GCWR

[Rheevs]

How many of you actually know what your GCW (gross combination weight)is? Also how many run over the GCWR (gross combination weight rating). I just weighed my MH and toad and I am just 300# under with full water and fuel.The Subaru only weighs 3000# and I see coaches similar to ours pulling much larger vehicles. Also has anyone been stopped to be weighed by state patrol or gotten a ticket for being overweight.

[THUNDERUSONE]

Nice rig.....

[Ductape]

^ Looks perfectly acceptable to me.

[bshpilot]

Because we CAN (and still not be over our GCWR).....




BAIT for the (forum) weight / length police as they will surely come outta the woodwork on this one.

[msturtz]

That guy is a menace! Yikes, not only overloaded but very top heavy as well!

[bshpilot]

its not just motorhomes...

[msturtz]

bsinmich wrote:
With all the vendors leaving Holland after Tulip Time I spotted a 90's Bounder (gas) sitting in the Wal-Mart lot with a very heavy trailer hooked up. The rear end of the MH was probably at the bottom of the spring travel. Slightly overloaded?

I've seen this so many times it isn't funny. I saw a gasser MH pulling a full size F250 4x4 crew cab. Hope they at least had a brake system in the F250!

[bsinmich]

With all the vendors leaving Holland after Tulip Time I spotted a 90's Bounder (gas) sitting in the Wal-Mart lot with a very heavy trailer hooked up. The rear end of the MH was probably at the bottom of the spring travel. Slightly overloaded?

[Hookum]

I might add a couple items to consider. The state may allow 20K on the front axle but very rarely does any M.H. have 20K rated axles or tires. Usually they are only found on heavy haul trucks. 18K may be on Magma, Newell, Bluebird, most others are 16K fronts or lower.

A single rear axle maybe rated for 20K with 4 tires but m.h. with a tag axle (6 tires) will often overload the tag (2 tires), especially when adding a trailer.

Towing capacity may be 10K but tongue weight is the most important number to consider. Long rear overhang plays havic by overloading rear axles, severly effects steering and braking.

I agree that many, many m.h. go blissfully down the road and it may not affect them until they can't stop and plow into some cars. That is when the attorneys and insurance co. wants to know the details. Who will pay.

Bruce Jennings driving a SUV pulling a trailer with ORV, plows into stopped cars, one person dies, is example of million $$ suit. Did trailer have brakes?? Were they working?? What was GVW? or GCVW. You can bet they will dig all that up. Stay tuned.

[bshpilot]

I tip the scale at 32k lbs - completely FULL (140 g of fuel, 50gal of propane, 220g of water, people, beer, food).

By the MFG numbers this puts me 8k lbs UNDER my GCWR....plenty of margin for safety & towing !

If i'd bought a coach (like mine) w/ a 2nd (screw/drive) axle I'd have capacity for another 22k lbs of margin (on top of my 8k of margin that i already have) !

[ncrowley]

I went to the Escapees location in Phoenix and had a 4 corner weight done with full water, propane and fuel and packed for a trip.
GVWR: 31000
Front GAWR: 12000
Rear GAWR: 19000
Right front: 6000
Left front: 5375
Right rear: 8850
Left rear: 9250
Therefore, we can load more in the rear and we should put the load on the right side as much as possible. Given that we were packed for a trip and we never run around with a full water tank, we are in pretty good shape.

The Escapees have various locations. If you are going by one, it is worth calling and stopping for a weighing.

[mpierce]

Executive wrote:

mpierce wrote:

Executive wrote:
I do and never do. As a LEO I was assigned commercial truck duty and yes, we weighed and cited motor homes as well as commercial trucks. Weight is weight, as is safety. Overweight vehicles tear up many of the roads, especially local ones that aren't designed for the weight placed on them..they are also a hazard to themselves and all those around them as to handling and stopping......Dennis

I have a question for you, as ex- wt police! I run a small trucking company too, so am well aware of wt. limits.

Did you enforce the per axle wts. allowed by the state? i.e., 20k# single axle, 34k tandem, as allowed in most states?

Or, as the OP's question here, did you look, and enforce the axle and gross wts. as the MFG. listed?

ie, if the mfg allowed 18k on a single rear axle MH, would you cite them for overweight if they weighted 19k? Assuming your state allowed 20k?

I have NEVER had one look at my mfg plate. They ONLY have enforced the STATES limits, NOT the mfg.'s.

We enforced per California CVC 35550-35558....Dennis

Thank you. since that means nothing to anyone except LEO, here is what 35550 states:

35550. (a) The gross weight imposed upon the highway by the wheels
on any one axle of a vehicle shall not exceed 20,000 pounds and the
gross weight upon any one wheel, or wheels, supporting one end of an
axle, and resting upon the roadway, shall not exceed 10,500 pounds.

This references the original question.

So, the answer is: States enforce to THEIR weight limits, NOT to the limits on the vehicle by the mfg.

ie, if your vehicle has a 18k rear axle rating, and you have 19k on it, there will be NO OVERWEIGHT ticket, as you are UNDER the 20k allowed by the state.

[et2]

GVWR = 32,400
Hitch rating = 10,000

Weighs in loaded without water - full fuel and propane - black & gray empty - just under 28,000lbs.

GCWR = 42,400
Toad = just under 4000 lbs.

Pleanty of room to work with.

[Executive45]

mpierce wrote:

Executive wrote:
I do and never do. As a LEO I was assigned commercial truck duty and yes, we weighed and cited motor homes as well as commercial trucks. Weight is weight, as is safety. Overweight vehicles tear up many of the roads, especially local ones that aren't designed for the weight placed on them..they are also a hazard to themselves and all those around them as to handling and stopping......Dennis

I have a question for you, as ex- wt police! I run a small trucking company too, so am well aware of wt. limits.

Did you enforce the per axle wts. allowed by the state? i.e., 20k# single axle, 34k tandem, as allowed in most states?

Or, as the OP's question here, did you look, and enforce the axle and gross wts. as the MFG. listed?

ie, if the mfg allowed 18k on a single rear axle MH, would you cite them for overweight if they weighted 19k? Assuming your state allowed 20k?

I have NEVER had one look at my mfg plate. They ONLY have enforced the STATES limits, NOT the mfg.'s.

We enforced per California CVC 35550-35558....Dennis

[mowermech]

IMO, GCWR is a SWAG number, arrived at in negotiations between Engineering and Marketing. Marketing, of course, wants it as high as possible, while Engineering wants to keep it moderate, so they find a number they both can accept.
I have never been officially weighed; not in the motorhome and not in a pickup or truck while towing or hauling firewood.
I have weighed one rig, a 1994 Dodge 3500 CTD towing a 32 foot fifth wheel. I found that it was UNDER the stated GVWRs and GAWRs, but a ton and a half OVER the truck GCWR (the 1994 Dodge had a ridiculously low GCWR; Dodge increased it in every year after that, without changing the truck!).
That truck did just fine crossing the mountain passes in Montana, Washington, and California with that trailer. Nothing bent, nothing broke, nobody was injured or died.