Weight question

[dpf]

Marge...you take lots of trips o n the less traveled roads...when you go through a small town that has a grain elevator stop in and ask them if they would weigh the B....most likely they'd do it for free if they aren't busy.

[Mollysmom]

If you're buying a TT I don't think you have to figure in your weight - you won't be in the trailer when you're traveling so you "don't count" (you do count, you just don't count toward the CCC)
I did send you a PM regarding weight - I also did a search using CCC RV weight as the search words and I founds lots of info, you could try in addition to the info you're getting here.
Good luck !!!

[retiredhappy]

The manual on my rig gave me the capacity of all my tanks, black, grey, water, gas, & propane and the weight of all that stuff so I could figure out how much weight if they were all full. Really helpful. Never, ever travel with full water tank for holding tanks.

[Bethers]

Unlike Karen, when I travel, I often travel with my water tank full - but I always try to travel with my holding tanks empty - or am looking for a dump station if not. I do that because I boondock often when travelling, and might stay someplace a week - which would require needing that water. If I know I'm only out a short time, or will be using less of that water, I travel with water 1/2 full. And since putting my scooter on the back, I've tried to travel only 1/2 full. But there are times I know I'll need that water.

As to weighing free - many of the gas stations (Flying J's, etc) will allow you to weigh for free, also. That's where I weighed mine on my first voyage with her. That's probably the only time I haven't been close to maximum or more in weight - as I left WI in winter, with her winterized, so no water, etc and before I added more "things" to carry. And she was weighed without me or the dogs inside.

I don't know if your weight needs to be added in a TT - except for the issue of tires - as part of the reason for the weight is how much the tires can/should hold - and that's the same moving or standing still.

[Echo]

Nope body weights don't get figured into the CCC of the TT. Now if it's a C, A or B your body weight or weights have to go in the total. If your doing the truck and trailer thing then your weight gets figured into the GVW of the tow vehicle. So in the end if you weigh the whole kit and caboodle? Then yeah you would weigh it with you and whoever will be riding along all sitting in the truck. The weight of TT, you and ?? and anything else that you feel you have to have ie. scooter, motorcycle, grill and the like? What ever is in the TT, in the back of the truck, attached to either, you, partner and animals all have to be figured in to what's legal for the tow vehicle to pull. WHEW!!! Who's confused??

Now for all the sistahs! What do you think all your "stuff" weighs????? A few have said that they haven't weighed out their rigs. Who else hasn't? And who has?

[Paulette]

I've never weighed, but I don't live in mine either. I probably only carry about 2 hundred extra pounds of stuff (not including me and the dogs and gd). I would like to have it weighed sometime though. Now, iffin I lived in it full time, I'd be getting her weighed at least once a year, just for chits and grins! That way, you would know that you had accumulated too much stuff.

Good topic Echo...thanks for getting us thinking

[Echo]

Well I worry about the weight for whatever RV we end up with. ? Maybe it comes from being a truck driver, I don't know. Weight is a critical safety factor for tractor trailers. And costly too. That's why states have so many weigh stations.

But I do know weight adds up quickly and a lot more than most realize. I bet if you weighed every thing you have in your rig when you pack it to go it's more than you think. Just stop to think what a suitcase weighs when you pack it to go on a trip. Heavy bugger isn't it. And usually in the one case it's mostly clothes. And then you have your toiletries and any extra shoes too. Now figure in ALL your kitchen stuff and groceries, all your bathroom stuff shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, creams, lotions, soaps and towels? Think of every single thing you've put in your rig. Whether part time camper or full timer all that stuff no matter how little it weighs by itself? All adds up.

We all talk about safety features and things that have been added to rigs to make them safer, ie. shocks, steer-safe, back up cameras and tires are a biggie. Boy Fernie will bust your butt over tires. And I agree tires are critical. But no matter how good your tires? If your over loaded weight wise and/or improperly loaded and unbalanced, that is going to put added wear and tear on your tires. The added stress at high speeds and on curves it terrific. The heat generated in a tire is wicked and over all load weight and it's distribution plays a large part in tire safety and the life of your tires. And yours. That's one reason you will see so many 'gators' on the side of the road in the summer. Gators is what truckers call pieces of tires or pieces of recap that have come off or blown out on a tire. The more the stress and the hotter the heat in summer causes the rubber to break down and on recaps it causes them to separate.

But safety is the sum total of everything you do, add, use, load, how you load, tires, change things to suit and how you drive. And all that stuff adds to the weight of your rig. Trudy did find articles about CCC for RV's and sent me a small piece of one. Hope this is allowed? It said....

"Accepted CCC for part time users is 2000 pounds. For full timers 3000 pounds. Obviously some carry less and some much more. A coach with good CCC can still not carry enough of your stuff, because CCC does not address weight distribution. A recently reviewed coach has almost no reserve on the rear axle, and over a thousand pounds reserve on the front axle. However there was virtually no storage space all the way forward, so the usable CCC was limited."

I don't know where she found it but that is the kind of info I was looking for. And it works for everyone because it's so important. Not for just the 'junk' we have to have and want. But for buying info and safety.

Now just because I want something with as large CCC as I can get? Doesn't mean we are gonna pack it to the last ounce. I would like some empty left over CCC as a precaution. And it's gonna be fun trying to load it evenly so that the weight is safely distributed.

Can anyone say "quest for info and soapbox' all in the same sentence???

[Bethers]

I agree - but I disagree about the part-time v full time ccc difference. I see more parttimers loading down with things to get to their destination - OMG, they carry just about everything they own to come to the beach for a weekend in the summer.

Oh, we can post from other sources here - anytime - just please give the sources the credit due them - and don't post if the source doesn't allow it.

[rvgrammy1953]

I'll confess We've never had our rig, etc. weighed.........but we've been full-timing for over 4 years ......no problems and very careful on what we load up with.....this whole issue is Ernie's department here, so when he said "get a bigger truck" we got a bigger truck......

Lori