how concerned should i be?

[sundawg]

thought i would go and weight the pup and see where we were at, think we have everything in that is going to be needed (and some not).

weighed the trailer and truck loaded up water /propane/ battery total weight 6820....dropped the pup and truck weighed 4200.

so that gives me a weight of 2620....on side of pup sticker says gvwr is 2360...

Do i need to be concerned and find something to unload?
Also i need to check the tounge weight as soon as i close it up.

thoughts?

[Recumbentman]

You are not telling us what your TV tow rating is  :confused: If your TV is rated at 3500 then you are good to go. If its rated at 2000 then you have problems. Also you should try not to tow with water on board. you are just carrying a lot of extra weight. Fill the water tank close to or at your CG.

[flyfisherman]

What make/model PU ...? Was also curious about the TV.



I did likewise with my rig and totally loaded my PU was within 60lbs of limit.



Fly

[wavery]

Sounds like you are pretty maxed out on your trailer.

Trailer weight......2620
Trailer GVWR ......2360
Overage.............  260

Subtract your tongue wt..(~275) to figure the weight on your tires.

You have 2 concerns left.

What is the wt rating on your tires?

What is the GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating)  of your TV? That is the amount of total weight that your TV can safely handle (Stop), including passengers, cargo and total tow weight (2620#). We know that you weighed the loaded package @ 6820#. Was that including passengers?

[Dee4j]

You are not telling us what your TV tow rating is  :confused: If your TV is rated at 3500 then you are good to go. If its rated at 2000 then you have problems. Also you should try not to tow with water on board. you are just carrying a lot of extra weight. Fill the water tank close to or at your CG.

yes 1 gal. of water weighs 8.35 lbs so a 20 gallon water tank adds 167 lbs

in my case I have a 72 gal tank which adds 600 lbs!!!!!

also dump it before you leave the campground. My PU the tank was in the back and I think the sloshing water could contribute to swaying

[coach]

The PU shouldn't weigh more than its GVWR.
2620 is greater than 2360.
What are the tires rated, I'll suggest ~1000# and the axle ~2200# (2200 + 10% tongue = 2420 but the tires can't take that so the tire load + tongue is the limit.

Your tires are over loaded and so is the PU!

Does it matter what vehicle is pulling this trailer, it is overloaded all by its self.

[sundawg]

capacity is..... Towing Capacity 4058 lbs and the others say;

- Weights: gross vehicle weight rating 4950 lbs gawr frt 2500 lbs rear 2900

yes included passengers its a 2001 isuzu rodeo v6 and 1994 dutchmen 1001xs

tires on pup say max load 1045 lbs @ 80 lbs cold load range  c

[flyfisherman]

capacity is..... Towing Capacity 4058 lbs and the others say;

- Weights: gross vehicle weight rating 4950 lbs gawr frt 2500 lbs rear 2900

yes included passengers its a 2001 isuzu rodeo v6 and 1994 dutchmen 1001xs

tires on pup say max load 1045 lbs @ 80 lbs cold load range  c

Same tires as I have ... 5.30X12 (LRC) makes a total weight of 2090 lbs. Now that is my max redline limit that I will carry for my PU. I know the wizz kids say that the tow vehicle is carrying 10% of the load which would be 209lbs which equals 2299 lbs ... o.k. ... 2300 lbs.


With the present weight of your PU and IF your running the 5.30X12" tires, IMHO, you are beyond red lined ... expect a tire blowout/failure soon.



Fly

[dthurk]

I agree with coach, camper weight should not be over gvwr.  It doesn't matter what the vehicle tow rating or gross combined rating is.  If you're camper is overweight, that's a concern.  Get that down (put it on a diet?), then you can think about the other numbers, which are also important and should not be exceeded.  Sounds like you're OK on the tow vehicle, so really all you need to do is shed wieght in the camper.  Could you move some stuff into the tow vehicle and still be OK?

[sundawg]

I agree with coach, camper weight should not be over gvwr.  It doesn't matter what the vehicle tow rating or gross combined rating is.  If you're camper is overweight, that's a concern.  Get that down (put it on a diet?), then you can think about the other numbers, which are also important and should not be exceeded.  Sounds like you're OK on the tow vehicle, so really all you need to do is shed wieght in the camper.  Could you move some stuff into the tow vehicle and still be OK?

it sure doesnt seem like theres that much in there.....guess i better try the water idea.... and yes i guess i can put more in the tv....just didnt want to load and unload...ya know...just throw some food in and good ...Quick escape kind of thing...Thanks all ill go see what i can do....

[wavery]

GVW of your PU is the weight on the axle while towing (when figuring the weight on the tires). This weight would be what would be displayed if you were to tow your PU onto the scales with it still hooked up to the TV (and the TV off of the scale). The weight that would be displayed on the scale would be minus the tongue weight that is supported by the TV. (see my last post).

Having said all that, your weakest link is your tires (as I suspected). If you upgrade your tires to tires that are rated at about 1200# each, you will be minimally OK with the trailer tires.  You have about 2350# on those 2 tires (according to your figures above and not knowing your tongue weight). I see in your previous posts, that you've already had one blow-out. Now you know why.... :p

The TV may be a different story. You still haven't given up your GCWR.  

[AustinBoston]

GVWR of your PU is the weight on the axle while towing.

Funny, but I looked at stickers on 4-5 units at the recent RV and Camping show in Minneapolis, and each had a GVWR, GAWR, and Tongue rating.  Generally, GAWR + Tongue Weight = GVWR (but one unit had GVWR = GAWR x 2 + Tongue rating...because it had 2 axles).

This is the same as the sticker on my 2000 Bayside.

Austin

[wavery]

Funny, but I looked at stickers on 4-5 units at the recent RV and Camping show in Minneapolis, and each had a GVWR, GAWR, and Tongue rating.  Generally, GAWR + Tongue Weight = GVWR (but one unit had GVWR = GAWR x 2 + Tongue rating...because it had 2 axles).

This is the same as the sticker on my 2000 Bayside.

Austin

You're right. I was getting hung up on calculating backward from the GCWR and placing the trailer tongue weight to the TV and subtracting it from the trailer to figure the weight on the tires..........

In reality the trailer GVWR includes the total weight of the trailer as it stands alone with all support on the scale. However, that has nothing to do with the tire rating. That is calculated by the weight on the tires only and would exclude the weight on the hitch.

Thanks for catching me on that. I corrected that post   .

[flyfisherman]

Having said all that, your weakest link is your tires (as I suspected). If you upgrade your tires to tires that are rated at about 1200# each, you will be minimally OK with the trailer tires.  You have about 2350# on those 2 tires (according to your figures above and not knowing your tongue weight). I see in your previous posts, that you've already had one blow-out. Now you know why.... :p

Well, since your in the mood to get corrected .... (LOL)

Don't know if it's so much as a correction as it is a thought, a concern, about upgrading the tires to a higher weight rating ... and that would be ..."how about the suspension, could that handle more weight?"

Let me zero in on my little Starcraft as an example because I'm the most familiar with that ~ the factory GVWR is 2200. The tires are the 5.30X12" (LRC), rated to carry 1045lbs @ 80psi ... o.k., 1045 X 2 = 2090. But the axle is rated only for 2000lbs ... the original leaf springs were rated for 1000lbs each ... 1000 X 2 = 2000lbs. ~ Now then, just suppose you did upgrade the tires to a 1200lb rating, 1200 X 2 = 2400lbs

Question: Do you not think maybe this extra weight could cause some problems with the axle/suspension?

Case in point, when the Starcraft was much newer I broke a leaf spring tooling down the highway going between 65 and 70mph. The camper at the time weighed in at about 1940lbs. As it turned out my particular unit and other smaller popups using that Dexter axle/spring were having difficulties like mine. Starcraft has since upgraded to higher rated springs ... like I had them put on mine ... instead of the 1000lbs leaf spring they are now 1400 pounders. As I understand, Starcraft had been using those and went to lower rated either because they listened to a Dexter sales pitch, or it saved weight or it saved dollars. But that's still a 2000 pound axle and I would not go higher weight for that reason ... but it's comfy knowing the springs can handle the original weight rating with ease.

Let me say something here about breaking a spring ... the entire camper body comes down on that wheel and locks it up. Needless to say the little camper wanted to go in any direction but straight! One of the reasons I like having a tow vehicle with towing capacity to spare!

Dexter did pick-up the tab for (2) new springs ... when you break or replace a leaf spring on one side you always want to replace the other side, too. I then paid the difference between the regular spring and then the higher rated ones, maybe something like $35.00 ... well worth it!


Fly

[wavery]

Well, since your in the mood to get corrected .... (LOL)

Don't know if it's so much as a correction as it is a thought, a concern, about upgrading the tires to a higher weight rating ... and that would be ..."how about the suspension, could that handle more weight?"

Let me zero in on my little Starcraft as an example because I'm the most familiar with that ~ the factory GVWR is 2200. The tires are the 5.30X12" (LRC), rated to carry 1045lbs @ 80psi ... o.k., 1045 X 2 = 2090. But the axle is rated only for 2000lbs ... the original leaf springs were rated for 1000lbs each ... 1000 X 2 = 2000lbs. ~ Now then, just suppose you did upgrade the tires to a 1200lb rating, 1200 X 2 = 2400lbs

Question: Do you not think maybe this extra weight could cause some problems with the axle/suspension?

Case in point, when the Starcraft was much newer I broke a leaf spring tooling down the highway going between 65 and 70mph. The camper at the time weighed in at about 1940lbs. As it turned out my particular unit and other smaller popups using that Dexter axle/spring were having difficulties like mine. Starcraft has since upgraded to higher rated springs ... like I had them put on mine ... instead of the 1000lbs leaf spring they are now 1400 pounders. As I understand, Starcraft had been using those and went to lower rated either because they listened to a Dexter sales pitch, or it saved weight or it saved dollars. But that's still a 2000 pound axle and I would not go higher weight for that reason ... but it's comfy knowing the springs can handle the original weight rating with ease.

Let me say something here about breaking a spring ... the entire camper body comes down on that wheel and locks it up. Needless to say the little camper wanted to go in any direction but straight! One of the reasons I like having a tow vehicle with towing capacity to spare!

Dexter did pick-up the tab for (2) new springs ... when you break or replace a leaf spring on one side you always want to replace the other side, too. I then paid the difference between the regular spring and then the higher rated ones, maybe something like $35.00 ... well worth it!


Fly

Yaaaaaa!!!!   That too...... :p