RE: Cargo Carrying Capacity

[Garrett]

 
Just for fun lets use the Coleman Bayside as an example.  It is listed with a cargo capacity of 630 pounds before options.  If you add a furnace, add a room, and bike rack I would guess that would reduce capacity by another 100 pounds, we now have 530 to work with.  Add two full propane bottles and a battery, and we might have 400 pound left to work with.  Put four bikes on that bike rack and we are down to maybe 300 pounds of capacity.  If you are going to be boondocking and need to fill the water system with 26 gallons of water we now have a whole 40 pounds of cargo capacity for our gear, food, bedding etc.
 So my question is, what does it take to increase the cargo capacity of a PU.  Would switching from load range C to load range D tires be sufficient?  Do we need to install stronger springs and/or axle?  Maybe switch to 14 inch tires?  Or does the frame need to be reinforced also?
 I am not picking on the Bayside here.  It is really very typical of the capacity listed for units from most manufacturers.

[mike4947]

 Garrett
Mike, All of the above. You have to check the ratings on everything and upgrade till the weakest link is higher than what load you want to carry; and don t forget to check the coupler. Many are rated for 3500 pounds and upgrading a lot of the bigger PU s will raise the limit over the couplers limit.
 
 In our experience, you throw in a bunch of " options" ; By the way you forgot the spare tire, that s an " option"  also; and you can easily go over gross weight, both axle and total.
 That s why one of my favorite rants is to actually weight what you re towing.

[P-MAN]

 Garrett
Mike,
 
 I am fighting that very battle myself.  I own a 2003 Bayside.  I bought it brand new and had the following options installed by the dealer:  A/C, Yakima Bike Rack with 2 bike holders, a battery on the tongue, Camper Caddie, Vanity Mate.  It already had a H/W heater, Furnace and refrigerator on it as I belive all Bayside s come with.  I got the trailer weighed the day after I bought it and before I put any more stuff in it.  It weighed 2970 lbs.  The GVWR of a 2003 Bayside is 3600lbs with a max tongue weight of 400lbs.  And by the way, I just found out a couple of days ago that the GVWR of the 2003 Bayside is 3600.  I was doing some maintenance on the installed in line water filter and happened to look at the door under the sink where all the max weights for the trailer are listed.  I had originally thought that the GVWR was only 3450.  That extra 150 lbs helps a lot!!!
 
 Anyway some food for thought on the whole thing.  We are told to put 10 - 15% of the Gross trailer weight on the tongue, or in the Bayside s case, somewhere between 360 and 540 pounds on the tongue.  (I think I have about 400 on the tongue of mine now...)  Sooo...if you put the recommended max of 540lbs on the tongue...(in the stowage trunk or very far forward inside), that would leave one with about 90 pounds to store elsewhere in the trailer, assuming another Bayside owner gets the same options I did.
 
 I know that doesn t really answer your question about getting to add more weight capabilities, but I just wanted to show you that you are not alone in dealing with the cargo capacity of the bigger p/u s...  I would however recommend that anyone with weight capacity questions make doubly sure of their trailer s capacity.  As I said, when I first bought the 03 Bayside, I was originally under the impression until just a week or so ago that the Bayside was only rated at a GVWR of 3450 lbs.

[Garrett]

 Garrett
I guess, the bottom line is why cannot the manufacturers do this math and thenbuild a PU with adequate capacity.  Yes, it would raise the price a bit, but it would have to be cheaper than retrofitting a unit.  Or maybe offer an increased capacity PU as an option similiar to what the auto manufacturers do by offering half ton and 3/4 ton pick ups.

[Ab Diver]

 Garrett
Garrett, while I have done my own share of moaning and groaning over the years about pop-up cargo capacity, we have to remember that these are still entry level RV s, with a specific target customer: the first-timer family with a bare minimum tow rig. All these " options"  like hot water, toilets and showers, furnaces, air conditioning, double propane tanks and/or batteries, add-a-rooms, comfy matresses and fancy cabinets, yadda yadda yadda... add weight. You can literally outfit a pop-up beyond it s GVWR before it gets off the dealer s lot. But it s still possible to get a great bare-bones pop-up with a LOT of cargo capacity. You just have to give up some bells and whistles.
 
 That said... I d love to see a pop-up designed for folks with a little bigger tow rig. But higher capacity axles and springs, larger tires, stronger frames, etc, etc, adds additional weight in themselves, not to mention the bottom line: cost. It s already getting to the point where a family can buy a lightweight hardside travel trailer (or hybrid for the canvas lovers amoung us) for little more than the cost of a well-equipped pop-up. 17-18 grand would probably buy one heck of a nice pop-up with a GVWR of 4500-5000 lbs, but who s gunna buy it? The manufacturer has to be able to sell enough units to make a monster pop-up a viable product.
 
 Ab Diver--- who s still trying to squeeze a few extra pounds of cargo capacity out of his own  98 Bayside []

[madrone]

 Garrett
Has the Bayside gotten heavier in recent years?  The sticker on mine says that it was just under 2600 pounds when it left the factory.  The only thing that s been added since then is an after-market AC at just under 100 pounds.  I haven t weighed the thing yet, but my math showed 3500 (GVWR) minus 2800 (rounding up) leaves us 700 pounds for cargo capacity.
 
 The cargo on our first trip was about 200 pounds not counting the ice chest in the van. I want to keep the cargo to about 800 pounds (500 in the trailer and 300 in the van).  This seems eminently do-able.
 
 What am I missing here?
 

[mike4947]

 madrone
Well  just the fact that most everything you think of as standard in your trailer is called by the factory as optional and not in the 2600 pound " dry"  weight.  Fridge, HWH, Furnace, awning, AAR/screen room, SPARE TIRE, propane tank(s), Battery, etc, none of which is part of that 2600 pound weight.
 
 Was told yesterday by a Coleman dealer that all the Coleman trailers got an apx. 50 pound increase in the gross axle weight when they went to brakes across the board installed at the factory. In NY trailer brakes are manditory over 1000 pounds dry trailer weight, but for years they were also an " option"  as far as the factory was concerned as to weight even though they were installed at the factory.