the front off van. We could move it back about 4 feet to the centre of van Question is do we need too,would it even out the weight in van. Would be like putting a new one on as pipes and wiring will not reach.
Putting an extra tank behind existing one would be good,but then good old weight then becomes an issue.
Other the w.t just change lights to led and a couple of small things in side van to suit swmbo.
Appreciate any comments on water tank change. Thanks woody 2
Cheers,
Peter
What tow vehicle do you have ?
I agree with Peter. Move the tank as close to the axle as possible. It will make the van more stable.
Check out some of the posts on here Re. Led's interfering with TV reception.
Why will it make it more stable? The stability will not be affected when an empty tank is empty no matter where the tank is located. If the ball weight is a little light on then a bit more weight on the ball may make the stability improve a bit compared to an empty tank. I think Bill may have been thinking the same way when he requested more details.
Woody, I know you told us the model of van you have but very few of us would know the weight of it and certainly no one would know the actual loaded and ball weights. Please give us details of your rig.
Well that was the idea.
Got as far as disconnecting the wiring and actually took one of the supporting brackets off before I decided to hold that bracket in the spot where I was going to relocate the tank to.
Bugger ....... I then found out that the areas where the tanks are located have the floor joist further apart to fit the tanks, and the tank simply won't fit where I wanted to place it without major alterations and a fair bit of welding.
Took the rest of the afternoon to put everything back the ways it was before I pulled it apart.
Couple of days later I did relocate my two batteries from under the bed at the front of the van to under the cafe seating located above the wheels opposite the kitchen. At least that worked reasonably well and while I haven't had a chance to recheck the ball weight that should have helped a little bit.
Going by my experience please double check the new tank location to make sure it will fit before disconnecting anything.
The rails are no problem thanks Tom same distance apart right though.
If it ain't broke why fix it?
The 10% tow ball weight is regarded as a minimum, normal reccomedations is 10%- 15%. Just go and enjoy your travels.
Mike.