I may have explained myself badly.
The weighbridge indicated 100 Kgs and the guage indicated 300Kgs.
The weighbridge I use is at a large truck terminal and is split so the van is on a seperate section to the car and in fact the van is taken off the car for a second measure.
*This gives a total car including van weight.
*A car weight with van removed and a van weight on its own.
As the car is on a seperate scale you get the weight of the car with the van removed, thus resulting in a ball weight.
From what I have read and talking to the weighbridge operators, this is a common practice.

Keith.

Hi Keith,
No you did explain I had the gauge and weigh bridge readings back to front, in fact that is why I had a look at the post this morning to check if I had the readings right.
The method used at the weigh bridge sounds good so I wonder how the jack gauge could be so wrong the other way.

Only thing I can think of is the location of the jack must be under the tow ball, also these jack gauge devises need the ram (piston) of the jack to slide freely or pressure in the jack could be high to overcome friction losses from the jack piston if it was sticky or rusty, and if the pressure is higher the gauge would read higher. Or just the gauge calibration is way out.

Your post caught my eye because of the comment about the standing on the jack to test the gauge reading as that is exactly what I did many years ago when I made my own jack gauge device well before these things came on the market.

I have attached a photo of my monster, the gauge is a bit larger than the commercial ones.


JR

That looks the goods, and does the job.
The principle is simple enough to work properly that's why I was dissapointed that there was no positive outcome.
Good on you for making your own, anything you make yourself is going to serve you well.
As an electrician my hydraulic skills are fairly ordinary although I'll tackle most things including minor hydraulic repairs but projects such as this one I think everyone is better off if I stick to commercial.

Keith.

I think that if you read his statement again he said he had an 03 Disco. An 03 Disco is only a D2 and not a D3. 250 kg is therefore correct (I know, I have owned a D1 and a D2.)

Was that 180 kg ball weight with the van loaded or empty? Front kitchen vans often load with more weight on the ball loaded than empty. Many vans come heavy on the front. All my vans have been over the 10%. One of my Spaceland vans was around 20%.

There is nothing wrong with a ball weight over the recommended 10%, that is provided you have not exceeded the tow bar or tug specifications. You will gain a little extra stability.

The stability of a van is very dependant upon its weight distribution not just on its ball weight. Before you read further I suggest you read this link

The greater the rotational inertia, the harder it is to control your van and stop it from having its way. There are a couple of ways you can increase this rotational inertia.

One way is to build the heavy bits into or onto the ends of the van. Examples of these bits are things like front and rear kitchens or spare wheels, boxes, fuel cans and bumper bars hung off either end. The other is to increase the length of your van.

The 10% rule was developed back in the days when a big van was anything over 16' long. Longer vans really should have a ball weight well over 10%.

In contrast, look at the European vans. How many have you seen with front or rear kitchens? How many have you seen with bumper bars? You will find that if they have a spare wheel it will be mounted underneath close to the axle. That is how they can get away with far less than 10% ball weight.



As I explained above, going over the 10% is important.

Hi All
The initial weigh was partly loaded and gas bottle on the A frame some water in the tank when all removed the reading went down to around 130kgs so i will watch how i load the van when going away we towed the van back from Vic last Dec where we bought it from and it towed great. The is a Disco 2 with coils and airbags in the rear. I first tested with bathroom scales and as they only went up to 150kgs they cut out as i slowly let the jockey wheel down and they still work so the better half is none the wiser. I will get the van weighed at a weighbridge in the future to see what it weighs when loaded.
Regards
Doug

Hi All
Well we are of on our first trip tomorrow just a short trip to Port Macquarie for a few days to see how everything goes and how the van tows with some weight in it before a longer trip later in the year. Once again thanks for all the advice.
Regards
Doug