We are not really fulltime but when we ordered our Coach we added the TAG axle just so we would never have the problem of even being close to over weight. If my calculations are right we will still be underweight if we loaded the Toad on the roof.
Back to the question -- are we overweight? No but like most of us we have a whole lot more than we will ever use, but we can carry even more. Unlike Dennis, it seems like ever time we take something out we both try to fill the space created.
BOL,
Busskipper
Maryland/Colorado
Travel Supreme 42DS04
MDX-FMCA--M&G Brake
States traveled in this Coach
We bought a tag axle coach in large part to be sure that we would not ever be overweight. With 10,000 pounds of CCC, we are way under. Our six corner weighing showed very good balance.
2003 Country Coach Intrigue towing 2006 Ford Focus. Follow our full timing adventures at The BooneDocks
We were never overweight in our Foretravel. Our storage compartments were never full and, as others have said, we jettisoned more items than we gained. When you start out you think you need items for every contingency but then you find out they just take up space. We did keep a small storage locker and visited it once or twice a year to get books or clothing items. More often than not, we left things behind. It's easier than ever with digitally stored files. We had to carry a lot of paper files back in the 90's.
2000 Born Free 24RB Class C
6.8L Ford V-10 Engine, E450 Chassis
2002 Honda CR-V toad
Roadmaster Sterling A/T towbar
VIP braking system
Eddyline Merlin kayak
We have been full to the max but not now! When we moved we had to fill 'er up because the moving truck was full. We lived in the coach full time until we built our barn. After we moved out of the coach we went to only the bare necessities and are much happier.
You can weigh your coach but if you find all the drawers, cabinets, storage bays, counter tops, floor...everything is stuffed...you are over full, maybe not weight wise but carrying too much. If you have to dig like a gopher to get anything out then work harder at putting something else in or an item back after use...you are too full.
It can happen to anyone...we load lighter then keep adding things. However, as many on this forum have stated..you learn that it makes no sense to take more and we all start "unloading".
Things to watch:
Don't stock too many groceries. Why?...there are stores everywhere and living like in a house in everyway is just costing every mile.
Clothing --Do we really need all those clothes? Oh yes we can justify that by saying we pack for a full year!
Bathroom items...how many bottles of...? Get down to basics!
Misc. items are the worst! The amount of books, movies, craft supplies, etc. Again...get realistic...do we really need all that.
I think a sense of paranoia can set in...with no resistance to the little voice that says "but oh, I want that with me"! After a few years almost everyone discovers they are drastically over loaded with stuff they have never needed, used or seen since they loaded it!
Clean house...simplify...live by the motto "less is best". Everytime you take something into the coach something else has to leave!
* This post was
edited 08/22/12 08:48am by sowego *
I doubt your overheat was caused by overweight load.
You were going uphill from 0' elevation to 7,000' elevation in about 70 miles on a 104 degree day.
If you have a rear radiator, be sure the old oil and dust is removed from the inside of the radiator surface. It should be cleaned once per year.
Shift to keep the engine at about 2000 rpm to assist in cooling. I find the Allison in my old rig to allow the rig to lug going up the intervening steep grades before shifting.
Expect the temperature to rise at least to the temp your thermostat is finally fully open. Mine is fully open at 205 degrees and we have reached 220 degrees going up Hwy 50 in similar circumstances.
x2 on overload not causing your overheat, especially in a diesel pusher. You should be able to tow a huge trailer behind your rig and not overheat. If you are overheating, something is wrong with your cooling system, regardless of whether you are overloaded or not.
1998 Gulfstream Ultra B/H Ford E450 V10
2005 Chevy 2500HD 6.0 w/ Maxidump insert
2006 Ford Escape Hybrid
1998 Saturn SL2 toad
2012 VW Jetta S
Ladies and Gents,
We just returned from a trip to Oregon and ran those same Sierra mountains/grades all through Bishop, Bridgeport and beyond. We too ran the temp up on our '04 Itasca 36DG w/330 CAT. I shifted when it needed it for fan rpms and lower gears for climbing. I'm running at max weight and, sometimes a tad over due to the load. This coach is a heavy coach to start with and then, hang an 850 lb Honda Goldwing on the back of it and tow a Honda CR-V behind that.
The max the heat gauge went to was 213 at about 34 mph up the south bound grade out of Bridgeport. The outside temp was in the high 90s. These rigs are subject to over heating just like any rig. You're pushing them and a ton of weight. Each rig will act a tad different when asked to run a grade with a given load. I certainly don't like mine running at 213 but, not much I can do about it. You don't see many on the side of the road with radiators steaming like you did in the 50s, 60s and later.
If the outside temp is lower, it runs a bit lower in temp but, the grades still effect it. I also don't like running at max weight but, it handles it, no ill handling effects on the road, no wandering and we're still coming in at around 7-7.5 in mpg. We're happy.
Scott
Scott and Karla SDFD RETIRED
2004 Itasca Horizon, 36GD Slate Blue 330 CAT
2011 White Honda CRV EX-L,4WD w/NAV Toad 2008 Caliente Red LVL II GL 1800 Goldwing KI60ND
Just weighed in Holton, ME and after 7 years, we are still under weight on
both axles and toad. Keep getting rid of "stuff" we haven't used in seven
years.
Was down in Livingston and had my rig weighed on all four corners - underweight all the way around. Got to talking with the staff - turns out that the vast majority of the rigs they weigh are underweight, but not for the reasons you would think. In their opinion, people who suspect (or know) they are overweight, simply don't have their rigs weighed. In their minds, they either do not want their suspicions confirmed, or don't want to advertise the fact. Looks like the same thing in responding to your question...
Considering that some rigs roll off the assembly line at nearly max weight (if not already over) before adding people, stuff, fuel, etc, one would think that the owner would at least want to know where they stand on weight (by axle), how that relates to max allowable weight, the corresponding tire loadings, and corresponding tire pressures. And make their decisions based on knowledge.
luvdoggiez wrote: Hi there all you Class A (Full timers),
We've come to the conclusion we might be over weight in our full timing rig. We found the engine over heated, not to the point of shut down, twice on our last trip over the Sierra's this last weekend. We'll be making a run to a scale at a flying 'J' in October to get our rig weighed, when we take the rig out next.
Just so I know if I feel like a complete idiot, or if I've got some good company, let me know what the worse case you have ever been 'Overweight' on the weight of your rig.
Happy camping! Eric and Carol Anderson
See that the radiator are clean and the CAC is clean...when hill climbing keep down shifting until you are running at the speed you wish at MAX HP revs...whatever they might be for you. NOT TORQUE...but HP revs. ( Cooling fan runs faster that way)
2000 Country Coach Allure; Cummins ISC 330 HP; 71/2 - 8 MPG regardless
2002 Jeep Liberty
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