06 MADP 43 Weight??

[HHIDan]

I have read most of the threads about overweight axles and am now concerned about my own coach.

I know my front suspension is a IFS1460 (14200 # rating) and I know I had to replace two ball joints and a tie rod end last summer. I thought it was bad rubber boots (torn on one) but maybe it's a weight issue??

I just finished painting all the crossbars under the coach (rust) and realized in the process that my 150 gal fuel tank is right behind my steer axle I have removed my propane tank as I converted to all electric and added two batteries (all behind the rear axles) so I know this helped...

I looked everywhere for a label with my weights out of factory but can't find anything other than what Spartan posted on the MMGT frame. The only Newmar label on a kitchen cab door shows a CCC of 8894 pounds and a max weight of 44,000 pds (54K GCWR).

Obviously, I need a 4 corner weight which I will get at the first opportunity but in the mean time was wondering if anyone had weighed a similar coach as mine??

[tom chelbana]

We have a 04 Essex with the same front axle 14.200lbs. In 05 Newmar put the 16.600 front axle and many came with full tile in the front of the coach. We put 315-80-22.5 front tires which will address the tire up grade. We put the 315 tire on the 8.25 rim which gives you up to 16000 tire up grade. Have 2 new 9 inch rim which will bring the tire issue up to the full capacity of 9000lbs. per tire at 130 psi.
We have removed the large propane tank from left side and replaced
it with a small 5 gallon tank. Could do this because we went with a residential fridge and only had propane for cook top. At least 300 lbs saving and we only used 2 gallons of propane in 4 months on the road. Will only need to refill once a year with over 175 days of usage.
Front axle is marked at 14,600 and yes we are still over 15,200 with full fuel and water.Just had coached weight in Indio last week. That is how we addressed the concern.

[Sky_Boss]

Your axle is actually rated at 14,600# by spartan. You have the same situation as us. Newmar derated the front axle to 14,200#. In our case it was done because Newmar selected 305/70s. Because of that selection they were concerned about potential imbalance at the full 14,600# might cause a steer tire to exceed its weight rating.

Because I know my corner weights and the fact my coach is well balanced from side to side, I am currently running my front axle at 14,270# and wouldn't hesitate to run it at 14,600#. As long as I am so well balanced I could run 14,600# and my weight-based tire pressure would not exceed 115 PSI.

I would double check that weight sticker in the kitchen cabinet. It should probably say 44,200# GVWR.

Our last factory weight at Spartan was:

UVW 33009
CCC 9774#
Loaded 37,220#
Front Axle 14,280#
Front Left wheel 7250#
Front Right wheel 7030#
Tire pressure per Michelin 305/70R tables 110 PSI

I think we have done a pretty good job of weight distribution. Still, we have only used about 4000# of the CCC to reach this point. I've heard that on average you can uses about 40-50% of CCC before you are in jeopardy of maxing out the front axle. My numbers seem pretty much in that range.

YMMV.