myredracer wrote:
I used to have a link to the new (2009) NHTSA regulation but I can't find it. Would be interesting to read it now and see how well it is complied with.
For dealer added items, are they really revising the factory labeled weight? When a dealer adds two 30 lb LP tanks, do they include for the contents? Two full tanks of LP will add about 240 lbs right there (4 lbs per gal.). I have a feeling dealers are either not complying or this is a loophole.
This website says that UVW numbers could possibly be a manufacturers average or estimate. Scroll down to Dry Weight and UVW. Changing Gears
The next time we ever get a new TT, I am going to drive it straight to a CAT Scale before I even take it home. If numbers are far enough off what the factory says they should be (on website or sticker inside) I will be talking to the dealer and/or manufacturer.
Now, if tow vehicle manufacturers could just put on an actual payload sticker on each vehicle as it left the plant, that'd be great...
One BIG problem in what manufacturers list for a dry weight is that a buyer has NO idea how much options weigh and how much your unit will weigh when you get it. A dealer can't even tell you.
Some RV manufacturers list a "dry" weight while others list a "shipping" weight. Very confusing. How can a manufacturer list a shipping weight if you haven't chosen options yet?
There seems to be a real problem with the definition and interpretation of weight terms from manufacturer to owner.
If there is a regulation out there requiring manufacturers to weigh each unit it leaves the plant, is it really happening?? On our current TT, the factory listed tongue wt. is 518 lbs. Sticker inside TT says 580 lbs. Actual tongue wt. (from scale) 960 lbs. Factory listed UVW is 5237 lbs. Sticker inside says "UVW 5480 lbs" Actual TT wt. is 6600 lbs and GVWR is 6800 lbs. Sticker on side of TT says max. CCC is 1320 lbs against factory 1563 lbs. We added many options. The elec. stab. jacks alone are 200 lbs. The numbers don't make sense. We only have 200 lbs of CCC available and we've only loaded in some very ordinary camping gear and supplies that will not weigh anywhere near 1100 lbs. If we towed with a full tank of fresh water, we'd be overloaded. To me, the factory numbers are way off actuality.
so you give a list of actual weights then mention that the trailer is already loaded. So, you really aren't getting a true empty weight.
And it reality it is NOT very hard to add 1,000 or even 2,000lbs of personal stuff into a trailer. And if you added the options, that's on your part of your CCC and not a requirement that the dealer adjust the weights and CCC.
Unload the trailer, take off the stuff not shipped from the factory, empty the propane tanks, remove the batteries unles the came with it from the factory and weight it. and compare those numbers to the yellow sticker numbers. Empty all the water lines, including the HWH (that's 50lbs right there)
and when you weighed the trailer did you unhook your WD hitch when you weighed the TT axles?? If not, you didn't get an accurate TT axle weight. your axle weight would have included the weight transferred to the TT axle by the WD hitch setup which is NOT part of the TT weight. And if you have a WD hitch, the snap up brackets add to TT weight as well, depending on setup, anywhere from 10lbs to 30 lbs.
If those don't match, then you have a reason to question factory numbers, otherwise not.
the federal reg's are very specific. If the trailer is loaded with the max listed CCC from the trailer yellow sticker from stuff added to the trailer AFTER it left the trailer mfg. and the trailer exceeds GVWR, then the mfg is in violation of federal regulations, period. It doesn't make any difference if the stuff is removable (clothing, food, bedding, etc.) or permanent, (batteries,slide toppers, jacks, WD hitch components) It ALL needs to be considered part of the allowable CCC.
I drove our trailer from the dealer to a weigh station scale near home. Guess what, after subtracting the weight of full propane tanks (60lbs) and two 6V GC batteries (125lbs) and the Reese DC mountin brackets the empty weight was within 25lbs of the yellow sticker. probably would have been closer, but the weigh station scale had 50lb resolution.
