Weight
"How much do you weight?"
Why should you weight your RV?
For a safe and enjoyable trip, weigh your RV. Because overload conditions result in premature wear and poor handling, you can end up with breakdowns and expensive repairs to components like transmissions, brakes, and tires.
Remember, everything in and on your coach contributes to its overall weight
It’s important to avoid overloading:
- Safety The #1 reason to avoid overloading. The leading cause of RV accidents is driving or towing an overloaded RV.
- Tough on tires Tires are affected more than anything else by overloading your RV. Tires not properly inflated for the load can result in failure.
- Suspension system and brake problems
- Component failures include: springs, shocks, and brakes, as well as tires.
Understand weight ratings
Individual components of the RV have their own weight ratings: the RV itself, suspension system, tires, wheels, brakes, axles. These ratings are established by the manufacturer and overloading any component risks premature wear or complete failure.
Know your ratings:
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) is the maximum allowable weight of the vehicle when fully loaded for travel, including all passengers, all cargo, fluids and fuel. This is the most crucial weight rating for safety.
- Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) is the maximum allowable weight that can be loaded on each axle of the RV.
- Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) is the maximum allowable combined weight of the fully loaded vehicle and the fully loaded vehicle/trailer being towed.
- There are other weight ratings for motorized and towable RVs. Never exceed any weight rating.
Weigh it
It’s dangerous to exceed any weight rating, and the only way to know is to have your RV weighed.
- Locate scales where you can weigh your RV.
- Weigh it at Leale’s!
- Weigh everything….so get on the scales when your coach is fully loaded.
- If towing another vehicle, weigh that vehicle fully loaded too, so you get the weight of the total load.
- Include all cargo, passengers, food, clothing, fuel, water, and propane.
- Do this periodically to have a good sense of the weight of your coach on an ongoing basis.