One of the benefits of belonging to the Escapee’s RV Club is the opportunity to have your rig (and tow vehicle) weighed. They call it their SmartWeigh service.
Although you can get weighed at many of the truck stops around the country, the Escapees service includes weighing of not only the rig as a whole or weighing of each axle, but also the weight of the rig (or vehicle) on EACH CORNER. This helps the RV’er to know how their load is distributed within the RV and where you might need to move (or remove) weight to get your rig within specs for a safe ride.
The manufacturers weight rating label is typically (not always) located inside the rig either on a wall or inside one of the cabinets. I’ve seen travel trailers that have them on the outside of the rig as well. In any event they should be located either inside or made of a material such that they will not easily get worn or be destroyed by weather or people.
Note that the weight rating label I reference above DOES NOT indicate the individual Axle Weight Ratings (GAWR), only the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). This label shows the math using some known (& unknown) standards.
Our rig when filled with fuel, water, and 770 pounds of humans, still allows for a Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) of 1770 pounds. But how is that weight actually distributed?
For a more complete and accurate assessment of your rig’s weight, it is important to know the individual Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) and the tire manufacturers recommended inflation pressure for given loads. If you bought your rig new you should have it with your Owners Manual papers. If you bought yours used like we did, you should be able to find this information online at your rig manufacturer’s (or chassis) web site.
Click here to see the data sheet for our Freightliner chassis.
From the chart that shows in the link above, you can see that our Freightliner chassis has a Front Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) of 9,350 pounds, a Rear GAWR of 17,000 for a total Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of 26,350 pounds. This is the TOTAL that includes the RV, fuel, water, passengers, and cargo. I can’t explain why the sticker inside the cabinet states 26,850 while the Freightliner chassis data calls out 26,350 pounds … a 500 pound difference.
If the weight was evenly distributed, this would allow for 4,675 pounds on EACH front tire and 4,250 on each of the four rear tires. Remember that these weight ratings are for the AXLES, not the tires. That’s a separate issue we’ll cover further down the page.
Enter the SmartWeigh system.
The pad is a long and level concrete pad that the customer can drive their motorhome and toad (or truck and trailer) onto at the direction of the weighmaster.
The driver stops as directed by the weighmaster, where then the individual scales are placed into depressions or cavities in the concrete so the driver can then safely and smoothly roll forward onto the scale when directed by the weighmaster.
The weighmaster moves the scales from axle to axle (1 scale on each side) and records each individual wheel weight. Again, it’s important to know not only HOW MUCH weight you are carrying as compared to the manufacturers specification, but WHERE you are carrying the weight so as to provide the safest possible loading.
SmartWeigh also provides the owner with a detailed data sheet of how your rig compares to the manufacturer’s weight rating. Here’s the data sheet with our numbers.
You can see that our front corner weights are under the Front GAWR by 1250 pounds but we’re a little heavier on the passenger side, so we need to move some of our cargo in the basement from the curb side to the road side.
The rear axle weighs in at 17,550 pounds, 550 pounds OVER the GAWR for the rear axle so we need to lighten the load by removing some items and/or moving what we are carrying more toward the front of the coach.
SO NOW LET’S TALK TIRES …
We ride on Goodyear tires designed for motorhome use. The model # is G670 and the size is 275/70R/22.5. The manufacturers data chart shows the maximum load per various cold inflation pressures.
I generally run the coach tires at 100 p.s.i. cold inflation pressure. You can see on the chart above that at 100 p.s.i. the front TIRES are capable of carrying 5,850 pounds. You’ll remember that the SmartWeigh chart shows we’re carrying 3,900 and 4,200 so we’re well under the limit on the front. We could run 85 p.s.i. and still be well within the safety margin.
Since we have “duallys” on the rear axle (two tires on each side), we therefore split the total corner weight between the tires. The chart shows that at 100 p.s.i. we can carry 5,390 on each tire or 10,780 pounds on each rear corner. SmartWeigh tells us we are running 8,900 pounds on the curb side and 8,650 on the road side, again well within the manufacturers load limit for 100 p.s.i. inflation pressure. And again, we could run 85 p.s.i. on the rear as well.
The SmartWeigh service is available (by appointment) at Escapee RV Parks in; Livingston TX, Bushnell FL, and Congress AZ by calling one of the numbers on this page of the Escapees RV Club web site.
In the meantime … safe travels to you and yours.
