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Has anyone weighed their truck?


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#1 EdoHart

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 12:21 AM

I'm fortunate that my company has an old truck scale that measures within 20 lbs increments. It hasn't been calibrated for several years (it's no longer used for business) but it measured a difference of 180 lbs with me in the vehicle and out and I'm about 195 (not quite enough to push it to the next increment), so it's probably still fairly accurate.

Anyway, I weighed mine with the camper fully loaded with food, gas, water, propane, passengers, etc., etc. and my truck came in at about 400 lbs below the GVWR. I'm curious if anyone else has had the opportunity to actually weigh their rigs and what was the outcome?
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#2 pvstoy

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 01:21 AM

Hey ED,

What is the GVWR of your truck. So your whole set up weight is xxxx pounds?

Here we have two ways of doing it.

Go to the dump get weighed. They have a scale to weigh how much you unloaded and you get charged.

Go to the DMV. They have truck scale to weigh vechicals and trucks. They will weigh you as a public service with no fee.

My set up was pushing close to 6,000 pounds loaded. Need to load up and try again. ('83 Toyota 4x4 longbed & Ranger FWC)
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Patrick

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#3 buzzman

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 03:18 AM

Ed,

I recently went to a nearby truck stop that has certified scales that will weigh each axle, cost $8.50. I weighed my restored 1977 Chev heavy half with both fuel tanks full, and me and my passenger, nothing in the box. The front axle wt was 2820 lbs and rear axle wt was 2100 lbs for a total of 4920 lbs. The GVWR = 6200 lbs. I'm still looking for a truck camper and since I only have about 1300 lbs load capacity if I want to stay within the GVWR I need to get something light weight like the FWC or ATC products.

Buzz
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#4 EdoHart

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 08:22 AM

My GVWR = 6600 pounds, my truck weighed in at 6200 pounds. When I first bought the truck I remember calculating I had 1800 pounds of total payload (I don't remember how I figured the empty weight, maybe it was on the window sticker).

So add...
675 Base weight of camper (IIRC)
I have sink, stove, 3 way refrigerator, furnace, 12 gal. water tank
169 26 Gal. Gas at 6.5 lbs/gal (I've read gas can weigh between 6-7 lbs)
96 12 Gal. water
40 Full tank of propane
200 Me
150 Passenger
75 Guestimate of what's in the cab
150 Guestimate of what's in the camper
20 Guestimate of Extra Battery
===
1575 which leaves 225 pounds below my estimated payload, not 400 pounds like the scale registered.

Either my original calculation for the total payload is wrong, my guestimates are high (though they seem low to me), my passenger lied about her weight (I hope she never sees this post) or the truck scale I used is off. I think it's time I seek out a certified scale.
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#5 brett13

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 02:54 PM

Jst last week I weighed everything on a certified scale. Wow, its heavy. Here goes:
7100 GVWR
5600 empty, no tailgate, full gas tank, no driver/passengers
-----
1500 # available payload

6600 weighed on same scale with camper and jacks, no gear,
no driver/passengers, full gas tank, DRY (no liquids in camper)
5600 empty weight
100 jacks (actually about 105-110)
------
900 for camper (they are probably heavier than we all think)

That leaves me with 600# for passengers, food, gear, dog, liquids. Not really alot when you consider the people/dog is about 400.

FYI, water is 8.3lbs/gal. Gasoline is actually a bit lighter at 6#/gal. Go figure. Beer is 1# per.

Of course, all this brings up the debate on other RV forums about weight and GVWR. The "weight police" camp argues to stay at or below GVWR. Everyone else seems to ignore the figure. Personally, I thing GVWR is underrated considerably. When I picked up my camper, I estimate I was at about 1600# payload or over by 100#. My truck felt like it could safely handle hundreds more (not that I want to necessarily do that though.) For example, the 'crewmax' largest cab size of the new tundra has a GVWR of 7200 compares to my doublecab at 7100. All components are the same. Very arbitrary, IMO. And each axle is rated over 4000, which is an 8000# GVWR if just added together.

My guess is that manufacturers can beef up the suspension to handle more weight easily, but are trying to balance ride, handling, expense, durability etc. Thats what the "next level" truck is for, 250, 350, etc. Isn't the frame the same on the f250 and f350? So the difference is in some suspension, brake and perhaps some drivetrain components. Personally, I wouldn't worry about a few hundred lbs IF it handles (brakes, change lanes, appropriate tires etc) safely. I would hate to be overloaded and have an accident.

Erod has done some serious mods to his tacoma to handle this much weight, I wonder what he thinks on this topic.
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Once had 2007 Tundra TRD 4x4 5.7 SR5 w/ Firestone bags, Bilstein 5100s in front, Total Chaos shackles rear, 275/70/18 E rated Michelin LTX AT2
2007 ATC Bobcat for sale

Now, just roaming around in a stock Land Cruiser (not stock for long though... bawahahha [evil laugh])

#6 HERR42

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 03:12 PM

there is a liability issue. that is... if you are over GVWR during an accident.
we dont plan accidents do we?
Think about the brake system... There is a relationship between GVWR and the K Joules dissipation the brakes provide.
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Jeff Herr WW6L '07 Hawk & '00 F250 SuperDuty CrewCab, Warn 12K, BFG AT KO 'E' rated, TransferFlow 48Gal tank

#7 brett13

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 03:48 PM

there is a liability issue. that is... if you are over GVWR during an accident.
we dont plan accidents do we?
Think about the brake system... There is a relationship between GVWR and the K Joules dissipation the brakes provide.


Thats why I stressed *IF* it handles safely. GVWR is not a legal requirement. It is a *suggested* number from the manufacturer. Also, how much can you tow without trailer brakes? I'd wager its more than the payload for 1/2ton. Would that weight be safer in the bed or towed behind (same brakes doing the stopping)? Given all that can go wrong with a trailer, I'd say in the bed, but one is within GVWR and one setup isn't.
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Once had 2007 Tundra TRD 4x4 5.7 SR5 w/ Firestone bags, Bilstein 5100s in front, Total Chaos shackles rear, 275/70/18 E rated Michelin LTX AT2
2007 ATC Bobcat for sale

Now, just roaming around in a stock Land Cruiser (not stock for long though... bawahahha [evil laugh])

#8 pvstoy

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Posted 30 August 2007 - 05:35 PM

There are stock from the factory and then there are modified trucks. There is also how the load is carried in relationship to center of gravity and etc... There are a lot of factors that play a role if the load is safe. You can have load shift when braking or swerving that will cause an accident.

Luckily our campers have a low center of gravity. My truck / camper combo is more stable in cross winds than my ’97 Toyota 4-Runner.

We start by tieing down the load and using some type of help to raise the back end. Then add more pressure in the tires. That’s not much of a modification.

My truck is highly modified from the brakes, axles and springs. It has been done to safely carry the load.

Each design has some factor of safety, just be careful when threading near the edge.
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Patrick

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#9 marc

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Posted 31 August 2007 - 02:38 AM

I recently weighed my rig at work and it came in at 8030 lbs. This weight was with 1/2 tank of fuel and water, full propane, all of my camping stuff and myself on board. The only thing missing was the dog and a few groceries. With a 11100 GVW I still have alot to go.

marc
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#10 Pete D

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Posted 31 August 2007 - 07:44 PM

Here's a link for finding one kind of certified scale by zip code:

CAT Scale Locator

Or check out truck stops or places that sell gravel, etc., by the weight.

I think these scales are accurate to something like +/- 20 lbs, but am not sure. The truck stop scales usually give you *two* weights for one payment, so one could drop the camper to get the loaded/unloaded weights.

Personally, dry weight of an RV is not very useful because who uses it dry? It's just a starting place for paper computations...

I dunno if GVWR is a legal restriction (It sure seems to be for commercial vehicles), but exceeding the GVWR in an accident wouldn't be helpful to one's court case...

Center of gravity is very important with TCs, and it makes sense to me to keep the fuel tank as full as possible unless one's truck is really jacked up.
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