Bailey Unicorn - Caravan and Tow Vehicle; Caravan And Towing Vehicle Terms

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CARAVANANDTOWVEHICLE
6. CARAVAN AND TOW VEHICLE
Choosing the right car and caravan
combinationforsafeandstabletowingisboth
anartandascience.Itmayseemcomplicated
to the newcomer, but a few minutes spent
understanding the basic principles, common
termsanddenitionsinusewillbeworthwhile
inensuringyourenjoymentofthecaravan.
Caravan and Towing Vehicle Terms
MaximumTechnicallyPermissibleLadenMass
(MTPLM);
As stated bythe vehicle manufacturer.  This
mass takes into account specic operating
conditions including factors such as the
strengthofmaterials,loadingcapacityofthe
tyresetc.Itisthemaximumthatthecaravan
canweighontheroad.
!
Undernocircumstancesshouldthe
maximumtechnicallypermissible
ladenmassofthecaravanbe
exceeded.
Mass in Running Order (MRO): Mass of the
caravan equipped to the manufacturer’s
standard specication and certain items of
essentialhabitationequipment.
User Payload:  The difference between the
maximumtechnicallypermissibleladenmass
andthemassinrunningorder.
Theuserpayloadincludes:
Personal Effects: Those items which a user
canchoosetocarryin acaravanand certain
itemsof habitation equipmentwhich are not
includedintheMROorOptionalEquipment.
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Personaleffectswillincludethewheel
lock,jackandtelevisionifNOTsupplied
asstandardwiththecaravan.
Optional Equipment (OE): Items made
availablebythemanufactureroverandabove
thestandardspecicationforthecaravan.
Themassesrelevanttoyourmodelofcaravan
canbefoundatthebackofthisbook.
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Pleasetakecaretoensurethatyou
haveallowedforthemassesofall
itemsyouintendtocarryinthe
caravan.e.g.optionalequipment,essential
habitationequipmentandpersonaleffects
suchasclothing,food,sportsequipmentetc.
Theactualladenmassofthecaravanas
towedshouldthusnotexceedthemaximum
technicallypermissibleladenmass.The
actualladenmasscanbemeasuredona
publicweighbridge.
Pleasenote:weighbridges,althoughregularly
checked,cangivevarying(inaccurate)results.
Nose Weight: The weight of the part of the
caravanthat is supported bythe rear of the
towingvehicle.Thisissometimesdenedas
the “static load at the coupling head”.  The
maximum nose weight for a caravan will be
limitedbyeitherthetowingvehicletowhitch
limits or the maximum load to which the
caravanhitchisspecied.
       The towing vehicle and towing hitch
handbooks/manufacturers must be
consulted fortheir specication prior
totowing.
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Themaximumstaticnoseweightforall
Baileycaravansis100kg.Thisshould
never be exceeded regardless of
whether the towing vehicle’s upper
limitisgreater.
Itisrecommendedthatthenoseweightshould
be varied to nd the optimum for towing
dependent upon the actual laden weight of
thecaravan.  Experiencehas shownthat the
nose weight should be approximately 7% of
theactualladenweight(i.e. between 50 and
100kg).
Measurementofthenoseweight
Nose weight may be measured using a
proprietary brand of nose weight indicator.
SuchequipmentisobtainablefromyourBailey
retailer.
Another simple method is to use bathroom
scales and a suitable piece of strong timber
as a platform to rest the tow hitch on.  The
timber can be placed vertically between the
caravan tow hitch and the bathroom scales.
The timber should be of such a length that
when the caravan tow hitch is lowered onto
it,usingthejockeywheel,thecaravanooris
horizontal.Theweightcanthenbemeasured.