Towball weight - Help
Submitted: Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 at 18:54
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adventurebound
We have a 2011 Jayco Outback Discovery, total fully laden is 2230kg, so its my understanding that the tow ball weight is 10% of that amount, being 223Kg...The compliance plates states empty ball is 142Kg, so thats not rocket science...
We have 2011 mn Triton with a ball weight of 300Kg
I know insurance companies will not insure your vehicle if in an accident with the ball weight to excessive...
Now, this is what I have taken out of my boot to reduce the weight ,as it was 260Kg
Emptied the front 80litre
water tank.rear one full
Taken out the second 100amp battery,(there is another inside, controlled by a 160watt solar panel)
Removed stone guard
Removed 100mm PVC tube, inside is fishing rods and tent poles.
Reducing the weight to 190Kg
Whats left in the boot;
2 x 9kgs gas bottles (full)
small tool box, with pegs ropes etc..
Jack
Toilet chemicals
small 2 burner BBQ and plate
So in theory I have 33kgs to play with..
Any help would be much appreciate..
Reply By: Member - johntoyo - Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 at 19:51
Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 at 19:51
Adventurebound. The recomended ball weight is a guide only and should be in the range of 10-15% of your loaded van/trailer weight. So with loaded van of 2230 you can have a ball wt. Of 223 to 335.
The is no fixed figure or formula that I am aware of to say what it should be. Just rule of thumb from a lot of people's experience.
I would say you were good without taking out the stuff you have. How does it tow? That is what is important.
Dont know what your GVM/GCM is for the Triton but don't forget to add the ball wt to the GVM and van Wt. to arrive at your GCM. A lot of folk forget the ball wt.
I assume your using a wt. distribution system.
In summary IMHO I would say you were good in the first instance.
AnswerID:
596140
Follow Up By: TomH - Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 at 20:07
Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 at 20:07
Correction here The ball weight is part of the payload and must be INCLUDED in GVM NOT added to.
Your ball weight is only governed by what your tug is limited to and as already said can be up to 300kg so at 260 you are quite safe and van will tow better with that amount on it
The Ballweight at TARE is virtually useless as no one tows an empty van. Its ball weight when loaded to ATM that matters.
FollowupID:
864983
Reply By: Frank P (NSW) - Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 at 22:36
Thursday, Feb 11, 2016 at 22:36
Adventurebound,
What counts is the actual ballweight applied to the vehicle must be, in your case, 300kg or under.
As others have said, the ballweight provided by Jayco is the unladen ballweight. Load your jayco as you wish but try to keep heavy stuff toward the middle as much as possible, and if that is not possible, more toward the front than the back but don't exceed 300kg ballweight. Your original loading seems ok.
Reducing the ballweight by biasing weight to the rear by unloading the front (as you have done) MAY increase instability. It also may not - depends on design of the Discovery and how Jayco have distributed fixed weight.
Also, that ballweight, whatever it is, must be added to the loaded weight of the vehicle and the sum of those must be less than the vehicle's GVM. And the sum of the vehicle's loaded weight plus the ballweight (whether or not that total is less than GVM) plus the weight of the loaded Jayco must not exceed the vehicle's GCM.
AnswerID:
596146
Follow Up By: TomH - Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 08:57
Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 08:57
Best way to explain correct weights
GVM is total allowable loaded weight of the vehicle with everything in it and includes any ballweight.
GCVM is the allowable GVM plus the allowable GTM ( weight on the axles) of the van.
All of these weights may be less than maximum but should never exceed the maximums
Group axle weight should also be taken into account because if you load up the tray of a ute and hook up a van you may
well exceed the allowable weight on the rear axle.
FollowupID:
865005
Reply By: 671 - Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 00:10
Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 00:10
Your Triton will take 300kg on the tow ball but not in all conditions. Even 190 kg could be too much on some road surfaces if it is combined with a fair amount of weight in the rear of the car.
Two things concern me in a case like this. One is an email I received from Mitsubishi in about 2010. It said the advertised maximum towing capacity for a Triton is the maximum possible in good highway conditions and they don't recommend towing that much in off road conditions. They did not give any figures or explain what "off road" was.
The other is this magazine story
http://www.4x4australia.com.au/drive/1504/bent-utes/. Unfortunately Tritons seem to have more than their share of problems in this area.
Your van is an off road model and even some mild unsealed surfaces can bounce the back of the car up and down a fair bit.
I would be contacting Mitsubishi Australia (not a dealer) and discussing it with them. Ask them about ball weights in different conditions; do they or don't they recommend the use of a weight distributing hitch; how much weight can be added to the back of the car with your ball weight; how much weight should be in the seats. You can't have a little up front and heaps out the back.
It is vital you get this right and they should be the best people to help you sort it out.
This is also
well worth reading.
http://caravanandmotorhomebooks.com/caravan-and-tow-vehicle-dynamics/ Click on "The Author" at the top of the page to see who wrote it.
AnswerID:
596147
Follow Up By: Nomadic Navara - Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 08:05
Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 08:05
Quote "Two things concern me in a case like this. One is an email I received from Mitsubishi in about 2010. It said the advertised maximum towing capacity for a Triton is the maximum possible in good highway conditions and they don't recommend towing that much in off road conditions. They did not give any figures or explain what "off road" was."
In cases where this applies the maximum towing weight must be similarly be reduced. Land Rover limit their maximum towing weight to 1,000 kg off road. This sort of reduction should be applied to all vehicles.
FollowupID:
865002
Follow Up By: Sigmund - Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 08:47
Friday, Feb 12, 2016 at 08:47
Yes, in rough or offroad conditions the stresses on the vehicle are higher and the demands made on traction greater. Total load should be reduced. Applies to roof racks too.
That said, the Outback is said by Jayco to be suitable only for graded dirt roads. Owners report things rattling apart on corro and gibber. 'Outback' is a misnomer.
FollowupID:
865003