While on a trip over the weekend, I decided to weigh my 2006 Forest River Forester 2861DS at one of the truck stop scales.
I filled my gas tank, had 1/2 tank of fresh water, 2/3 tank propane. We really don't store much cargo. We have four lawn chairs, a Coleman Grill and some miscellaneous items such as water hose, leveler blocks etc. Did not have much food or clothing.
My RV weighed at 14,360. The max. weight is suppose to be 14,050. If I am reading the chart correctly, after a full tank of gas, fresh water,propane and two passengers @154lbs. each, I should have 689lbs. for "cargo".
There is no way I have 999lbs.(14,360-14,050 plus 689)of cargo! In the RV were myself, wife an two small children. Total weight of passengers was 480 which should add only 172lbs (480-308 (2@154 included )).
Has anyone else had this problem? I do not know of $310 pounds of cargo to get rid of to get down to 14,050....and remember, I didn't even have a full tank of fresh water or propane!
Suggestions please!
Montani Semper Liberi (Mountaineers Are Always Free)
2006 Forester 2861DS
It sounds like you have the computations correct. Unfortunately, according to many posts I read while researching CCC on my current MH, most indicate that the manufacturers are generous with their claims. It seems that the actual delivered weight seldom matches the documented weight.
Having the second slide out cost you a lot of weight that would otherwise be left for CCC. We have a Jayco Granite RIdge 3100 SS with one slide and pack lightly as well. Once loaded up and ready to go we are almost at the max, I've weighed it and checked. If you think the weight is off try another scale just to double check.
2007 Cedar Creek Silverback 33LBHTS 5th Wheel
2007 Ford F350 SRW 6.0 PSD Crew Cab FX4 Reese 18K Signature Series 5er Slider Hitch
Allen the Dad, Robin the Mom, Maddy 6, Josh 4, and Rusty the meanest 15 lb Cairn Terrier Puppy ever.
There is the possibility of cach weight variation from coach to coach. Switching cabinet vendors could easily add some extra weight for example.
You sound like you are prudent about what you bring. If you are happy with the coach, re-weigh it and find out what your individual axle weights are. There is a little bit of fudge room where you can be within each axle rating and still slightly above GVWR. The rear axle is especially important, becasue exceeding that rating will likely cause tire problems. I don't consider the front to be quite so critical, since the most likely adverse affect is accelerated bushing wear.
Bryan
2000 Ford E350 DRW Wagon (14-pass all captains chairs)
V10 w/ Banks PowerPack, Diablo Predator, 4.56 LS, 250,000+ miles
Had: Weekend Warrior 41' FSW
Weight adds up fast - espeically those miwscelaneous items. You might try weighing it dead empty to see how much those things actually weigh.
I have actually removed weight as delivered from my rig - replacing heavy steel wheels with lighter Alcoa aluminums, rear tube TV with a flat screen for example.
2002 Gulfstream Conquest Class C
Rolling wired and wireless network
When I was considering Class C's this was one issue I saw again and agin in this forum (not that this is only a Class C issue). So, no, you are not alone.
If you search the forum, you will see that this is an issue that comes up on occasion, particularly with the 29' and longer slide units. Enough reading and you'll see a few ways people have gone about trying to address this:
1) Carry less weight.
2) Assume the engineers were overly cautious and not worry about it.
3) Buy something else.
Given #3 is likely out for you at this point, #1 seems like a fine choice. Consider finding out how much you are carrying on each axle and/or wheel. It is possible to be under the GVWR and still overload an axle or side.
Good luck figuring this out and please let us know how things end up.
It varies from mfr. to mfr. but sometimes they list the UVW as the MH w/o options and a full tank of gas. So you would need to add in the weight of any options, people, fluids (water, propane, grey/black tanks), and stuff. So in your case you have a UVW of 12,630 lbs, add in 480 lbs of people, water (22 x 8), propane, propane (6 x 4). These #'s are rough guesses. 13310 lbs so far. I assume you have a 4k generator, that adds 172 lbs (as that is considered an option). Up to 13482 lbs. now. Any other options installed? (e.g. awning, 2nd battery, roof ladder, spare tire, etc.) as all this stuff is considered an option and adds weight to the coach, and can add up real fast. You might want to clarify from Forest River how they define UVW and NCC. But its not unheard of for the coach to be overweight.
Not to be the bearer of even worse news, but while you're 310 lbs. over GVWR, you're probably more than 500 lbs. over your rear axle weight rating. Do you have the individual axle weights? The 14,050 figure is really only valid IF you can perfectly balance the load on the front and rear axles because on the E-450 chassis, the GVWR equals the front axle rating plus the rear axle rating. There is no "wiggle" room on this chassis. The front axle is rated at 4,600 lbs., the rear axle is rated an 9,450 lbs., together they equal the GVWR of 14,050 lbs. So that 14,050 lbs. number assume you have both axles loaded to their maximum value. Since that really isn't practical, then you'll most likely overload an axle long before you reach the 14,050 figure.
To complicate matters even more, the axle weight ratings assume you have an even left-right balance, and that usually isn't true either. If one side is heavier then the other, you'll likely overload one corner before you overload the axle rating.
The main concern with the overloaded axle or corner, in my opinion, is the tires. On the E-450, the rear tire capacity is equal to the rear axle weight rating. For peace of mind, some members on here have upgraded the tires to a greater load carrying capacity. You'll still be overloading the other axle related components (bearings, suspension, etc) on the rear axle, but you should minimize the likelihood of a blowout.
In the meantime, if you don't already have the individual axle weights, try to get them. If you can get the weight at each corner, that would be even better, although it's harder to find a place to do that. Using those numbers, try to redistribute objects in the motorhome to best take advantage of your axle capacities.
Good Luck,
~Rick
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2005 Georgie Boy 3625 DS on a Workhorse W-22 (Class A)
Rick, Gail, 1 girl (13-Angel, Lexi96.org), 1 girl (8), 2 boys (10 & 7).
2001 Honda Odyssey, Demco Aluminator tow bar & tow plate, SMI Silent Partner brake controller.
Rick and others,
Thanks for your assistance. Yes, I do have the axle weights. The front is around 4150 but the rear is 10,220. As you can see, that is very much over the 9,450. I just don't get it!? When you suggest redistributing weight from the rear to from axles etc., how do you know when you are going from the rear to the front, just in the front half of the coach?
Thanks!
Before you do anything, make sure your rear tires are properly inflated each and every time you take to the road. A good practice to get into anyway, but in your case, each rear tire is carrying about 200 lbs. over it's rated capacity. If the right/left balance is off, it's probably worse than that. My guess is that with both slides on the driver side of the vehicle, that side is probably heavier.
Any weight you put behind the axle will be carried by the rear axle and removes weight off the front axle. Picture a see-saw about the rear axle.
Any weight between the axles will be shared by both.
Any weight in front of the front axle will be carried by the front axle and remove weight from the rear axle.
It can get a bit more complicated than that, but that is the simplistic answer.
Ideally, you should try to move heavy stuff that is currently behind the rear axle as close to the front axle as possible.
Here's something you might want to look into if you want to try to get some help from the motorhome manufacturer. Strip the motorhome of EVERYTHING other than what came from the dealer/factory. Everything. For however many 154 lb. passengers your ccc sticker states, put equivalent weights in the seats as if to travel. (You could skip this if your family weight is about the same as on the sticker. If your family weighs less, than just add some additional weight.) Fill the water tank, fuel and propane and take it to the scales. Certified scales.
If the weight ticket shows you are over your rear axle weight limit, then I believe you might have some legal recourse with the motorhome manufacturer. I don't know what they would or could do about it. I believe that might depend upon how aggressively you pursue the issue.
Good Luck, and be sure to keep us updated. Not only will we do our best to help you, but your posts may help others with this model. Even more important, people that haven't bought, but were looking at it, will be informed of this issue.
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