Any caravaners on here

[sean logieParticipant @seanlogie69385]

A lot of towers don’t realise there’s a maximum nose weight limit on a towbar ,saw a few at the weekend where the cars bum was near scraping the tar .

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

Howard,

The HGV speed limit was recently increased in England and Wales to 50mph on single carriageways. It remains at 40mph in Scotland. There are various signs around to remind hgv drivers of this.

Also, as Sean says, both caravan and car have distinct and not necessarily equal towbar noseweight limits. E.G my caravan is rated at 100kg, the present car and the previous car at 75kg, hence the 75kg is the ruling limit. The car two cars ago, if that makes sense, had a limit of 65kg.

It's actually worse than that – cars nowadays have axle weight limits, towing limits and gross train weight limits as well. My car can tow 1500kg (braked), 500kg (unbraked), has a gross vehicle weight of 2000kg and a gross train weight of 3500kg. These days, it's an absolute minefield out there and the Police and other authorities are starting to take an interest in these matters.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

[Peter G. ShawParticipant @peterg-shaw75338]

And don't forget, your caravan also has a maximum gross weight, and a kerb weight, the difference being the payload. Unfortunately, as I've recently discovered, older caravans do not include an allowance for a gas bottle, yet new ones do; a battery might or might not be included – I've yet to sort that one out; and if you have any water in, say, the toilet, then that counts against the payload.

Regards,

Peter G. Shaw

p.s. Just for the record, we are looking into replacing our present caravan, hence all the facts and figures I've mentioned.

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

A few years ago there was a program on the TV and it was on the M5, the police pulled a caravan into a service area because the driver was towing a caravan but because the hitch was broken he had roped it all together to get home, when the police removed the rope the caravan hitch shot up in the air with the back of the caravan rear sat on the ground. It then took four men to pull the hitch back down again.

 

Martin P

Edited By martin perman on 27/09/2017 12:55:12

[Dave HalfordParticipant @davehalford22513]

Posted by sean logie on 25/09/2017 07:48:46:
when the hitch started squeaking, thought it was the car at first ,then I stopped and bounced up and down on the drawbar ,it was definitely the hitch that the noise was coming from
Sean

Not convinced Sean, bouncing up and down on the bar and squeaking might also mean the tow bar bolts are working a bit.

Most stability issues these days are caused by poor loading, you see vans with 4 pushbikes loaded in them, twin axle vans with the nose in the air because the hitch is set too high, and so much for a legal nose weight.

I guarantee if you come across a van towed at 40 wagging it's backside it's due to the owner (the one with the white knuckles on the wheel) with all the weight of his awning behind the axle.

As to speed of the lorry you follow at 58 or so isn't breaking the law to do you a favour. He's using his Tacho and doing 50 which is accurate, just check your sat nav. However the bloke in his Toyota who thinks he's good and right on the 50 limit is in fact doing 43 so I'm not surprised caravan towers get a bad name and truckers don't

[martin perman 1Participant @martinperman1]

I use my SatNav a lot when driving particularly when towing my hobby in the trailer, car speedometers are made 10% fast.

Martin P

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

I'd be a bit wary of using a Satnav as a speedometer. GPS is excellent in a plane, boat or cruise missile because these have a clear view of the satellites and tend to not to make sharp turns. GPS speed calculations aren't so reliable on a road. Satnavs do a good job on the straight and level but not when the road bends, slopes, or goes near buildings.

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