Weight calculations for ClassA

There should be a tag somewhere inside the unit stating the CCC or cargo carrying capacity. Also find out if that figure is with water, propane, and fuel tanks full. The best thing is to weigh the unit before the purchase. Most truck stops have scales and the cost is minimal. Be sure to get weights on both front and rear axles. That is important as to how and where you can load extra items.

wtmtnhiker wrote:
Looking at a nice class A motorhome that I think was built marginally too heavy for the chassis that's it's on. UVW=20605, GVW=22000 and GCVW=26000. My Chevy equinox that I want to tow weighs almost 4000.
Unless I'm figuring wrong we have 1400 lbs we can put in the coach rounded up from 1395 (GVW-UVW). Between my wife and I we weigh 300 so now we have 1100. I do allot of dry camping so a full tank (70 gal) of fresh water would be 560 leaving 540 and a full tank of propane (19.5 gal) would be 157 leaving 383 I can put in the coach. I'm thinking 383 wouldn't be enough with food, clothes, tools, etc. Do I have this right?

pretty much but until you actually weigh the coach you're looking at you won't know for sure. make it a condition of the sale to get certified weights for each axle (at a minimum!). why? because a coach can have a total weight that is less than or equal to the GVWR but still be overweight on one axle. I know this from personal experience.

(btw, the GVR is the actual weight of the vehicle whereas the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating is the total amount of weight the vehicle chassis can support including itself. the same applies to GCWR/GCW.)

IMHO the RV industry has made understanding weights and weight ratings far too difficult and confusing. all you really need to know is the payload (how much weight you can add) for each axle over and above the GAWR (gross axle weight rating).

- be sure the coach is empty (it's best if the fuel tank(s) are full but you can always calculate the missing weight onto the rear axle), go to a certified scale and get individual axle weights. that's your empty weight.

- compare the actual axle weights to the GAWR (gross axle weight rating0 for that axle. the difference is the total amount of weight you can add to that axle in the form of food, fresh water, clothing, supplies, pets, people, etc. that's your payload.

when it comes to towing...in general the maximum amount of weight you can safely tow will be the lesser of the following:

• the GCWR (gross combination weight rating) of the MH minus the actual weight of the MH as it is loaded for travel (includes fuel, fresh water, food, clothing, people, pets, supplies, etc.)

• the weight rating of your tow bar

• the weight rating of your hitch

this is why it's vital to know what your MH weighs as it is loaded and configure for travel before choosing a toad. Your MH will not collapse if it is overloaded but you will experience handling issues as well as longer braking distances and accelerated wear on suspension, brakes, steering, etc.

good luck.

Kaz wrote:

wtmtnhiker wrote:
Looking at a nice class A motorhome that I think was built marginally too heavy for the chassis that's it's on. UVW=20605, GVW=22000 and GCVW=26000. My Chevy equinox that I want to tow weighs almost 4000.
Unless I'm figuring wrong we have 1400 lbs we can put in the coach rounded up from 1395 (GVW-UVW). Between my wife and I we weigh 300 so now we have 1100. I do allot of dry camping so a full tank (70 gal) of fresh water would be 560 leaving 540 and a full tank of propane (19.5 gal) would be 157 leaving 383 I can put in the coach. I'm thinking 383 wouldn't be enough with food, clothes, tools, etc. Do I have this right?

I'm not familiar with the abbreviation "GVW"; mostly I see it expressed as GVWR or "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating." Assuming, however, that the two are the same, then yes, it looks like your calculation is correct. That does seem surprisingly low (more like Class C capacities, rather than Class A). We travel very light, even for extended trips, but even for us, we load up with more than 383 pounds of "stuff."

Very interesting,
Skip

I've seen some Tiffins from the 1980's (class A) that could not even tow a Toyota Yaris (standard). Some just don't have it.

Yes, you'll be close to the weight limit, a lot of the longer Class A coaches can be. Even though you boondock a lot, you can usually add water just before you arrive. That can give you an extra 400 pounds of CCC.

ets1996 wrote:
In your calculation are you using the full weight of the car you are towing? I've seen some posts where people use tounge weight in there calculation.I am still not sure which is correct.

Both are necessary to take into consideration. There are two criteria that should be met: the weight of the tow vehicle (including cargo) plus the tongue weight should be no more than the GVWR, and the weight of the tow vehicle plus the full weight of the thing being towed should be no more than the GCWR. (Additionally, one should check that individual axle weights are within the ratings, and the weight of the trailer or whatever is within the ratings of the hitch, and the tongue weight is within the tongue weight rating of the hitch.....)

In your calculation are you using the full weight of the car you are towing? I've seen some posts where people use tounge weight in there calculation.I am still not sure which is correct.

On ours it includes the propane and a full gas tank. Any class A on a 22K chassis over 36' long is going to have a fairly low CCC. Our 33C (34') has 3500 - the longer you go, the less you have.

We full time and dry camp a lot. We are just a few hundred pounds shy of GVW (with 2/3s H2O) but we have also added 600W solar and two more batteries. If we got rid of all our fulltiming stuff and just had the basic necessities and us, we would still have over 1000 lbs. of stuff. Food, clothes, tools, towels, outside stuff, dishes, cleaning supplies - it all adds up quickly...

wtmtnhiker wrote:
Looking at a nice class A motorhome that I think was built marginally too heavy for the chassis that's it's on. UVW=20605, GVW=22000 and GCVW=26000. My Chevy equinox that I want to tow weighs almost 4000.
Unless I'm figuring wrong we have 1400 lbs we can put in the coach rounded up from 1395 (GVW-UVW). Between my wife and I we weigh 300 so now we have 1100. I do allot of dry camping so a full tank (70 gal) of fresh water would be 560 leaving 540 and a full tank of propane (19.5 gal) would be 157 leaving 383 I can put in the coach. I'm thinking 383 wouldn't be enough with food, clothes, tools, etc. Do I have this right?

I took mine to a truck stop with scales, full of freshwater, empty black/gray tanks and full of fuel and ran it across the scales. It cost $9 at the time, but that gave me the numbers I was looking for.

bsinmich wrote:
Did you actually weigh it or are those figures from an ad? The actual weight will vary considerably. If it is from an ad sheet it may include a 154# driver in the listing.

Those figures are from the spec sheet in the brochure. don't think it includes any weight for the driver

wtmtnhiker wrote:
Looking at a nice class A motorhome that I think was built marginally too heavy for the chassis that's it's on. UVW=20605, GVW=22000 and GCVW=26000. My Chevy equinox that I want to tow weighs almost 4000.
Unless I'm figuring wrong we have 1400 lbs we can put in the coach rounded up from 1395 (GVW-UVW). Between my wife and I we weigh 300 so now we have 1100. I do allot of dry camping so a full tank (70 gal) of fresh water would be 560 leaving 540 and a full tank of propane (19.5 gal) would be 157 leaving 383 I can put in the coach. I'm thinking 383 wouldn't be enough with food, clothes, tools, etc. Do I have this right?

I'm not familiar with the abbreviation "GVW"; mostly I see it expressed as GVWR or "Gross Vehicle Weight Rating." Assuming, however, that the two are the same, then yes, it looks like your calculation is correct. That does seem surprisingly low (more like Class C capacities, rather than Class A). We travel very light, even for extended trips, but even for us, we load up with more than 383 pounds of "stuff."

Very interesting,
Skip