Okay, not you yourself, but how much does your truck and trailer weigh? How is your side-to-side load balanced. What about your front and rear axle weights - are they close?
At the 2006 International Heartland Owners Rally, 80% (20 of 25) of our rigs were weighed. As soon as I get a dump of that data (I will not have access to names - it will all be anonymous), I will post it here in this new forum.
Later, I will scan my weight report as done by Stacey and Gail Frank of Weigh-It and attach it to this post.
For now, here’s a summary of my data:
Truck - 2005 Dodge RAM 3500 (without trailer):
Steer Axle: 4,375 (2,175 driver’s side + 2,200 passenger side)
Drive Axle: 3,525 (1,725 driver’s side + 1,800 passenger side)
Truck Total: 7,900
Truck (with trailer attached):
Steer Axle: 4,400 (2,200 driver’s side + 2,200 passenger side)
Drive Axle: 7,425 (3,700 driver’s side + 3,725 passenger side)
Truck Total: 11,825
Trailer - 2005 Heartland Mt Rushmore:
Pin: 3,925
Front Axle: 6,075 (3,150 off-door side + 2,925 door side)
Rear Axle : 6,000 (3,075 off-door side + 2,925 door side)
Trailer total: 16,000
Rig (GCW – Gross Combination Weight):
Truck: 7,900
Trailer: 16,000
Total: 23,900
Conclusions:
With no load in or on the bed of my truck, the back end is very light – 850 pounds lighter than the front
With the trailer on the truck, my steer axle increases by only 25 pounds. Nice to know the headlights aren’t in the trees when towing.
Loaded as I was with stuff in the tanks (could not dump before we hit the road) and extra stuff for the rally, I was 325 pounds over the truck's 11,500 GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). Assuming 11,500 is a conservative rating and knowing I will rarely have that much extra stuff with me, I feel okay about it.
I have a very heavy pin weight (3,925) compared to the first time I traveled with the trailer after our initial loading at 3,240. So I now carry another 685 pounds of stuff that is pin weight affecting (storage slide-out, 2 outdoor recliners, baby Q Grill, 2 satellite dishes, dog pen, water filters, more hoses of all kinds etc., etc.).
At 16,000 pounds total trailer weight, I am “at” the trailer’s GVWR. I used to be at 15,080. So here again, in addition to rally specific items this trip, I have added 920 pounds of stuff to the trailer. All the above mentioned items plus more clothes, more dishes, more appliances, more entertainment and computer equipment are contributors.
Loaded and hooked up, ready to go, my trailer is 375 pounds heavier on the off-door side. Being heavy on that side with all the kitchen stuff (appliances, Corian, etc.), plus the entertainment stuff and I knew I would be heavy there. I am pretty happy with only a 375 pound variance. That said, I will consider how I can rebalance things a little bit.
Jim
At the 2006 International Heartland Owners Rally, 80% (20 of 25) of our rigs were weighed. As soon as I get a dump of that data (I will not have access to names - it will all be anonymous), I will post it here in this new forum.
Later, I will scan my weight report as done by Stacey and Gail Frank of Weigh-It and attach it to this post.
For now, here’s a summary of my data:
Truck - 2005 Dodge RAM 3500 (without trailer):
Steer Axle: 4,375 (2,175 driver’s side + 2,200 passenger side)
Drive Axle: 3,525 (1,725 driver’s side + 1,800 passenger side)
Truck Total: 7,900
Truck (with trailer attached):
Steer Axle: 4,400 (2,200 driver’s side + 2,200 passenger side)
Drive Axle: 7,425 (3,700 driver’s side + 3,725 passenger side)
Truck Total: 11,825
Trailer - 2005 Heartland Mt Rushmore:
Pin: 3,925
Front Axle: 6,075 (3,150 off-door side + 2,925 door side)
Rear Axle : 6,000 (3,075 off-door side + 2,925 door side)
Trailer total: 16,000
Rig (GCW – Gross Combination Weight):
Truck: 7,900
Trailer: 16,000
Total: 23,900
Conclusions:
With no load in or on the bed of my truck, the back end is very light – 850 pounds lighter than the front
With the trailer on the truck, my steer axle increases by only 25 pounds. Nice to know the headlights aren’t in the trees when towing.
Loaded as I was with stuff in the tanks (could not dump before we hit the road) and extra stuff for the rally, I was 325 pounds over the truck's 11,500 GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating). Assuming 11,500 is a conservative rating and knowing I will rarely have that much extra stuff with me, I feel okay about it.
I have a very heavy pin weight (3,925) compared to the first time I traveled with the trailer after our initial loading at 3,240. So I now carry another 685 pounds of stuff that is pin weight affecting (storage slide-out, 2 outdoor recliners, baby Q Grill, 2 satellite dishes, dog pen, water filters, more hoses of all kinds etc., etc.).
At 16,000 pounds total trailer weight, I am “at” the trailer’s GVWR. I used to be at 15,080. So here again, in addition to rally specific items this trip, I have added 920 pounds of stuff to the trailer. All the above mentioned items plus more clothes, more dishes, more appliances, more entertainment and computer equipment are contributors.
Loaded and hooked up, ready to go, my trailer is 375 pounds heavier on the off-door side. Being heavy on that side with all the kitchen stuff (appliances, Corian, etc.), plus the entertainment stuff and I knew I would be heavy there. I am pretty happy with only a 375 pound variance. That said, I will consider how I can rebalance things a little bit.
Jim
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Looking at your figures it seems more like your GCWR is 22,500 but it seems odd that your truck axles and your trailer axles are at 11,250. But stranger things have happened.
