What's on the back of yours?

Tied to the towbar and trailer topics, I am hoping to take a small 50cc scooter with us on our camping trips. There are a number of towbar mounted racks on the market that will do the job, but I can't get any information on whether this is feasible or not. I've talked to three different towbar manufacturers, but none will stick their necks out. The problem seems to be a combination of permissible down force - usually around 50kg to cope with standard caravans and trailers, plus spare loading capacity on the rear axle. There is a standard calculation floating around the internet that allows you to work out axle loading based on weight of item multiplied by the distance from the rear axle, but this doesn't take into account down force limits, and seems to only apply to large motorhomes with bolt-on chassis. Most commercial vans have a down force limit of between 100 and 150kg, but I can't find the figure for our Kombi's.

So, the questions are:-

1) Does anyone know the official towbar figures for a Kombi?

2) Does anyone already carry a scooter?

3) Does anyone carry anything heavy on a towbar? For example I've seen 4 bicycle racks that weigh over 80kg including 4 full size bikes. Has anyone carried such a load and have they noticed handling problems?

My target weight is around 85kg (scoot + rack).

All comments welcome - thank you.

I would have thought the information could be found in the Brazilian Portuguese Owners Manual. It'll be a case of trawling through, locating the Technical section and then making use of a good web translator.

i carry four bikes on my van with a towbar bike rack. Loaded with camping gear it makes the whole experience feel like you have power steering

Had a quick look throuhg the back of the manual at the "dados tecnicos", Technical Data.
Chucked it in google translate and came up with this.

permissible gross weight - 2300kg
unladen weight in running order - 1259kg
unladen weight in running order, including the driver - 1334kg
admissible load on front axle - 995kg
admissible load on rear axle - 1320kg
maximum capacity of traction - 2300kg

The Danbury brochure says the vehicle payload is 780kg with the Amigo, Rio and Diamond.

Thanks guys,

I've also been through the user manual with a fine toothed comb and I can't find any details on towing down force. As Kiteman has listed, there's plenty of carrying capacity in our buses, but usually a manufacturer will also quote towbar stats. The towbar manufacturers use a get out of jail card of "follow manufacturers guidelines" - difficult when there aren't any to be seen.

Thanks for the driving feedback Baydreamer - it obviously gets a little light on the steering, at least it saves rubber on the tyres!

Interesting.

Unladen weight (1259kg) + payload (780kg) + 4x people@75kg (300kg)
1259 + 780 + 300 = 2339kg

'max capacity of traction' 2300kg .... Oops...

I think the 780kg refers to the free weight that you have to play with after Danbury have finished the conversion. This is a fantastic amount compared to most motorhomes which make do with around 350kg.

That makes more sense - PANIC OVER!