How to measure a caravan nose weight PLUS 5 top noseweight gauges

Posted by

by Holly Tribe

Caravan safety should be top of the agenda for any ‘vanner wishing to have a happy and trouble free touring holiday. To help you get to your caravan site safely, it is important to pay attention to the weight guidance put in place for aid safe towing practices.

One of these important weight restrictions refers to the maximum load exerted on the car’s towball once it has been hitched up to a caravan – otherwise know as the noseweight.

There is a fair amount of discussion concerning how to get a reliable and accurate reading of your caravan’s noseweight. But first of all, here’s a bit more about noseweights:

So, what is the noseweight anyway?

The nose weight is the maximum load your caravan can put on your car’s towball (set out by the car’s manufacturer). The suggested figure for a safe noseweight when towing is around 7 per cent of the laden weight of the caravan – this tends to be between 75kg – 100kg.

Why is it important to stick to the recommended noseweight?

Quite simply, reducing or exceeding the recommended noseweight can make the rig feel unstable when towing, particularly when driving at faster motorway speeds. The noseweight should not exceed that stated by the manufacturers who use this figure to work with in stability tests.

How does a noseweight gauge work?

Support the hitch head with the gauge – when the caravan is stable, slowly wind the jockey wheel clear from the ground so that the entire caravan is supported by the gauge, thus enabling you to take a true reading of the nose weight.

One of the most efficient ways of measuring this is to use a Caravan noseweight gauge. There are currently some excellent products on the market – below we take a look at five popular models currently available to buy online.

Milenco Precision Calibrated Nose Weight Gauge
Milenco’s Precision Calibrated Noseweight Gauge (main picture) is the only piece of apparatus to be approved and calibrated to British Standard BS7691, and has proven accuracy within 2 kilos, even after 1,000 uses. The scale goes up to 130 kilos.

  • Price: £24.95


Reich Towbar Load Control
The TLC is a digital noseweight gauge which measures the weight of the hitch on the towball. The devise is positioned between the caravan hitch and the towball; this has the added benefit of measuring the weight at the correct hitch level. It is more compact than other brand offerings and has a maximum load of 109kg. The TLC comes in twin and single axle versions.

  • Price: £39.99


Pyramid Nose Weight Gauge
This more traditional gauge is manufactured by Pyramid and operates on a piano wire spring. It has a large, easy-to-read scale set in heavy duty metal which is stabilised by a large round base. It also comes in a cheery yellow hue.

  • Price: £19.99

OV Noseweight Gauge
The Outdoor Value noseweight gauge claims to be the only product on the market which is able to measure the weight applied to the tow bar directly from the towball. The unit is placed on the towball and locked into place by turning a locking ring. The trailer coupling head is then lowered onto the device to collect a reading.

  • Price: £22.95

Peak-outdoor Noseweight Gauge
Here’s another simple gauge – this one is made from ABS plastic and is the cheapest on our list. It can measure weights between 50 and 100 kilos.

  • Price: £11.95

Caravan owners invited to discuss Windermere

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

Regular visitors to the Lake District are being given a chance to have their voice heard, as the Windermere Lake User Forum is due to host a drop-in session.

Caravan owners visiting Cumbria this weekend (May 21st) can head to Ferry Nab, Bowness and have their say on any issues concerning the UK’s largest lake.

Between 10am and 2pm, representatives from the Lake District National Park and South Lakeland District Council will be on hand to talk through any matters that need raising.

Rebecca Cathey, catchment projects co-ordinator for the Lake District National Park, said: “There are no limits to the discussions, so now is the perfect opportunity and time for people to get involved and tell us what their future aims and ambitions are.”

Furthermore, the User Forum is looking to recruit six keen individuals to represent interested groups, such as anglers, sailors, swimmers and commercial users of Windermere.

Caravan Gallery celebrates Pride of Portsmouth

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

An art gallery based in a caravan is due to celebrate the south coast city of Portsmouth tomorrow (May 17th), with a special afternoon exhibition being laid on. From 4pm to 7pm, visitors taking their caravan to Portsmouth can see the works on display, which include brand new and archival photographic work.

Furthermore, art lovers can watch several video portraits and a short film made with Pilgrim Films during a similar project in Middlesbrough.

The display, at the University of Portsmouth’s SPACE gallery, will also include an annotated map of the city, which features contributions by local people, including anecdotes, opinions, drawings and observations.

Popular tourist attractions in Portsmouth include historic ships such as the Mary Rose and the HMS Victory, which fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Motorhome owners looking to explore other parts of the UK can also pick up the Caravan Gallery’s guides to other major British cities such as Glasgow and Liverpool.

No Comments

filed under: News

Tags:

Caravan Club scrap Sally Gunnell’s Olympic site plans after local opposition

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

The Caravan Club has scrapped plans to help former Olympic sprinter Sally Gunnell to create a giant caravan park on her parents’ land in East London for the London 2012 Games.

Local campaign groups put up a tough resistance to the controversial plans, which could have led to 1,300 caravans being housed on the site, and they appear to have won, the Epping Forest Guardian reports.

Around 600 letters of objection were sent to the local council, with fears raised for increased traffic levels in the region next summer.

A spokeswoman for the Caravan Club said that it had never faced such strong local opposition to a caravan site in its 104-year history.

“It has become apparent that many Chigwell residents are in opposition to the plans for the temporary site. It was never the intention to cause such concern to residents and the club is surprised and saddened by the depth of sentiment,” she said.

The Caravan Club added that the Gunnells have been notified of this decision.

Hand-built caravan wins Teardrop Challenge competition

Posted by

by Holly Tribe

A one-of-a-kind teardrop trailer has been crowned the champion in a caravan building competition at a recent campervan festival.

Vantastival in Co. Louth, Ireland, is now in its second year and is a festival dedicated to fans of live music and campervan culture. This year, event organisers invited revellers to renovate, or construct from scratch, a micro-caravan in the ‘Teardrop Challenge’.

The Teardrop trailer became popular in 1930’s America, and has since developed a dedicated fanbase of caravan and DIY enthusiasts. It gets its name from the distinctive teardrop profile, but models come in all sizes, shapes and colours.

Entrants were encouraged to be as off-the-wall as their imaginations would allow, with judges basing their final verdict on the exterior look and the standard of the interior finish.

According to the Donegal Democrat, the winning entrant was constructed by 29-year-old Enda McFadden, who began building the caravan just a few weeks before the start of the festival.

A carpenter by trade, Enda used his skills to construct the two berth caravan – receiving Euro500 worth of DEWALT power tools for his efforts.

The judges were particularly impressed with the exterior design scheme; Enda used blackboard paint on the caravan’s walls and invited spectators to decorate the caravan with their own designs.

No Comments

filed under: News

Tags:

Devon caravan park celebrates 60 years

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

A family-owned caravan park on Devon’s Jurassic Coast celebrated its diamond jubilee on Friday (May 13th). Oakdown Country Caravan Park welcomed its first static caravan on this date in 1951 and it is believed that it was one of the first designated caravan parks in England, the BBC reports.

The idea for a holiday home on the site was proposed by local businesswoman Jill Bennett, who approached farmer and landowner Edgar Ellis about the scheme.

Exactly 60 years later and the park remains in Mr Ellis’s family, with his daughter Doreen Franks now running the establishment.

Furthermore, Ms Bennett is still in touch with the owners and will be returning to the site, now aged 101, for the diamond jubilee celebrations.

“They’ve come a long way since I first convinced them to let me put a caravan in their field, and it is amazing to see how it’s developed over the years,” she said.

Oakdown Country Caravan Park currently has 150 pitches for touring caravans and 72 static caravans for holidaymakers to rent, and earlier this year it was named AA South West Regional Campsite of the Year 2011.

Scottish farmers urged to convert land for caravans

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

Farmers and estate managers in Scotland will be meeting up next month to discuss how they can convert their land into small scale tourism ventures, such as caravan sites. The rural enterprise event, which is being run by the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association could result in several small camping and caravanning sites being set up across the north of the UK, the Land Gazette reports.

Event sponsors Smiths Gore claim that there is a significant potential for farmers to earn extra money by opening up their land to touring holidaymakers.

Craig Miles, planning consultant with the company, said: “Anyone with rural land they feel can be used for outdoor holiday accommodation including chalets, camping ground, caravan pitches, cottages or even a wigwam pitch should come along.”

The event is being held at Carfraemill Caravan Site in Lauder on June 2nd, admission is free and refreshments and lunch will be provided to all those attending.

Caravan Club gets 60-year lease in Strathclyde

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

Strathclyde Park will be maintained by the Caravan Club for the next 60 years, following a two-year saga to obtain council approval. North Lanarkshire Council awarded the lease to the national caravanning organisation, despite recieving a rival offer, which was four times as big, the Bellshill Speaker reported.

The 18-acre site has been open to touring holidaymakers for 35 years and boasts a Scottish Tourist Board two-star Touring Park award and a three-pennant AA rating.

Private pitches can accommodate up to 100 caravans and 50 tents, while there are four toilet and shower blocks, as well as a small shop on the site.

Councillors voted 36 to 16 in favour of the Caravan Club’s £50,000 tender and work to improve the site will begin in November.

Deputy council leader Jim Smith said: “The Caravan Club has sites across Europe and that presents a unique opportunity to market the site.”

Bailey Caravans offers further advice on Unicorn wheel detachments

Posted by

by Marcus Dubois

The Bristol manufacturer continues to investigate the root cause of how wheels could have become detached from a small number of Unicorn caravans

Bailey Caravans has moved to further reassure Unicorn customers this week, following an earlier product recall due to wheels becoming detached from some models.

Caravan Times spoke to Bailey marketing director Simon Howard earlier today, who revealed “we are actively working with our suppliers to follow up on every possible lead”. He added “We’re confident we can find a solution and eliminate any further issues”. Click here to read the full Q& A interview with Simon Howard

Last week the Bristol manufacturer announced the recall on all single axle models in the luxury Unicorn range following a number of reports occurring within the space of a fortnight. A full recall was then issued for safety reasons, although the number of Unicorns affected “amounted to 0.3% of those sold” according to Bailey.

While the firm has so far been unable to find the root of the problem, Bailey Caravans today released an update to share its findings so far. According to the report, “no units manufactured before the week commencing 22/11/10 have been affected by this issue, and neither have any Unicorn Barcelona or Seville models. Bailey stated that “as a result we no longer consider these particular caravans to be at risk – which reduces the potential number of units affected from 3,356 to 1,202”.

A third party crash inspection expert has been employed to assist with the process, while Bailey has also purchased an affected Unicorn model with the aim of re-creating conditions that could cause this type of failure. In the meantime the firm has re-iterated the advice issued last week on the importance of torquing the wheel bolts of a caravan (in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the Owner’s Manual) prior to travelling with the vehicle.

If customers are unable to carry out this task, Bailey advise taking the caravan to the nearest Approved Bailey Retailer or Service Centre. As a gesture of goodwill Bailey is currently carrying out all necessary repairs to vehicles free of charge. Click here for full details of how to contact your Approved Bailey Retailer or Service Centre. Alternatively you can telephone the Bailey Customer Helpline on 0117 305 2939 or email helpline@baileycaravans.co.uk

Click here to read the full Q & A interview with Simon Howard on the Unicorn issue

Fun, games and (lots of) flags – my first time at The Caravan Club National Rally

Posted by

by Marcus Dubois

The weather forecast had predicted rain for the entire weekend. And with a cloud having (literally) been cast over our first ever National Rally, I found myself in damp spirits as we approached the turning to the stately home of Weston Park.

Accompanied by my travelling companion and his girlfriend, we exchanged plenty of stories of what to expect. Thousands of caravans, arenas of sports competitions, pageantry and pomp, and some of the friendliest people in the caravan community. Yet nothing had prepared us for the sight that greeted us as we approached the hill leading to Weston Park.

A sea of caravans spread across the rolling green as far as the eye could see, heralded by wave upon wave of flags from every corner of Britain. Caravans grouped into mini-villages, with pennants proudly proclaiming the region or county represented.

Families happily milling about between these white islands greeting each other while sampling barbeque food under awnings. For complete newcomers like us the sight was both fascinating and overwhelming. Luckily for us, one of our first encounters was with a group of Scots who were more than willing to take us through the basics of rallying.

Rallying under a flag

Walking happily amongst the rows and rows of caravans at the Rally, we first stumbled upon the Scottish Caravan Club. They were not tricky to find. A large saltire pennant proclaiming “Scotland, The Brave” flew proudly from the entrance to this corner of Scotland at Weston Park, accompanied by the gold and red of the Royal Standard. And soon we were greeted warmly by none other than Scottish Club webmaster Morris Whitehead and vice-chairman Ian Bennett who led us to the beginnings of an impromptu barbeque.

Over some beers and nibbles Morris began to explain the concept behind rallying. Groups of like-minded caravanners are brought together by region, and enjoy organised weekends away together for reasonable prices. The Caravan Club contains regional sub-groups called Centres which arrange rallies and special events throughout the year, and every Club Member can register with a Centre by contacting the membership department and stating their region. Ian Bennett explained further the system behind rallying in Scotland. “You don’t have to be registered with a centre – if you’re a Caravan Club member then you can turn up and we’ll be happy to see you.”

“And it’s a great way of meeting new people” Maurice added with a smile. After an hour happily spent chatting with the Scottish Caravan Club we could certainly attest to this.

Fun and games for all the family

So you’ve found your area, pitched up, spent an hour or so deploying the awning and set out the furniture – what’s next? Well we soon discovered that the National Rally is perhaps the closest thing Britain gets to a national village fete. Scores of stalls offered tasty produce and classic British fayre, while the arena featured everything from traditional pageantry in the official Opening, to a stunning exhibition of dog handling with obstacles such as burning tyres.

Yet one of the most striking aspects of the Rally for a newcomer was the tournaments taking place around the fields of Weston Park. Imagine the equivalent of a giant school sports day, but with all ages from across all regions of the UK taking part, and you’ll begin to get close to the experience of the Rally Games.

As we approached the final of the Tug of War it was clear that from the sweat and graft on display that regional pride was not to be trifled with! And politicians concerned about the erosion of community would do well to visit a rally or two, where youngsters spoke to us with bursting pride of representing their county at the sports events throughout the year.

We finished the day so happy and exhausted that we almost didn’t notice the rain. And neither did the thousands of caravanners in attendance at the 83rd National Rally who showed us exactly why come rain or shine they return each year for this unique caravanning experience.

The 84th Caravan Club National Rally will be held at Sledmere House in East Yorkshire from 27 – 31 May. Click here to book tickets.

Cheshire farm converted into caravan park

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

Caravan lovers visiting Cheshire this summer will have another stop-off available to them, as the market town of Frodsham is due to get a £650,000 caravan park. Opening next month, the Lady Heyes Touring Caravan Park will be able to house up to 85 caravans on a seven-acre site, which includes a laundry and shower block, the Chester Chronicle reports.

On the opening weekend of June 3rd to 5th, all pitches will be free to book, while all bookings will be half price for the rest of 2011, the owner Tony Faulkner said.

“I’m delighted with the end result. The site commands wonderful views of the Cheshire countryside bordering the River Weaver and offers guests access to Delamere Forest, Chester and the Wirral,” Mr Faulkner added.

The opening will be the culmination of a 15-year plan for the local father of two, who also owns the nearby Lady Heyes Craft and Antique Centre.

Caravan Club supports road safety decade scheme

Posted by

by Chris Jefferies

A UN scheme to take action on road safety, with the aim of reducing driving-related deaths around the world, has been backed by the Caravan Club. The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety began yesterday (May 11th) and has five main objectives, including making vehicles safer, responding to crashes better, making roads safer and raising awareness of road safety.

One main target is to reduce the number of road traffic fatalities around the world by 2010, saving around five million lives in the process.

It is currently estimated that 1.3 million people a year (more than 3,000 a day) die as a result of traffic collisions.

Martin Spencer, technical manager of the members group, said: “It is the Caravan Club’s aim to build on its long-standing record for providing comprehensive high quality advice and information to its members, and to those contemplating taking up caravanning.”