I was able to get the weight of both my empty truck and the truck + camper this weekend. I was surprised at both weights. The truck was really quite light, at 7,350 lbs with 7/8 tank of gas, after subtracting my weight and the weight of the tailgate (64 lbs for the tailgate). This also includes all the tiedown gear and both upper and lower stable loads.With all of our camping stuff in the TC that stays in there permanently like dishes, pots & pans, linens, camping chairs, cords, hoses, leveling blocks, tools, etc. I was at 11,780 lbs. not including my weight. That puts the TC at 4,430 with empty tanks, 2 batteries, and full propane, with probably 150 lbs of gear. Full fresh water tank will be another 500 lbs. Then add the weights of 2 people and 2 dogs, and another 100 lbs for food and clothes, and we are at 12,760. That puts me within 540 lbs of my GVWR of 13,300.I was really hoping to be 1,000 under GVWR, but the AF990 is really loaded up with options so it's a heavy beast. I can't complain about the handling of the setup though. WIth upper + lower stable loads it handles great and I get only 1 1/2 inch of sag with the camper on and empty tanks. Braking and acceleration is excellent. The extra 500 lbs for water concerns me a bit so I may end up needing bags to keep things level. We have several trips planned starting in 2 weeks so we will see how it goes before making any more suspension mods.

It would be interested to hear what your actual weight is when fully loaded with everything. It wouldn't surprise me if you were quite a bit over. We all tend to think we pack light on groceries, LOL.. Did you add any beer or alcohol, LOL!

I'm really surprised by your empty weight also. My 2013 Ram DRW 4X4 CC Laramie weighs in at 8460 with tailgate on and tiedowns full tank of fuel but without me in it. I knew the diesels add a bunch of weight but that seems like a bunch more. In the past the Fords were always the heaviest of the 3 or at least that has been my observation after owning all 3 brands over the years and friends weighing their rigs also. They keep raising the GVWR but they don't tell us that they raise the weight of the truck also. So you think by buying a new truck that you have increased the payload but come to find out it hardly made much difference. This happened to me when the 1999 Super Duty first came out. I bought a new dually because they raised the GVWR but when I weighed it I found out I had almost the same payload as my older truck.

This whole setup was carefully planned to be under GVWR, which is why I chose this truck with a low trim level and engine. I was very aware of the approx 1,000 lb difference between the diesel and gas version of the various trucks, but in many cases the diesel GVWR is 700 lbs higher than the gas, so you only lose 300 lbs of payload. Still, weight is weight when you are moving and being 1,000 lbs lighter can't do anything but help handling.

sky free , thank you for taking the time to do this . I think you did a good job doing the weights , I think you broke it down well regardless of the actual weight of the truck. I wish more new buyers would read a post like yours where a real weight was taken and with what EQ., people, dogs etc . before they choose a camper based on dry wt. I'm not saying a truck can't handle it , just be aware of what is real and what is not. Then the owner or potential buyer can make his own 'weight police' decision using more real numbers. Some tc dealers have on premises, portable scales to actually show a customer what that particular camper weighs sitting on its jacks . Now a formula could be used to add water,propane, extra battery and you would have a very good idea of what you were really going to haul before you plop down your cash . If we are talking about a $30,000 camper, we have to earn $60,000 in order to buy it . Most of us have to work hard to earn 60k. FYI : for those who rely on dry weights or decals pasted on campers by MFG's , take them for what they are worth. If you look real close at the decal with a magnifier you can see "April fools" . :) Add up the scale weights that were posted by 'sky free'...as well as others that have visited scales in the past. I think a lot of people could Add 2000 lbs. to the below DECAL WEIGHT (as seen below) for a real 'rolling down the road weight'. Keep in mind the OP's " dry wt. " was 4400# plus ...even if we use the trusted formula below, the weight doesn't add up. ex: year 2000 only 3000# with water etc . :hex 2012 scroll to the end , here a "formula" is used . It seems to me this formula is using the 'decal dry wt' to come up with 4100# . Is it possible to simply put it on a scale and post the weight ? Load it up with options, water, full propane, two batteries and weigh it . See what it really weighs. Each individual has his/her own comfort level and experience level operating a vehicle. It's up to each individual to add his/her personal items or carry less water or propane to adjust the rolling down the road weight . That to me seems like a more logical way to do it . http://www.truckcampermagazine.com/camper-reviews/first-look-2012-arctic-fox-990

Butch50 wrote: In the past the Fords were always the heaviest of the 3 or at least that has been my observation after owning all 3 brands over the years and friends weighing their rigs also. They keep raising the GVWR but they don't tell us that they raise the weight of the truck also. So you think by buying a new truck that you have increased the payload but come to find out it hardly made much difference. This happened to me when the 1999 Super Duty first came out. I bought a new dually because they raised the GVWR but when I weighed it I found out I had almost the same payload as my older truck.I am really surprised this hasn't been mentioned more often , it's been going on for a long time . Another way to dupe the public .

Weighed in this weekend | Good Sam Community

Hodag1
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
Here is the advertisement I like

http://www.ford.com/resources/ford/general/pdf/towingguides/14_superdutypu_sep11.pdf
bka0721
Explorer II
Apr 16, 2014
Farmerjon wrote:
sky free
Thanks for posting your findings. Very informative.

Thanks, Sky, for posting your important weight information and thoughts.

The reality is, most are weighing more than they are imagining. I myself, was one of them and I bought the biggest pickup I could, at that time. The safety margin was too small, so I swapped out my wheels and tires, for a heavier payload. Not just because I had been driving on them for 4 years and everything was fine, but because I travel more than flat land country and have a large percentage of my driving off pavement. So road debris, rocks and weather events all impact what a truck camper weighs and how it handles. I am happy some are happy with their trucks, even knowing they are overloaded. But for my peace of mind, as well as the design standard of my truck's drive line and suspension tolerances, I prefer to remain in the design parameter's of my truck. For that, I need to have the most accurate information and not just what I have in my mind. I scale often and pull into the closed ones, just to verify. Others should too, as it might come as a surprise to you, as it did the OP.

b
sky_free
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
flht_db wrote:
Yes sky_free, thanks!! I have a similar truck with the diesel and I am looking heavily at and leaning towards the AF990.

I like it a lot, but I'll create a different thread for why later after we've had a few trips.

We just sold our TT yesterday in only 4 days. Yay! Now I don't have to juggle RV's in the storage space.

I had a spreadsheet of weights of various TC's along with stats and it made it easy to compare and choose. I looked through old forum posts for actual scale weights from the different brands. For Arctic Fox I added 1,000 lbs to the listed dry weight to get the actual dry weight with common options. For the AF990 I had 4,010 lbs. I've been looking closely at the numbers and I think that was very close if I don't include the weight of the 2 batteries.
flht_db
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
Yes sky_free, thanks!! I have a similar truck with the diesel and I am looking heavily at and leaning towards the AF990.
Farmerjon
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
sky free
Thanks for posting your findings. Very informative.
mike_mck
Explorer
Apr 16, 2014
Butch
Kinda picking the fly sh** out of the pepper.
The point is Manufacturers are not advertising Higher payload. They are offering specs. On their brochures you can find payload numbers, GVWR and Weight of truck. They provide all the information required.
If there are those that feel it is an effort to dupe the public well they need to remove the foil hats.
As to the OP Nice job calculating truck abilities and your camper weights.
I was a bit lazier and bought a F550 so I didn't have to calculate payload. Well not entirely true. Truck weighed 9000 lbs with a GVWR of 19500 lbs. That was the extent of my calculations.
I hate math :?
Butch50
Explorer
Apr 15, 2014
I wasn't going to respond but when you brought up the definition of Advertisement. I have to post what Merriam Webster definition of Advertisement is

Per Merriam Webster

"ad·ver·tise·ment
noun \?ad-v?r-?t?z-m?nt; ?d-?v?r-t?z-m?nt, -t?-sm?nt\

: something (such as a short film or a written notice) that is shown or presented to the public to help sell a product or to make an announcement

: a person or thing that shows how good or effective something is

: the act or process of advertising"

If you notice it states or a written notice to help sell a product. Truck manufacturers produce Brochures at the cost of millions to sell their product. So you can continue to argue what constitutes an advertisement but there it is in print what it is and this is not my definition to agree on or not.

Also where in my post did I state anything about advertised. all I stated is they raise the GVWR. I find this by doing a little research not by listening to their over inflated TV ads of trucks pulling a ship or a train engine and such.

To the OP: Sorry for getting this off of your original intent of showing how researching your vehicle can have good results. Good Job.
jimh406
Explorer III
Apr 14, 2014
I guess we just have a difference in opinion in what constitutes advertisement, but I don't want anything. I already have a truck and camper what else would I need. ;)
Butch50
Explorer
Apr 14, 2014
:h
jimh425 wrote:
I think the point of mkirsch is that advertise and available on the door and in the details of the specs are different. I haven't heard any ads for a trucks say now with higher GVWR. If they did, we wouldn't have to dig for it. :)

I also gave an example of a brochure from Ram that has the GVWR on it. Now if that isn't advertisement than I'll have to eat my hat. No research for that you can go into the dealer and ask for that.

Here is the Ford Brochure On page 16 they are showing what the GVWR are. Again this is advertisement.

And almost all of them claim they have increased GVWR and Max Trailer has increased.

He stated "I've never seen any truck manufacturer ADVERTISE their GVWR. I've always seen raw payload numbers, "up to XXXXlbs, when properly equipped.". That is exactly what I was posting was advertisements. Are not their web sites ADVERTISEMENTS for their product?

People can always say things but provide no information to back it up and then when someone backs it up someone else comes back and says "I think the point of mkirsch is that advertise and available on the door and in the details of the specs are different." All I can take is what he posted and I showed where it was advertised and it didn't take much searching for me to find it. If you can't find it then maybe you should complain to the manuf because they made their web sites to hard to find info for you. If you are going to be spending $40,000 to $70.000 for a vehicle you had better do some researching. What more do you want? :h
jimh406
Explorer III
Apr 14, 2014
I think the point of mkirsch is that advertise and available on the door and in the details of the specs are different. I haven't heard any ads for a trucks say now with higher GVWR. If they did, we wouldn't have to dig for it. :)

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