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camperbrian
08-15-2016, 02:14 AM
There was a CAT scale so close to the campground we stayed at that I couldn't pass it up. I thought I would be a lot closer to the limits of my truck but now I know that I have some weight to spare and feel better about it.:) I'm on the light end for tongue weight so I need to do some rearranging. I only had a 1/4 tank of fuel in the TV and had no bikes with us on this trip(120lbs). Also, my steer axle weight is with the TT and without is a 20lb difference. The wdh is dialed in perfect.

Just TV:
STEER AXLE 3460
DRIVE AXLE 2980
GROSS WEIGHT 6440

TV & TT:
STEER AXLE 3440
DRIVE AXLE 3580
TRAILER AXLE 5240
GROSS WEIGHT 12260

TV SPECS:
GVRW FRONT 3750
GVRW REAR 4050
GVRW 7200
GCWR 14000
LOAD CAPACITY 1334

Tbos
08-15-2016, 05:48 AM
I wish we had a CAT scale near by. I've been able to weigh on a local scale that only has one pad and they won't let me unhook on the scale or in the lot. My numbers are close to yours with the same setup. I think I'm a little heavier in the tongue though. I had 2/3 tank of fresh water and a full tank of fuel in the TV.

camperbrian
08-15-2016, 06:11 AM
My holding tanks were empty.
In the rear storage compartment I had an air compressor, battery charger and grill. I'm going to move at least 2 of these to the front storage compartment to add to the tongue weight.
I'm also not going to worry about adding the 4 bikes to the bed of the truck for fear of overloading the truck.

Desert185
08-15-2016, 06:14 AM
What do you have for a TV?

camperbrian
08-15-2016, 06:35 AM
13 F150 Ecoboost.

How do I add this to my signature?

Desert185
08-15-2016, 06:45 AM
13 F150 Ecoboost.

How do I add this to my signature?

Go to "User CP" in the header, above, and edit your signature options. It does help to know what folks are driving and towing.

Ken / Claudia
08-15-2016, 08:19 AM
Every honest RV salesman should encourage or explain to all buyers how and why they should get the TV and RV weight checked. Until you do everything about weight is just a guess or assumption.

xcntrk
08-25-2016, 03:20 AM
That's a light trailer! You didn't mention what you're using for weight distribution nor how much tension was dialed in. Ideally it's great to capture a weight measurement with and without the WD in place (if you're hitch allows). The 600# tongue weight you currently show could be a result of properly dialed in weight distribution. This is evident by the fact that you've nearly restored the front axle weight to the stock unloaded level. With a bumper tow, that's hard to do without lots of WD tension.

Bottom line; these numbers look good from this RV'ers perspective. Sure you can add some more tongue weight, and have room on the tow rig to support it. The more tongue weight the better the trailer will track & tow.

JRTJH
08-25-2016, 05:25 AM
There was a CAT scale so close to the campground we stayed at that I couldn't pass it up. I thought I would be a lot closer to the limits of my truck but now I know that I have some weight to spare and feel better about it.:) I'm on the light end for tongue weight so I need to do some rearranging. I only had a 1/4 tank of fuel in the TV and had no bikes with us on this trip(120lbs). Also, my steer axle weight is with the TT and without is a 20lb difference. The wdh is dialed in perfect.

Just TV:
STEER AXLE 3460
DRIVE AXLE 2980
GROSS WEIGHT 6440

TV & TT:
STEER AXLE 3440
DRIVE AXLE 3580
TRAILER AXLE 5240
GROSS WEIGHT 12260

TV SPECS:
GVRW FRONT 3750
GVRW REAR 4050
GVRW 7200
GCWR 14000
LOAD CAPACITY 1334

It's been a few days since you posted this, but hopefully it's not yet "too old to consider"....

Here's a couple of "things" you might want to consider:

Your tow vehicle axles, when connected to the trailer, are carrying 7020 pounds. The GVW is 7200, leaving 180 pounds available. You say that the truck had 1/4 tank of fuel. You didn't say if you, your DW and kids were in the truck or not. If you all were "in the truck during the weigh, then you'd only be "slightly over your GVW" with a full tank of gas, but on the other hand, if they were all "in the station going to the bathroom" during the weigh and you were standing "by the scale", then when you add the driver/passenger weights back into the mix, you may well be significantly over your GVW.

In any case, if the passenger/fuel/cargo load was the same in both of your weights, then it looks like the trailer weighs around 5820 pounds and the tongue weight (with WD installed) is putting around 580 pounds onto the truck. That's 10%, an "OK" amount of tongue weight, but more would be "ideal". Since you didn't mention your propane tank status (possibly another 40 pounds) and your fresh water tank/holding tank status, you could be "skewing" the weight enough to change that 10%. It's possible that you're actually closer to 12-14% with full propane/FW tank/MT holding tanks, or "even lighter" with full holding tanks (behind the axle) and MT FW tank.

In any case, you're "right there at your max payload" and it's wise not to add 120 pounds of bikes to the mix until you do some more calculations including the variables like passenger weight, driver weight, vehicle fuel tank status and trailer tank status. If you "dial in more tongue weight" you may be "dialing in a truck over payload".....

camperbrian
08-25-2016, 04:48 PM
Propane tanks were nearly full, and the whole family was loaded in when with both weights. You bring up a good point about the GVW. I did overlook it and was more concerned and the axle weights. Either way I'm still not going to sweat it about loading the bikes in or having a full tank of gas. At this point I feel comfortable if I end up being a little over the GVW if I'm still under my axle weights.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

mfifield01
08-26-2016, 06:37 AM
We're in very similar situations. I'm 200 under on GVWR, 500 under on each axle, and about 3000 under on GCWR. I've been debating on adding 2-6v golf cart batteries, but that would add another 80lbs to the tongue weight. It probably doesn't matter, but I contemplate it in my head.

I have added LT tires, but you don't really know what component is the weak link on GVWR.

GMcKenzie
08-26-2016, 07:13 AM
Same here. GVWR is 7,600 and my last major trip, starting out for 2 weeks I was 7,540. Under on everything else and more than 3/4 tank of fuel.

I know how I can improve that somewhat but it means getting off my lazy *** and exercising.