What makes up a GVWR rating?
I am wondering what it is in the design of a trailer's frame and suspension or otherwise that gives it a particular GVWR rating. Is it the axles primarily? We have a trailer with a GVWR of 6800 lb...
Forum Discussion
I'm an engineer by training and pretty good with numbers. I've made several passes through a scale and at 3 different scales at that. Our trailer has options that I am positive were not included in the UVW like elec. stab. jacks, fiberglass cap, elec. tongue jack and power awning. I suspect their UVW is a bare bones base model number. The propane tanks, battery (we only have one) and spare tire are on top of this of course.
The sticker in our unit says 5480 lbs for the UVW and it also says the tongue weight is 580 lbs. Actual tongue weight is 960 lbs (nearly double). A wet and loaded trailer usually adds about 1,000 - 1,500 lbs on top of the UVW so the actual trailer weight is not looking too bad on that basis. It's the GVWR that's causing the problem. The trailer is supposed to have 1500 lbs of CCC, but it's not even close.
We have added a built-in Intervac vaccum and a TV in the bedroom. Under 50 lbs?? Exterior cargo (in pass-through) consists of a Coleman BBQ, 4 alum. chairs, outdoor mat and the usual collection of chocks, plastic leveling blocks, sewer pipe and sewer fittings, and water hoses. Interior cargo consists of 3 days worth of clothes for two, toiletries and towels, a small stock of canned goods and food, a few books and magazines and a small laptop. Without weighing all the cargo, TV and vacuum, I'm guessing this has added around 200 - 250 lbs. This is far short of the published CCC and the CCC number on the trailer.
I have not weighed the trailer empty but I have been thinking of doing that for the record. As it stands now, we could not tow the trailer with a full fresh, grey (2 tanks) or black water. With all 4 tanks full (over 1,000 lbs), I hate to think what would happen. I've never seen or heard of a warning by a manufacturer to not travel with one or more full tanks. Isn't one reason for having tanks is so you can tow the trailer with water in them? I think the typical consumer would expect to be able to tow with one or more full tanks.
The frame shop has noted weld failures, and/or frame cracking or permanent bending of frame that can't be fixed if something is not done with the frame. Very shocking to find in a brand new unit. The frame shop owner says it's terrible, terrible, terrible.
Being in Canada, and in BC, we have different vehicle safety laws and standards. We have some whereas some or all states in the US don't. We also have federal regulations and several jurisdictions/levels of government to approach. It would be nice to be able to point to a specific clause in a CSA or other standard if one existed.
We won't be modifying the frame without the knowledge or consent of the dealer. We're currently awaiting for the dealer to hear back from Lippert. Not holding my breath. This may end up being a KZ and Lippert problem. Either the trailer was built on the wrong frame or the frame is under-designed, or even both. But I have looked at other trailers on a few dealers lots and I see the same frame being used. Several other KZ trailers on the dealer's lot had the same frame and bent hangers. So this situation is not unique to our unit. I would say that there are a lot of substandard frames out there. It wouldn't hurt to look at your own.
I'm not sure I'd want to just hand the trailer over to the dealer to work on without knowing exactly what they would do. And certainly don't want Lippert directly involved other than approving proposed work. At this point, I am just trying to see what it would take to upgrade the frame and repair parts of it.
I have read a lot of reports on the internet of trailer owners having cracked frames including KZ. At least we are fortunate to have picked this up in the very beginning. A year or two later, Lippert simply blames the owner for overloading their trailers.
I am going to try to post some photos. It looks like I need to upload to photobucket and post URLs?
The sticker in our unit says 5480 lbs for the UVW and it also says the tongue weight is 580 lbs. Actual tongue weight is 960 lbs (nearly double). A wet and loaded trailer usually adds about 1,000 - 1,500 lbs on top of the UVW so the actual trailer weight is not looking too bad on that basis. It's the GVWR that's causing the problem. The trailer is supposed to have 1500 lbs of CCC, but it's not even close.
We have added a built-in Intervac vaccum and a TV in the bedroom. Under 50 lbs?? Exterior cargo (in pass-through) consists of a Coleman BBQ, 4 alum. chairs, outdoor mat and the usual collection of chocks, plastic leveling blocks, sewer pipe and sewer fittings, and water hoses. Interior cargo consists of 3 days worth of clothes for two, toiletries and towels, a small stock of canned goods and food, a few books and magazines and a small laptop. Without weighing all the cargo, TV and vacuum, I'm guessing this has added around 200 - 250 lbs. This is far short of the published CCC and the CCC number on the trailer.
I have not weighed the trailer empty but I have been thinking of doing that for the record. As it stands now, we could not tow the trailer with a full fresh, grey (2 tanks) or black water. With all 4 tanks full (over 1,000 lbs), I hate to think what would happen. I've never seen or heard of a warning by a manufacturer to not travel with one or more full tanks. Isn't one reason for having tanks is so you can tow the trailer with water in them? I think the typical consumer would expect to be able to tow with one or more full tanks.
The frame shop has noted weld failures, and/or frame cracking or permanent bending of frame that can't be fixed if something is not done with the frame. Very shocking to find in a brand new unit. The frame shop owner says it's terrible, terrible, terrible.
Being in Canada, and in BC, we have different vehicle safety laws and standards. We have some whereas some or all states in the US don't. We also have federal regulations and several jurisdictions/levels of government to approach. It would be nice to be able to point to a specific clause in a CSA or other standard if one existed.
We won't be modifying the frame without the knowledge or consent of the dealer. We're currently awaiting for the dealer to hear back from Lippert. Not holding my breath. This may end up being a KZ and Lippert problem. Either the trailer was built on the wrong frame or the frame is under-designed, or even both. But I have looked at other trailers on a few dealers lots and I see the same frame being used. Several other KZ trailers on the dealer's lot had the same frame and bent hangers. So this situation is not unique to our unit. I would say that there are a lot of substandard frames out there. It wouldn't hurt to look at your own.
I'm not sure I'd want to just hand the trailer over to the dealer to work on without knowing exactly what they would do. And certainly don't want Lippert directly involved other than approving proposed work. At this point, I am just trying to see what it would take to upgrade the frame and repair parts of it.
I have read a lot of reports on the internet of trailer owners having cracked frames including KZ. At least we are fortunate to have picked this up in the very beginning. A year or two later, Lippert simply blames the owner for overloading their trailers.
I am going to try to post some photos. It looks like I need to upload to photobucket and post URLs?
