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Post Info TOPIC: Effect on weight and balance


Guru

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Effect on weight and balance


I have just removed a 45kg roof top airconditioner, net weight reduction is 35 kg from directly over the axle group, What would be the nett effect to the weight and balance of the caravan.



-- Edited by Gundog on Tuesday 24th of September 2024 09:46:59 AM

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Veteran Member

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Gundog wrote:

I have just removed a 45kg roof top airconditioner, net weight reduction is 35 kg from directly over the axle group, What would be the nett efectto the weight and balance of the caravan.


 Effect on weight ,,,, 35kg lighter ;)  Effect on balance, as it was directly over the axle group probably little to unnoticeable .



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Guru

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If the removal of 45 Kg mass resulted in a reduction of 35 kg wt on the axles, then it follows that the tow ball weight was reduced by 10 Kg wt.

Alan



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Guru

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Not necessarily. A hole in the roof weighs nothing. The framing and materials to fill in the hole may weigh 10kg.

As for the effect...... any reduction in weight is good. From the top of the roof would improve stability and you might notice an improvement in porpoising.

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Interesting clip on here about towing with a level van & towball weight.

https://youtu.be/Kd5hINk21GM?si=wVSj1LBuh6BLcPIS



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Guru

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Posts: 1957
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Are We Lost wrote:

Not necessarily. A hole in the roof weighs nothing. The framing and materials to fill in the hole may weigh 10kg.

As for the effect...... any reduction in weight is good. From the top of the roof would improve stability and you might notice an improvement in porpoising.


 The math in reality, the totall weigt of the AC is 45 kg existing framing remains the total weight of a roof hatch to fill the hole is 2kg and air handler of the split system is 8 kg therefore 35kg is removed.

It was great to see someone pick up the actual CoG will have moved, what actual physical effect this will cause I suppose I will find out.

But in the future I will have to go back to square 1 in the setup of the ute and caravan, which also means the WDH will have to be reset.



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Guru

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67HR wrote:

Interesting clip on here about towing with a level van & towball weight.

https://youtu.be/Kd5hINk21GM?si=wVSj1LBuh6BLcPIS


 Nothing new to me, I have always been a stickler to having the van level.



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Guru

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Center of gravity will be lower so you can take corners faster without tipping over smile.



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Guru

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Are we lost

Please note the statement that the NET weight reduction was 35 Kg wt.

Alan



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Guru

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Rereading Gundog's original post and the "maths" explanation I am still not quite clear on what was done. Is the van now 35kg lighter or 45kg lighter?  If it's 45kg lighter, and the weight on the axles is only 35kg less, then it is obvious that 10kg would have come off the towball weight. That would imply that the air conditioner had beeb mounted a little forward of the axles .... quite normal.

The main point however is that a lot of weight has been removed from the roof. That has benefits in reducing porpoising, and as Tim Tim suggests (with a smile) he can now drive faster around corners without tipping over.

Otherwise, a 10kg difference in how the weight is distributed is negligible. If it is 10kg off the towball, I don't consider such a small difference is important in WDH tensioning. Final adjustments should be made based on the way it feels on the road, not weights or measurements.

 



-- Edited by Are We Lost on Wednesday 25th of September 2024 01:02:03 PM

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Veteran Member

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The way I read it, the AC weighed 45kg , net weight reduction 35kg = so 10 kg of something was used to fill the hole that AC left in the roof .

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