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karl1948's avatar
karl1948
Explorer
Sep 26, 2014

Need help

Can anyone tell me what all this means?
GVWR: 7,700 LBS
MINUS UVW: 5,210 LBS
MINUS FRESH WATER OF 46 GALLONS @ 8.3 LBS/GAL: 383
MINUS LP-GAS WEIGHT OF 10.7 GALLONS @ 4.2 LB/GAL: 45
=CCC FOR THIS TRAILER: 2,062
HITCH RATING: 580 LBS
  • The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) is 7,700 lbs, this is the max weight including tongue weight.

    Your Unladen Vehicle Weight (UVW or EMPTY or DRY Weight) is 5,210 lbs.

    UVW is subtracted from the GVWR which gives you available "cargo" weight which is what you can safely put in the trailer (Cargo Carrying Capacity or CCC).

    So without water or propane you have CCC of 2,490 lbs.

    In your case the manufacturer is SPELLING OUT additional OPTIONAL "cargo" which you may or may not take along which are not included in the UVW.

    46 gallons of water weighs about 381.8 lbs

    Doesn't say if the propane tanks are included in the UVW so for 20lb tanks they will weigh about 38 lbs each and 30 lb tanks they will weigh about 58 lbs each.

    Does not state if battery is included with the UVW so figure 58 lbs for one group 27 battery.

    Add up those items you get 515.8 lbs for two full 20 lb propane tanks, full water and battery.

    Subtract 515.8 lbs from the CCC of 2,490 lbs and you get 1,971.2 lbs left of your CCC.

    Your Hitch of 580 lbs is the UNLADEN tongue weight of the trailer which does not include the water, propane or battery and will be significantly heavier when loaded.

    Keep in mind tongue weight must be 10%-15% of the vehicle weigh so if you load the trailer to the GVWR you should see a tongue weight of 770 lbs to 1,155 lbs.

    Ideally you want the tongue weight while loaded to be 13%-15% for the most stable towing..

    The trailer Tongue weight COUNTS as CARGO your tow vehicle MUST CARRY.

    So now you need to determine just how much CARGO your tow vehicle can carry, ideally it should be at least near 1,100 lbs since your trailer could potentially have a tongue weight of 1,100 lbs when fully loaded.

    Before someone argues, the battery AND propane tanks sit ON THE HITCH and will add a significant amount of weight to the hitch. Two 20 lb propane tanks and one group 27 battery will easily add 134 lbs to the unladen hitch weight of 580 lbs so your hitch starting out will be 714 lbs.

    Doesn't give you any room to load your trailer if your tow vehicle only has 750 lbs of available cargo..
  • Can anyone tell me what all this means?
    GVWR: 7,700 LBS

    This is the maximum the trailer can weigh according to the manufacturer. If you take it to the scales it cannot or should not exceed this weight.


    MINUS UVW: 5,210 LBS

    It is the weight of the trailer empty.


    MINUS FRESH WATER OF 46 GALLONS @ 8.3 LBS/GAL: 383

    Water weighs 8.3 pounds per gallon times the number of gallons for a total weight of 383 pounds.

    MINUS LP-GAS WEIGHT OF 10.7 GALLONS @ 4.2 LB/GAL: 45

    Same calculations for propane.
    =CCC FOR THIS TRAILER: 2,062

    CCC equals Cargo Carrying Capacity.
    HITCH RATING: 580 LBS

    Your hitch weight should be at or around 13 percent of the total trailer weight. So if you are at gross weight that number would be 1000 pounds. Never use dry or empty weights to calculate anything unless that is how you camp, with nothing in the trailer.
  • karl1948 wrote:
    Can anyone tell me what all this means?
    GVWR: 7,700 LBS Capacity of axles.

    MINUS UVW: 5,210 LBS How much the rig weighs with just the factory eqipment

    MINUS FRESH WATER OF 46 GALLONS @ 8.3 LBS/GAL: 383 Weight of full water tank (fresh). Won't always be full.

    MINUS LP-GAS WEIGHT OF 10.7 GALLONS @ 4.2 LB/GAL: 45 Weight of full tanks (propane)

    =CCC FOR THIS TRAILER: 2,062 GVWR - UVW = cargo carrying capacity

    HITCH RATING: 580 LBS

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