Single axle v twin axles on caravans

Tony108 · Member

RE: Single axle v twin axles on caravans

yobarr · Guru

Tony108 wrote:
600kg? I couldn't load that much in if I tried. I need to correct you on one thing and this thing will raise some questions, the towball max is 75kg,not 175kg

Interesting,as I have found all sorts of towball weights for the car,including 75kg,100kg,175kg and 200kg.Assuming you're quoting figures from your owners' manual,or from some sticker in the car,all I can say is,at 5% towball weight,you're playing with fire.The generally accepted figure,if safety is of any concern,is 10% of ATM,but because your car is waaaay heavier than your van,you may be OK. Not for me,but I wish you only good luck.You'll need all the luck you can get,I suspect,with maximum rear axle carrying capacity of only 1420kg.What does the van's compliance plate indicate for MAX towball weight,and what is the GTM (weight on van wheels) and axle group rating? And as for your apparent amazement at a 600kg load,this includes driver,fuel,towball weight,actual weight of towbar structure,tools,beer, luggage,spares etc,remembering that your load capacity in the van is very low,and already you have indicated a intention to put extra gear in the car to compensate.On paper,my van's carrying capacity is over 1500kg, and I regularly run close to my ATM.Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 14th of November 2021 06:36:56 PM

Tony108 · Member

yobarr wrote:
Tony108 wrote:
600kg? I couldn't load that much in if I tried. I need to correct you on one thing and this thing will raise some questions, the towball max is 75kgmax is 75kg not 175kg
Interesting,as I have found all sorts of weights for the car,including 75kg,100kg,175kg and 200kg.Assuming you're quoting figures from your owners' manual,or from some sticker in the car,all I can say is,at 5% towball weight,you're playing with fire.The generally accepted figure,if safety is of any concern,is 10% of ATM,but because your car is waaaay heavier than your van,you may be OK. Not for me,but I wish you only good luck.You'll need all the luck you can get,I suspect.What does the van's compliance plate indicate for MAX towball weight,and what is the GTM (weight on van wheels) and axle group rating? And as for your apparent amazement at 600kg,this includes driver,fuel,towball weight,actual weight of towbar structure,tools,beer, luggage,spares etc,remembering that your load capacity in the van is very low,and already you have indicated a intention to put extra gear in the car.On paper,my van's carrying capacity is over 1500kg,and I regularly run close to my ATM.Cheers

I don't know where you are looking for the towball weight but the sites you are quoting are wrong. The towball weight is 75kg standard on this car. The caravan has a max towball of 100kg, the range is 75-100kg. Playing with fire at 5%? It is a British caravan and is designed to tow between 5% and 7%. Because of the max ball weight on the van I can only get to 6.6% of the vans capacity. The van max weight is 1500kg on the axles. I think you overestimate the amount of the amount of gear I will need to carry in the car, I intend putting no more than 75kg in the car, on top of what you have indicated in your post, this will be spread between front and rear axles through use of a topbox and the boot. I have towed this van many times and there hasn't been any problems. I think you are trying to compare this to an Australian built van which has very different parameters.

yobarr · Guru

Tony108 wrote:
yobarr wrote:
Tony108 wrote:
600kg? I couldn't load that much in if I tried. I need to correct you on one thing and this thing will raise some questions, the towball max is 75kgmax is 75kg not 175kg
Interesting,as I have found all sorts of weights for the car,including 75kg,100kg,175kg and 200kg.Assuming you're quoting figures from your owners' manual,or from some sticker in the car,all I can say is,at 5% towball weight,you're playing with fire.The generally accepted figure,if safety is of any concern,is 10% of ATM,but because your car is waaaay heavier than your van,you may be OK. Not for me,but I wish you only good luck.You'll need all the luck you can get,I suspect.What does the van's compliance plate indicate for MAX towball weight,and what is the GTM (weight on van wheels) and axle group rating? And as for your apparent amazement at 600kg,this includes driver,fuel,towball weight,actual weight of towbar structure,tools,beer, luggage,spares etc,remembering that your load capacity in the van is very low,and already you have indicated a intention to put extra gear in the car.On paper,my van's carrying capacity is over 1500kg,and I regularly run close to my ATM.Cheers
I don't know where you are looking for the towball weight but the sites you are quoting are wrong. The towball weight is 75kg standard on this car. The caravan has a max towball of 100kg, the range is 75-100kg. Playing with fire at 5%? It is a British caravan and is designed to tow between 5% and 7%. Because of the max ball weight on the van I can only get to 6.6% of the vans capacity. The van max weight is 1500kg on the axles. I think you overestimate the amount of the amount of gear I will need to carry in the car, I intend putting no more than 75kg in the car, on top of what you have indicated in your post, this will be spread between front and rear axles through use of a topbox and the boot. I have towed this van many times and there hasn't been any problems. I think you are trying to compare this to an Australian built van which has very different parameters.

If your ATM is 1500kg and your ball weight is 75kg,would that not be 5%? Doesn't matter where it was built,or what it is designed to do,simple physics says that if you have a 21' x 6 vertical wall on a vehicle that weighs only 1500kg,with only a couple of square patches of rubber on the road,it's going to be pushed around by wind,and larger,heavier, vehicles.But good luck with your efforts.Cheers

-- Edited by yobarr on Sunday 14th of November 2021 08:01:18 PM

Tony108 · Member

I appreciate your concern but the physics of this van and the running tare and ball weights all work fine as designed. The car weighs far more than 1500kg and indeed in running order weighs more than 2000kg, which is more than capable of taking a van weighing up to and including 1500kg.

Lets talk about physics. A motorcycle cannot lean, according to physics at more than 45 degrees because the downward force will exceed the lateral force therefore all grip will be lost. Yet current MotoGP bikes regularly have lean angles of 62-63 degrees. All this is down to latest technology and developments. Can the same not be applied to caravans?

-- Edited by Tony108 on Sunday 14th of November 2021 09:08:43 PM

Geeco · Senior Member

This bad boy was caught in the lense of the codriver's iPhone on the eastern end of the Nullarbor

-- Edited by Geeco on Monday 15th of November 2021 04:33:16 PM

-- Edited by Geeco on Monday 15th of November 2021 04:34:37 PM

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

Geeco wrote:
This bad boy was caught in the lense of the codriver's iPhone on the eastern end of the Nullarbor

Those guys run from a mineral sands mine up near Ooldea on the Trans Australia rail line to the port at Ceduna.

There is a bitumen road all the way out to the mine which gets public use to within a few km from Ooldea.

When we were out there a couple of years ago for the 100th anniversary of the joining of the rails, the mine stopped the trucks for the day to make it easier and safer for those who went to the ceremony. Very decent of them.

We have seen them on other occasions out there though, but they are always very courteous to other vehicles.

Cheers,

Peter