Found the build sheet to my TT. I was looking at the brochure that shows a "dry weight base features only" of 4740 lbs.Well, wow how fast it all adds up. Now I know why people see a brochure and don't have enough truck when they buy a TT. I guess it would be wise to go by the gross weight when matching to a TV, in my case it's 7000.After the factory installed items it gained almost 1000 lbs. Now add 54 gallons of water (450lbs) plus propane (60). All your personal stuff, food, linens, tools and peripherals I'm right at 7000.

The dry weight of my Dutchmen 25 ft is listed as 5004 lbs and 450 lbs on the tongue. Across the CAT scales, loaded for the road, the TT weighs 6200 to 6600 lbs depending on how much stuff I have to have with me. The tongue weight is 750 to 800 lbs. The tongue weight eats up my F-150 TV max cargo pretty quickly.My TT's max gross weight is 7500 lbs so it has more capacity then I need. The TV however does not.It looks like your numbers are right on.

The coffee maker is listed 10 lbs. Is the base of it made out of lead?

BC_Explorer wrote:The coffee maker is listed 10 lbs. Is the base of it made out of lead?Yeah some of that is off.The microwave is more than 20 lbs and the door is not 70. Maybe they flipped that. Dry tongue weight is listed at 463 lbs. The propane and water tank are up front so that number could be more like 1000.

Ya, some of that isn't right. But yes never go by the dry weight. I always say to add approx 12-1500 lbs to the dry weight. Gives a more realistic number to go by if you can't get it weighed before you buy.I'm 2k lbs more than what the dry weight is loaded for a trip.

marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:Found the build sheet to my TT. I was looking at the brochure that shows a "dry weight base features only" of 4740 lbs.Well, wow how fast it all adds up. Now I know why people see a brochure and don't have enough truck when they buy a TT. I guess it would be wise to go by the gross weight when matching to a TV, in my case it's 7000.After the factory installed items it gained almost 1000 lbs.Back many years ago when your trailer was built it wasn't unusual at all for manufacturers to play it pretty loose with correctly listing a trailer's actual dry weight but these days all you have to do is ignore any advertised weight claims and look at the weight sticker affixed to the front street side of the trailer which will provide that particular unit's actual dry weight as it left the factory or CCC from which you can determine it's actual dry weight. Here's mine, which shows an actual UVW of just 280 lbs more than it's advertised brochure weight.Without a V.I.N. being displayed on that build sheet I wouldn't regard it as being necessarily accurate for your particular unit.I also would never "go by the gross weight" - i.e. GVWR ... sure, in a case where CCC is quite limited, say 1000 lbs or less, chances are pretty good GVW will end up being close to the trailer's GVWR but in a case where CCC is beyond generous, say 3000 lbs, there's no way any reasonable person could load that much into any trailer and have it's GVW come anywhere near close to it's GVWR. If in doubt, don't rely on a build sheet that may or may not be accurate, go weigh the darned thing ... then you'll know what you're dealing with. ;)

Dry weight published vs real weight | Good Sam Community

34 Replies

SoundGuy
Explorer
Feb 21, 2017
dodge guy wrote:
"Several thousand pounds" come on Huntingdog, that's a bit much. I can see a few hundred pounds....but.

Hard to imagine any trailer's GVW varying by "several thousand pounds" but I guess that's what floats Huntindog's boat. :R At worst, my own trailer's GVW might vary by a few hundred pounds if I'm carrying more content in the tanks for one reason or another than otherwise would be the case. Normally I don't and total weight averages about the same most trips, around 4600 lbs which is ~ 1000 lbs more than it's brochure weight, ~ 800 lbs more than it's actual stickered weight. Geez, there's only 2 of us, we don't need a lot of C*** ! :W
goducks10
Explorer
Feb 21, 2017
I'm in the soundguy camp. When cruising the RV shows and looking at trailers I always look for the sticker weights. UVW and CCC. Don't care about the GVWR.
I know what I carry every time. Unless you have a HUGE toy hauler then there's no way you can be carrying 2000 lbs one time and 2000 lbs less another time. If thats the way a person rolls then thats how they should estimate weights when looking to buy.
Each person needs to know what their usage will be to determine what will work best for them.
Ironically I wouldn't be able to tow my current 5th wheel according to some on here. It has a GVWR of 11,500 lbs. I'm towing with a Ram 2500 CTD. Some would say that, that 11,400 lb GVWR will equate to a 2280 lb pin weight. Since I have a diesel 3/4 ton I wouldn't be able to tow it because the pin weight would be over my CCC of the truck.
But if they would actually take the time to do some research they would see that my dry pin is 1385 lbs and the UVW 7185 lbs, leaving me with 4315 lbs of CCC. All loaded my pins only 1800 lbs and the 5th wheel weighs 9000 lbs +/- a few lbs.
With that being said using brochure weights can be tricky. It really depends on how they option them out. My 5th wheel is almost identical to the brochure weights because it has no options. That's why I always use the brochure as a base and then the RV's sticker-ed weight for the final decision.
dodge_guy
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2017
"Several thousand pounds" come on Huntingdog, that's a bit much. I can see a few hundred pounds....but. I always say to add 12-1500lbs to the dry weight this will get you a pretty good idea as to ready to travel weight.

My trailer weighs in at 2k lbs over its dry weight. I pack exactly the same for every trip. If it varies by 200lbs I`de be surprised.

And the only options that my trailer had were skylights and spare tire. everything else was standard equipment.
Atlee
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2017
My weights will not vary much. I carry the same cargo in the bed, always. The only variable would be what's in the trailer. Almost always I have the same amount of clothes, food supplies, etc. The number of cans of food may vary by a few cans, and bottles or cans of beverages will vary by 3 or 4. I may through in an extra bag of chips.

The tv, which I take out at the end of the year, weights the same on every trip.

Now, currently, I'm in the planning stages for a big trip out to Utah, Yellowstone, and the Black Hills. For this trip, I will be the heaviest that I ever weight simply because we will be gone so long. But even here, I might weight a couple of hundred pounds heavier than normal.

All that said, once I load it in the spring, I run it across the scales to double check. But I don't continue to cross the scales every trip out.

Huntindog wrote:
SoundGuy wrote:
Camper G wrote:
Good post and makes my point with friends why it's better to go by the GVWR number and not the dry weight.

troubledwaters wrote:
I guess it just depends.

No guessing needed, of course "it just depends" - not on GVWR but on the trailer's CCC. Use GVWR as a guide to what you can tow in a situation where CCC is so great there's no way GVW will come anywhere near to the trailer's GVWR and you could easily fool yourself into believing you need to spend a substantial amount upgrading to a 3/4 ton which in reality you don't need. :M It's not GVWR that matters but anticipated GVW, loaded and ready to camp ... and that can easily be estimated by adding anticipated cargo weight to the trailer's stickered dry weight, the result often being not anywhere near it's GVWR. :R
I am always some what amazed at this thinking.

It seems that there are some here that think they always weigh the same for every trip.. My weight varies. A lot. Probably several thousand pounds depending on what/where I am going and doing.

Of course I may be an extreme case. But I am willing to wager that many peoples weights (that are trying to cut it close with this approach) also vary enough to put them over their TVs ratings at times.

TTs are a lot like people in that they tend to gain weight over time.
The difference is that people try to rationalize their way around the fact.
Atlee
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2017
That's interesting. I've never seen that before. Every manufacturer that I've seen plays games with the brochure "dry" weight.

Here is how they do it. The brochure listed dry weight is without any options, period. I presume they build the first one without any options, then weight it. That's the brochure weight. However, all trailers I've seen have a list of "mandatory" options. "Mandatory" options are in reality part of the dry weight, but are not included in the dry weight because they are "options".

troubledwaters wrote:
Camper G wrote:
Good post and makes my point with friends why it's better to go by the GVWR number and not the dry weight. Your numbers are a perfect example. By doing so you can ensure you have some margin to play with hopefully and not be right up against your limits.

To each their own though.
I guess it just depends. My trailer's listed brochure weight was 6,210, the sticker weight as shipped from the factory is 6,260, and as it rolls down the road I am at least 800 lbs. less then it's GVWR.
Camper_G
Explorer
Feb 21, 2017
Huntindog wrote:
SoundGuy wrote:
Camper G wrote:
Good post and makes my point with friends why it's better to go by the GVWR number and not the dry weight.

troubledwaters wrote:
I guess it just depends.

No guessing needed, of course "it just depends" - not on GVWR but on the trailer's CCC. Use GVWR as a guide to what you can tow in a situation where CCC is so great there's no way GVW will come anywhere near to the trailer's GVWR and you could easily fool yourself into believing you need to spend a substantial amount upgrading to a 3/4 ton which in reality you don't need. :M It's not GVWR that matters but anticipated GVW, loaded and ready to camp ... and that can easily be estimated by adding anticipated cargo weight to the trailer's stickered dry weight, the result often being not anywhere near it's GVWR. :R
I am always some what amazed at this thinking.

It seems that there are some here that think they always weigh the same for every trip.. My weight varies. A lot. Probably several thousand pounds depending on what/where I am going and doing.

Of course I may be an extreme case. But I am willing to wager that many peoples weights (that are trying to cut it close with this approach) also vary enough to put them over their TVs ratings at times.

TTs are a lot like people in that they tend to gain weight over time.
The difference is that people try to rationalize their way around the fact.

Exactly my thoughts. Sound guy, you do what works for you and I'll do what works for me. What tow vehicle and trailer do you own? What are the weights? If your under you limits, that's great. I like to have more margin than most. There's nothing wrong with that. It's my money and my choice.

I would suggest the vast majority of rigs never see a scale. So again, without scaling the trailer, I prefer to use the GVWR figure. Could that result in me having too much truck in your opinion? Maybe so! But there's an old saying i like for truck capacity. "Better to have and not need, than need and not have."

Again, what works for me, my opinions and my preference.
Huntindog
Explorer
Feb 21, 2017
SoundGuy wrote:
Camper G wrote:
Good post and makes my point with friends why it's better to go by the GVWR number and not the dry weight.

troubledwaters wrote:
I guess it just depends.

No guessing needed, of course "it just depends" - not on GVWR but on the trailer's CCC. Use GVWR as a guide to what you can tow in a situation where CCC is so great there's no way GVW will come anywhere near to the trailer's GVWR and you could easily fool yourself into believing you need to spend a substantial amount upgrading to a 3/4 ton which in reality you don't need. :M It's not GVWR that matters but anticipated GVW, loaded and ready to camp ... and that can easily be estimated by adding anticipated cargo weight to the trailer's stickered dry weight, the result often being not anywhere near it's GVWR. :R
I am always some what amazed at this thinking.

It seems that there are some here that think they always weigh the same for every trip.. My weight varies. A lot. Probably several thousand pounds depending on what/where I am going and doing.

Of course I may be an extreme case. But I am willing to wager that many peoples weights (that are trying to cut it close with this approach) also vary enough to put them over their TVs ratings at times.

TTs are a lot like people in that they tend to gain weight over time.
The difference is that people try to rationalize their way around the fact.
hohenwald48
Explorer
Feb 21, 2017
Everybody always says "take it to the scales" whenever a weight question comes up. Exactly how do you do that for a trailer you haven't purchased yet? Do dealers actually let you hook up and "take if to the scales"?
marcsbigfoot20b
Explorer
Feb 21, 2017
SoundGuy wrote:
marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:
Found the build sheet to my TT.
I was looking at the brochure that shows a "dry weight base features only" of 4740 lbs.

Well, wow how fast it all adds up. Now I know why people see a brochure and don't have enough truck when they buy a TT. I guess it would be wise to go by the gross weight when matching to a TV, in my case it's 7000.

After the factory installed items it gained almost 1000 lbs.

Back many years ago when your trailer was built it wasn't unusual at all for manufacturers to play it pretty loose with correctly listing a trailer's actual dry weight but these days all you have to do is ignore any advertised weight claims and look at the weight sticker affixed to the front street side of the trailer which will provide that particular unit's actual dry weight as it left the factory or CCC from which you can determine it's actual dry weight. Here's mine, which shows an actual UVW of just 280 lbs more than it's advertised brochure weight.

Without a V.I.N. being displayed on that build sheet I wouldn't regard it as being necessarily accurate for your particular unit.

I also would never "go by the gross weight" - i.e. GVWR ... sure, in a case where CCC is quite limited, say 1000 lbs or less, chances are pretty good GVW will end up being close to the trailer's GVWR but in a case where CCC is beyond generous, say 3000 lbs, there's no way any reasonable person could load that much into any trailer and have it's GVW come anywhere near close to it's GVWR. If in doubt, don't rely on a build sheet that may or may not be accurate, go weigh the darned thing ... then you'll know what you're dealing with. ;)

Due to Internet paranoia or whatever, I covered the vin which they called serial number.
3oaks
Explorer
Feb 20, 2017
marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:
Found the build sheet to my TT.
I was looking at the brochure that shows a "dry weight base features only" of 4740 lbs.

Well, wow how fast it all adds up. Now I know why people see a brochure and don't have enough truck when they buy a TT. I guess it would be wise to go by the gross weight when matching to a TV, in my case it's 7000.

After the factory installed items it gained almost 1000 lbs. Now add 54 gallons of water (450lbs) plus propane (60). All your personal stuff, food, linens, tools and peripherals I'm right at 7000.
You're absolutely right! ;)

It's all really just plain common sense which is woefully lacking in today's world, along with basic education. :R

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Dry weight published vs real weight

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