Looking for newer RV; How to calculate weight
My wife and I are trying to make an educated choice on a new/newer 5th wheel. We now have a 92 Lance 24 foot unit. I am an electrician and do most of our home remodeling and repairs. I don't want some...
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There is a way to get a fairly decent estimate of pin weight for any fifth wheel.
Course, now this is all from new, manufacturer advertised figures.
For used, just gotta scratch my head on this one. I think Hitchhiker has an archive on their Nuwa website which may show these figures for older models. For other manufacturers, their still may be a tag somewhere inside a kitchen cabinet or elsewhere that shows these figures.
Anyway, the easy method is go by the unloaded weight of the fifth wheel, and divide this into the advertised pin weight. This will give you the percentage of pin weight the fifth wheel has, usually between 15% to 20% of weight.
Then one can multiply that pin weight percentage by the advertised gross weight rating of the fifth wheel to get you a maximum pin weight.
Example: say there is a fifth wheel showing 11,500 pounds unloaded with a 2,100 pound advertised pin weight. Advertised figures also say that fiver has a gross weight rating of 14,500 pounds. (all hypothetical here folks, just for example purposes.
Well, 2100 divided by 11,500 equals 18.3 percent pin weight.
This 18.3 percent times 14,500 equals 2,653 pounds.
This will get you rough, good estimates of pin weight. Do remember it is the pin weight which is the biggest factor in a fifth wheel. Anyone tells you your truck can PULL it, well they are lost. It is the CARRY factor to be concerned with.
Course, now this is all from new, manufacturer advertised figures.
For used, just gotta scratch my head on this one. I think Hitchhiker has an archive on their Nuwa website which may show these figures for older models. For other manufacturers, their still may be a tag somewhere inside a kitchen cabinet or elsewhere that shows these figures.
Anyway, the easy method is go by the unloaded weight of the fifth wheel, and divide this into the advertised pin weight. This will give you the percentage of pin weight the fifth wheel has, usually between 15% to 20% of weight.
Then one can multiply that pin weight percentage by the advertised gross weight rating of the fifth wheel to get you a maximum pin weight.
Example: say there is a fifth wheel showing 11,500 pounds unloaded with a 2,100 pound advertised pin weight. Advertised figures also say that fiver has a gross weight rating of 14,500 pounds. (all hypothetical here folks, just for example purposes.
Well, 2100 divided by 11,500 equals 18.3 percent pin weight.
This 18.3 percent times 14,500 equals 2,653 pounds.
This will get you rough, good estimates of pin weight. Do remember it is the pin weight which is the biggest factor in a fifth wheel. Anyone tells you your truck can PULL it, well they are lost. It is the CARRY factor to be concerned with.
