Newbie - Class C Motor/Brand questions...

PghBob wrote:
There is a direct correlation in the length of the RV and the Occupant and Cargo Carrying Capacity (OCCC) of the rig.
Good luck and have fun.

Inverse correlation actually. By the numbers, our 31' Jayco is labeled by Jayco as weighing 11,160 and that's what we're registered at. So with GVWR of 14,050 right at 2900 to work with.

But full LPG and water, along with 06 occupants (154# each...?) reduces it to less than 800 for "all that stuff." like groceries, clothing, camp chairs and so on so forth.

Part of why we're glad to have a 31 with no sides. I'd have to guess that each slide adds about 500# to the coach's basic weight.

I can't tell you what the coach really weighs empty, but I can tell you we're right at 13500 with just two of us and all our heavy packing with supplies, tools and parts, spare tire, etc. That and just under 18000 towing the Corolla.

And that's where wheelbase comes in again! A 31' had better have a wheelbase of 215-220" or so. If not, the rear axle will be overloaded. Equally bad, the front axle won't be bearing its share of the weight, and steering/tracking start to suffer.

Shorter coaches with "rear queen bedrooms" suffer worse from this. The designer puts the rear wheels where the floor plan dictates, not for weight distribution. People complain the coach won't stay in lane, then weigh it and find it's front-light and rear-overweight.

So, go weigh any coach you're interested in, at a truck stop on the CAT scale. You'll know the carrying capacity you have to work with, and can make sure the axle loads are balanced. Front should be 1/3 of loaded weight or around 75-pct of its capacity. Bring a tire load to inflation chart along, and adjust tire pressures accordingly, right there at the truck stop. You may find it drives better on the rest of your test run.