Fitting Towbar to Nuevo ES

I have struggled to get quotes to fit a tow bar to my 2005 Nueveo Es 4 berth. I have been given conflicting information from reputable dealers regarding fitting a tow bar to carry a 150 kg motorcycle.
One company has told me that because of the vehicle overhang and weight distribution fitting a tow bar and carrying a motorcycle would eventually cause serious damage to the motor home.
The second company has advised that my vehicle would take the weight of a tow bar with the additional weight of a motorcycle rack and motorcycle.
Both companies have inspected the vehicle in person.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who owns a Nuevo with a tow bar and has carried a motorcycle.  Any other helpful advice would be appreciated.
I feel the crux of the matter is the length of overhang from end of chassis to where the tow bar would sit and the forces exerted on the motor home.
Thanks for advice and looking ,
Marie J

Looking at a web picture of a 2005 Nuevo, the rear overhang appears to be about 2m from axle centre to rear, with a 3m wheelbase. The m/c weight will be further back, say 300mm. For 150kg + 20kg for rack, this will put a load on rear axle of about 300kg, with 130kg being transferred from the front axle, which might make driving interesting. Can your rear axle take the load in a fully loaded condition?

Who were the reputable dealers?

The way I look at such things is if a business says something can't/shouldn't be done they are doing themselves out of work and should therefore be taken seriously. If another business says it can be done  it's likely they really need that business and may be suspending prudence in order to gain it .

It might be a good idea to check the rear axle weight limit on your van's statutory plate and then have the van weighed when loaded. That will at least let you know whether there's a possibility of the extra 300kg load being within the van's legal limits.

My van, although the EK version, is the same chassis as yours and although I would have no hesitation in fitting a tow bar, that's what I'd use it for, to tow. I wouldn't hang a 150kg motorbike plus rack off it. In my opinion the van's wheelbase is far too short and the overhang too large for anything other than a lightweight pushbike rack on the back.
Al.

I asked Watling Towbars, and they refused to fit one when I said I wanted to carry a scooter. As reputable companies go, they are one of the best.

As Andy said, they were doing themselves out of business, so I took their advice - specially after they showed me the calculations!!! Peter's estimate of 300kg is quite a bit below the figure they calculated!!

It might be worth considering an uprate from the likes of SVTech. They said I could have an extra 100kg loading added to the rear axle, but only if I fitted Air Rides and considerably uprated rear tyres. It wasn't worth the extra cost for us.

Dave

Having spoken to the first dealer again all of the comments above match up.  The dealer said it was the issue of over hang length and forces exerted from the combined weight of rack and motorcycle, he said it would be safe to tow a motorcycle on a trailer but not carry one.  Thanks for all of the helpful advice I will not risk carrying a motorbike on the back. I might treat myself to a fancy new bike instead to cycle to the shops on.

As regards getting the van weighed, is this a straight forward thing to do, do I need to book in at a weigh bridge or can you usually turn up and get weighed?
Thanks Marie

I think it rather depends on the weighbridge, those I've used you just turn up.

https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/weighbridges Give them a call.

My 2008 Nuevo EK in "going away" mode (me, her, dog, full tanks and usual sundries) weighs in at 3170Kg so without considering the axle weights a tow bar, carrier and 150Kg bike would put us over MAM so unless you travel alone and very light I dont think what you are proposing is going to work.

you might consider a towbar and one of those trailers where the bike sits across wise rather than length wise - you can even get them with castored wheels so reversing would be no problem

http://www.armitagetrailers.com/biketrailers.htm

We've a 2008 Nuevo EK to which we've fitted a towbar and Dunlop air assist suspension. We've also uprated the van to 3500kg via SVTech. We used to tow a trailer (500kg) and Harley-Davidson motor bike (320kg). We've towed all over France and West Germany and hardly noticed the unit on the rear. The bike was a bit of a lump to load/unload and tie down so we've changed to a smaller trailer (220kg) and a 300cc Vespa (160kg) so it's now even easier to tow. I wouldn't recommend a rack as it's too much weight on the rear axle and it makes handling a bit dicey. If you drive at night it lights up the sky too !
Good luck,

Don

I finally remembered my account password to post a reply!
Thanks for the information, still working out which way to go with it.
MarieJ

I think the safest and obvious way to go, would be to tow on a trailer, then you will not overload your rear axle and your driving experience wouldn't be affected.

Leighton.

We also have a 2005 ES. Can only agree with everything said above - DON'T DO IT! Using a tow bar for anything other than towing would be a folly and dangerous. We went there with a carrier for a mobility scooter and went way overweight on rear axle. Even fitting air rides and up-plating to 3700kg only just made us legal. Not a good idea at all - Al is right - towbar is for towing NOT carrying.

Hi'
We had a tow bar fitted to our 07 Nuevo EK by PMT in Bournmouth. They have made a superb job, and the tow bar was custom built for our van. They had to remove the rear chassis cross member, and have fabricated a new chassis section which includes the tow bar. This is probably stronger than the original fitting. The van handles perfectly, and you don't notice any difference when towing. ( I fitted an air suspension kit after the tow bar was fitted ) The axle weight is checked when the van has its MOT, so no probs' there. I have made a carrier to take my Honda ST50, and this fits on the tow bar frame, if we are not towing. Mike

Sounds OK but would be wary of extra weight on rear axle with a carrier and bike on board. Would suggest weighbridge check when loaded not only with carrier/bike on but with "touring" load as well. Worth reading the current thread on weighing a Corinium - interesting for any model.
Barry