Nivomats V Monroe

[outnumbered]

Originally Posted by DLM48

ALL i can say is you ARE outnumbered here your abrasive replies to people who were trying to be helpful is for sure unwarranted.

i dont find that abrasive at all the question still has not been answerd, and as said i did not ask for the fact and figures of what are the tow weights nose weights and 10 year old shocks . i no what my kerb weight is , nose weight , how to load a van, actual train weight of car and caravan, axle weight of rear axle, and the 85% rule. and if i am legal or not so i suggest you read the question. nivomats v monroe.just because i put in the circumstances opened a debate weather i was legal or not . would it have been better of me to put which are the better rear shocks for towing nivomat or monroe, as said i will keep my questions simple next time. thanks
for your replys topic closed as far as i am concerned.
mike

[DLM48]

Originally Posted by outnumbered

i dont find that abrasive at all the question still has not been answerd, and as said i did not ask for the fact and figures of what are the tow weights nose weights and 10 year old shocks . i no what my kerb weight is , nose weight , how to load a van, actual train weight of car and caravan, axle weight of rear axle, and the 85% rule. and if i am legal or not so i suggest you read the question. nivomats v monroe.just because i put in the circumstances opened a debate weather i was legal or not . would it have been better of me to put which are the better rear shocks for towing nivomat or monroe, as said i will keep my questions simple next time. thanks
for your replys topic closed as far as i am concerned.
mike

Sorry but that wont wash here - read what you wrote when you said you changed to your new van the car went down at at the back (implying that this was more than with your previous van) - (if not why did you say that?) - (and you did say you had no issues until you changed your van) (so the issue was a greater depression on the rear of the car with the new van - well at least that was what you wrote) and then you said you expected it to go down even more when you fully loaded your new van. The preload on your tow ball should not change much no matter how you load your van MAYBE you want to read your post carefully BEFORE you press the submit button.

Originally Posted by outnumbered

HI ALL
would like your opinion on the above, i have nivomats on the rear at the moment, i have had no issues untill recently, i have changed my caravan miro 1286 mtplm 1420. my old van was miro 1102 and mtplm 1300 or there abouts. i havent yet full loaded the new van and last weekend went away with the van not loaded to the maximum , when i hitched up the back end dropped silghtly which is understandable, when i load up for 2 weeks and you take a lot more the back end is going to drop more. i have been offered monroe shocks the ones that u pump up brand new for free , do i stick or twist to monroe. your thoughts please.
1996 850 tdi
mike

Also asking about which kind of shocks is a personal choice thing probably in this case best asked at the Caravan site either real time or find an online one.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Originally Posted by DLM48

Also asking about which kind of shocks is a personal choice thing probably in this case best asked at the Caravan site either real time or find an online one.

Actually, this is the "Towing andd Caravan" section, so quite appropriate to post such a question here.

I would suggest that this topic not be locked as an important point has been raised.
That of nose weight. Whilst the original poster may wish to brush this particular issue aside for whatever issue, it is vital for anyone towing to know 1) what the maximum nose weight of the vehicle you are using (and the implications of exceeding it) and 2) how to achieve the correct nose weight in the towed caravan or trailer.

If you exceed your vehicles maximum permissible nose weight, any vehicle failure related to towing will be the responsibility of the vehicle owner and will void any warranty.
You will automatically void your insurance as you are not using your vehicle within the prescribed limits of the vehicle.
Furthermore, should you be stopped by the police (here or abroad - especially abroad) you will be given a ticket, fine and points..

Des. . .

[DLM48]

Originally Posted by CTCNetwork

Hi,

Actually, this is the "Towing and Caravan" section, so quite appropriate to post such a question here. Des. . .

i understand that - what i was trying to say 'hint at' was that MAYBE - 'hopefully' in a real live face to face situation that t'he'y might be able to have a positive interaction with another individual and ask the question that i think t'he'y wanted to ask - what are the respective merits likes dislikes of Nivomats vis a vis the monroe air adjustable shocks? - i should add that my 13 yo Nivomats are working fine :-) the car - the engine - has a wee problem though :-(

[rogerthechorister]

According to Braydons the "Load leveller" kit with Monroes (with the pump inflatable rubber ball) does NOT need a spring change 'cos the rubber ball does the extra spring pressure.

There is also a direct Monroe swap for a Nivomat - a self leveller - part number 40204. Common as rocking horse sh1t in the UK, and in the USA the same price as a Sachs-Boge.

IMHO when a Nivomat is working right there is nothing to touch it.

If your Nivomats are tired, get new ones, if you can afford it. The complete "Load Leveller" kit for both sides costs the same as ONE Nivomat.

If your Nivomats are not tired, keep them. They will level you up in less than a mile - even if your noseweight is rather too much. Personally, I find that "rather too much" works pretty well, and if you consider that the (internal) loading capacity of a Volvo Estate with Nivos is getting on for a ton I would only worry about keeping the nosewheel weight UP.

I do however agree that so long as your towed weight is less than 1500kg, and so long as your nosewheel weight is close enough, getting a bigger van should not make any real difference

[DLM48]

Originally Posted by rogerthechorister

, and if you consider that the (internal) loading capacity of a Volvo Estate with Nivos is getting on for a ton I would only worry about keeping the nosewheel weight UP.

surely what is critical here is the tow bar capacity not the internal loading capacity of the vehicle

[Paddler Ed]

Originally Outnumbered contacted me via PM to ask about the Load Levellers I've got installed on my car; I suggested that he contact JodT5 or similar knowledgable person to ask about the suspension and any changes if needed to get Load Levellers to fit.

My feelings were that the Nivo's were a better system, and in the years that my parents towed (they've been towing since 1985, always with Volvo's, only 2 I reckon without Load Comp... a new XC70 with 4C and a lowered 855 T5 auto) they never had a problem with them in that time with trim of the outfit.

Dad used to campaign for VCUK fleet cars to get Load Comp automatically when they had towbars fitted.

If I had the choice I'd be running nivomats, but it wasn't cost effective (and I couldn't afford) to get them fitted at the time i needed them.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Originally Posted by rogerthechorister

According to Braydons the "Load leveller" kit with Monroes (with the pump inflatable rubber ball) does NOT need a spring change 'cos the rubber ball does the extra spring pressure.

Thanks for your informative post..

Does the above information relate to fitting these "Load Levellers" assume the weaker Nivomat spring is fitted, or a standard spring fitted to a vehicle previously fitted with standard shocks (non self levelling)..?

Des. . .

[cumbrianmale]

I say go with Nivomats

[rogerthechorister]

It was to replace Nivos on a Nivo car which had the Nivo springs. You could double check with them but that's the way I understand it.

Nosewheel weight can't make much difference to the dynamic loadings on the towbar assembly.

With a 7 or 9 series (beam axle) Volvo state the max weight to be towed is 1800kg if you have a Volvo bar and don't go over 45 mph. The dynamic loadings on that are going to make a nosewheel weight of 50 or 100 lbs pale into insignificance!