Math for determining CCC

[MilesandSmiles]

Today at the Hershey show I looked at a Winnebago Forza 38R that my wife and I are both impressed with. I've been trying to figure out how much cargo we can carry, and the numbers just seem too low. Am I figuring this right?

GCWR 33,000 lbs
GVWR 27,910 lbs

---> Cargo + Tow Vehicle maximum weight 5090 lbs

We would be towing a VW Jetta which weighs about 2200 lbs with a full tank of diesel and nothing else in it.

So, 5090 - 2200 = 2890 pounds left for cargo and fluids

At 8lbs/gallon a full fuel tank would weigh 720 pounds. Have both holding tanks filled half-way adds another 264 pounds. Half a tank of fresh water adds 336 pounds. So, all told, we'd be carrying 1320 pounds of fluids after filling up with diesel with all other tanks 1/2 full (not an unreasonable assumption?)

This seems to leave only 1570 pounds for cargo and passengers! Lets say that my wife, three teenagers, and I weigh a total of 625 pounds. Yes, we really do.

Does this really mean that we could only carry 925 pounds of cargo? That seems like a paltry amount.

Is my math right? Is 925 pounds of cargo a lot, or really not that much? My head is spinning.

[creeper]

I think you're about 1000 lbs light on the jetta. My wife's jetta is 3200lbs with a fuel tank of full. My 2006 Jetta was just about the same at 3200lbs. My fiberglass kit car weighs about 2200lbs and it's really light.

[MilesandSmiles]

msmith1199 wrote:
GCWR is the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. That is the max gross of the motorhome and the toad. GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. That's the max weight of the motorhome alone. Neither of these numbers gives you the cargo weight capacity as you have to know how much the motorhome actually weighs first. These are max numbers, not the actual weight of the motorhome.

Thanks! That helps. After two days looking at RVs and going to seminars my head is spinning. Now that I think about it again your answer is obvious.

[msmith1199]

I don't see on Winnebago's webpage where they list an empty weight of the RV. I don't recall seeing that number on any motorhome as they are probably variable. There is a lot of wood in a motorhome so identical motorhomes could have different weights. I have never weighed mine, but it's probably a good idea to do so. And just because the GVWR is 27,910, doesn't mean the axles are going to fall off if you load a thousand pounds or so over that.

[msmith1199]

GCWR is the Gross Combined Vehicle Weight Rating. That is the max gross of the motorhome and the toad. GVWR is the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. That's the max weight of the motorhome alone. Neither of these numbers gives you the cargo weight capacity as you have to know how much the motorhome actually weighs first. These are max numbers, not the actual weight of the motorhome.