Desert Captain wrote:
The answer is: "Nobody knows". So called "Dry" weights are at best a joke and mostly useless - except to salesmen who LOVE to quote them. :S There is little if any consistency from one manufacturer to the next as to what is included in their published "Dry weight". Some count AC, awnings, upgraded appliances and some do not, you never really know just how they reached that number.
For a really belly laugh look at the "Dry Tongue Weights". Again no industry standards as to what constitutes a proper (safe), tongue weight. Some will compute based upon 10% or less of an already ridiculously low dry weigh when 13% is considered by most to be about right.
IMHO: Anyone who quotes you dry weights of any kind is NOT your friend. Subtract the CCC from GVWR and you will be close to the trailers actual dry weight but remember that no one tows an empty trailer and most folks load far more weight than they think. A trip to the scales, which of course only comes after you buy, will confirm just where you stand but on any trailer between 20' to 30' most folks can expect to load at least 1000# to 1500# depending on how and where you travel.
Don't forget to include the weight of your tanks. Lots of us travel with less than full fresh tanks and we usually are headed out with empty grey and black but.... You can easily find yourself with full grey and black when it is time to head home if the dump station is out of order or the line necessitates more of a wait then you choose to deal with.
Never buy any rig that does not have substantial CCC, you will need it and any well built rig will have it. I have yet to ever hear of someone who weighed their rig and found it was less than they thought. :B
I disagree that it varies on what is included in dry weight. On newer trailers, it includes everything that is on the trailer when it leaves the factory floor. EVERY trailer must be weighed and a sticker showing dry weight and CCC reflecting those weights attached to the trailer. So things like AC, awning etc. ARE included in dry weight. What usually isn't included is any batteries or propane. However CCC is derived from the empty trailer weight INCLUDING full propane tanks.
I will agree that the knowing true loaded weight and true tongue weight is really what is important. IMHO tongue weight is one area that is very misleading. To empty tongue weight you generally need to add battery(s) (60-150lbs) and propane (20-60lbs) and transferred weight from additional cargo. It isn't hard to end up with a tongue weight that is near double the empty tongue weight. In my case, the "empty" tongue weight of 695lbs is really 1250lbs with NO water in the fresh tank and 1400lbs with a full water tank.
