Everyone has their own idea as to what a 'good' ball weight should be. From our experience, the bigger the ball weight the better the van tows. This is a generic statement and I'm sure there will be some that will agree or disagree.
Larry
Caravan Manufacturers do not set the Ball Weight except in the case of an extremely small number that have a Maximum ball weight stamped on the ViN Plate.
Unless the VIN Plate says Maxumum, then any ball weight shown on the VIN Plate (Not a legal requirement) will be either the unladen vans ball weight or the diffeernce between the ATM & GTM. These ball weights are flawed as they have no relevance to what the actual ball weight will be for the laden van and or how the load is distributed.
Max ball weight is the lesser of the weights detirminied by the vehicle manufactuirer, tow bar manufacturer or a trailer manufacturer who states maximum.
Cheers Ozjohn.
This is post from the Late Forum member Ozjohn who I always respected his advice and miss his post .
The most important thing is your ATM and what is on your VIN Plate. That is what police etc check with what it weighs. As others have said above - the 10% is just a guide.
Happy travelling
Glen
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Glen
A diesel Nissan Pathfinder towing a Coromal Element 542.
It seems that there is no set rule re ball weight. I have been rather reluctant to add to much weight to the A Frame of the van.
But with our ball weight at around 170 kg, seems to be ok, going on the above comments.
Thanks for info.
Jay&Dee
My vehicle (Audi Q3 2.0 TFSI AWD) quotes tow / ball weights as 2000/80 kg. Ive seen figures that say ball weight should be 5%, 7%, 10% and 15% of gross towing weight. Does the percentage increase as the van weight increases as seems to be implied by some comments in this forum?
eg. a 1500 kg van has a 5% (75kg) ball weight, a 2500 kg van has 10% (250kg) and a 3000 kg van has a 15% (450 kg)
For my Audi, 5% of 2000 kg = 100 kg but 80 kg is 5% of 1600 kg or 4% of 2000 kg. The Audi catalogue states their tow bar is 2000/80 kg and Hayman-Reese also quotes 2000/80 kg for a Q3 tow bar.
Looking at Jurgens Sungazer, Swift Sprite Alpine 2, Swift Eccles or Challenger Sport 442, Elddis Xplore 402. Even these vans quote various ball weights. Im planning not to exceed a gross weight of 1600 kg.
Has anyone had a problem with a Jayco Starcraft Outback 16ft with a rear ensuite and a truma airconditioner on the roof and also a solar panel on the roof. We picked up the van on 18 May brand new from Jayco and took it up to Wangaratta the following weekend for its first trip - when we got home we decided to put it on the ball weight scales to see what the ball weight was and even though both water tanks were 2/3rds full it came in at 250kg. The compliance plate reads empty ball mass of 182 and maximum ball loading of 220kg!! The tare weight is 1718 GTM is 1911 and ATM is 2030. We have sent an email to Page Bros and to Jayco regarding this last Tuesday and are awaiting their response. Can anyone help in the meantime as we are planning a long trip in the new van at the end don't of July.
I think it's more a guideline maybe but I have been known to be wrong before. 
