Quote:
Originally Posted by sourdough
 : "History with government documents" has me worrying right off the bat. That said, as was mentioned, the weights, as told to me by anyone/everyone (along with my "superficial" research), does not include the weight of the propane. On the other hand, that should be completely irrelevent. If someone is looking at, or towing, an RV where the weight of the propane is an issue....they shouldn't be there in the first place. Of course that is JMHO, and as usual...YMMV.  (and I defer to Javi's "old daddy" observation). |
I was a government employee for more than 41 years. Thirty-one as active duty USN and ten as a journeyman aircraft mechanic at the Naval Aviation Depot at Jacksonville, FL.
Government documents insure that RV trailer builders follow a set of rules and regulations that requires them to meet all minimal safety standards. Then they must certify compliance with those safety standards. Once an owner accepts a vehicle that has numerous minimal standards it's important that they not exceed them.
Some owners are meticulous with the weight an balance of their trailers. IF the weight of full propane tanks has already become part of the trailer's GVW when it leaves the factory there is no since in counting it as cargo, which it is not. If a dealer counts it and by doing so exceeds 100# of cargo a the time of delivery they MUST deduct it from the official cargo label. (That's a prime example of how a part of one standard effects a part of another). Paragraph; S10.5.1 If weight exceeding 45.4 kg (100 pounds) is added to a motor home or RV trailer between
final vehicle certification and first retail sale of the vehicle, the load carrying capacity values on the RV load carrying capacity labels must be corrected.
(Final Vehicle Certification occurs just prior to the vehicle leaving the factory. It may be called dry weight by others but as it leaves the factory it's the GVW).
I guess the best way to keep me from spouting regulations is to keep questions relevant to the topic. Most topic questions can be answered by summaries from industry standards.