Coach Weight Distribution

[DLane]

I asked a dealer if Newmar provides measured weight at each wheel on the coaches they ship. He provided me with weight information that he said was listed on a sticker on a kitchen cabinet. I am particularly interested in this for two coaches I am considering. One has the refrigerator on the same side of the coach as the galley while the other has the frig on the opposite side of the coach. It seems to me that having both on the same side would place a fair amount more weight on that side of the coach when loaded than a coach with the frig opposite the galley. Can anyone tell me whether weight at each wheel is available from the manufacturer and what experience you have had with weight distribution relative to the location of major interior components like the galley and frig?

Thanks, Don

[DLane]

I asked a dealer if Newmar provides measured weight at each wheel on the coaches they ship. He provided me with weight information that he said was listed on a sticker on a kitchen cabinet. I am particularly interested in this for two coaches I am considering. One has the refrigerator on the same side of the coach as the galley while the other has the frig on the opposite side of the coach. It seems to me that having both on the same side would place a fair amount more weight on that side of the coach when loaded than a coach with the frig opposite the galley. Can anyone tell me whether weight at each wheel is available from the manufacturer and what experience you have had with weight distribution relative to the location of major interior components like the galley and frig?

Thanks, Don

[Norm Payne]

Newmar weighs every motorhome by wheel position, but they only put the total weight on the sticker inside an interior door. Have your salesman call Newmar to get the weights by wheel position. If Newmar wants a sell they will give out the weights.

[FlyingDiver]

Newmar doesn't like individual wheel weights on the sticker inside. It's not required, and it would be misleading if they did. You can't count on the individual weights being useful until you load the coach the way you're going to use it. Until then, you're just guessing.

For what it's worth, our coach has the fridge (a big Maytag residential model) on the same side as the rest of the galley. The coach was not noticeably heavier on that side. The cargo and passenger weights made more of a difference. If, once you're loaded, you find one side is heavier, then reload your basement storage to rebalance.

joe

[FlyingDiver]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Norm Payne:
Newmar weighs every motorhome by wheel position, but they only put the total weight on the sticker inside an interior door. Have your salesman call Newmar to get the weights by wheel position. If Newmar wants a sell they will give out the weights. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

They probably don't have it anymore. They record the total, but probably don't keep the individual weights. The dealer would probably have to reweigh the coach.

joe

[DonnaB]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">They probably don't have it anymore. They record the total, but probably don't keep the individual weights. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I don't think that is the case as we have called after the fact and gotten not only the 4 corner build weights on our coach, but the last weights when Newmar weighed it at a later date. I think they keep. You can call Newmar Customer Service and they can give you this information.

[Route 66]

Donna is correct.

Newmar does keep records of individual wheel weights, and the they are available from the factory.

[FlyingDiver]

Huh. I guess I misunderstood when we needed the weights for ours. But we were at the factory at the time, so I got new weights.

joe

[DLane]

Today I received from a dealer I am working with weight data for the 39' Ventana I am considering purchasing. He obtained the data from Newmar where this information seems to be kept on file electronically. I think the numbers are potentially problematic and am looking for comments.

For this coach the front GAWR is 10,500 lbs, the rear GAWR is 17,500 lbs for a combined GVWR of 31,000 lbs. The brochure says the approximate UVW is 25,500 lbs for an approximate NCC of 5,500 lbs.

Now, the actual scale weight from Newmar is 25,590 lbs and the UVW (with fuel) is 26,165 lbs. The front axle weight is 9,015 lbs (35% of total coach weight) of which 4,745 (53%) is on the left wheel and 4,270 (47%) is on the right wheel.

For the rear axle, the total weight is 16,575 lbs (65% of the total coach weight) of which 7,610 lbs (46%) is on the left wheel and 8,965 lbs (54%) is on the right wheel.

The weight distribution side to side is 13,235 lbs (52%) on the right/curb side and 12,355 lbs (48%) on the left/driver side.

The weight distribution side to side doesn't look bad to me since I can load the coach to compensate for this. I also would expect the coach to be heavier in the rear, but am not sure what is a reasonable distribution for an unloaded DP. I assume that when I load gear on it the distribution will shift more to the front. A concern hear is that the coach was not shipped with a washer/dryer and I plan to add a combo unit which is located in the right/passenger rear corner of the coach. I believe these W/Ds weight over 400 lbs.


When I compare the measured weight on each axle to the GAWR for each axle, it appears to me there is only an allowance for an additional 2000 lbs of weight if distributed to coincide exactly with the spare weight capacity of each axle. That doesn't sound like very much and is a lot less than the projected approximate NCC of 5,500 lbs on the brochure or the 4,000+ lb CCC I obtained from a third party rating of the coach. On the other hand, if I look at the UVW of 26,165 lbs and compare it to the 31,000 lb GVWR there seems to be around 4,800 lbs of cargo capacity.

I am looking for comments from anyone who has experience with this kind of weight distribution data concerning front to rear, side to side and individual wheel weight figures provided for this coach. It seems I may not be looking at this coarrectly.

Lastly, none of this takes into account tire load/capacity. The coach has 22.5 tires. I believe they are Michelin radials, but am not sure or that familiar with coach tires at this point.

Sorry for the long post, but would appreicate any help you can provide.

Thanks,

Don

[FlyingDiver]

Your numbers are off somewhere. You say the coach has a GVWR of 31,000 lbs, but you're showing 10,500 lbs front GAWR and 17,500 lbs rear GAWR. That's only 28,000 lbs. You're missing 3,000 lbs somewhere.

You'll need to find out exactly which tires are installed to see if you have any room to play with the per-tire loading. Ideally, you want them to be as close (side to side) as possible, but if the tires can handle it, the limit per tire (or tire pair, for the rears) doesn't have to be exactly 1/2 of the GAWR.

joe

[FlyingDiver]

Just looked at the Newmar website. All the 39' 2009 Ventanas have a GVWR of 32,000 lbs, with a front GAWR of 12,000 lbs and a rear GAWR if 20,000 lbs.

You looking at a 2009 or 2008? The 2008 models might be different, but not by much.

joe

[DLane]

FlyingDiver,

Thank your for your observation. You are right. I used GAWRs for a smaller coach. The correct value is 12,000 lbs front GAWR and 19,000 lbs rear GAWR. That means that both these axle weights and the actual UVW of 26,165 lbs relative to the GVWR of 31,000 lbs indicate the capacity for cargo (not including fuel which is already accounted for) is around 4,800 lbs which is reasonable.

What I am still concerned about is the difference between left and right wheels on the same axle - in particular on the rear axle. The right wheel is 1355 lbs heavier than the left wheel. This is about 8% of the total axle weight more than the left wheel. I don't know how reasonable that is and whether I can compensate for this difference with my loading of the coach. The problem I anticipate is that the frig and galley is on the same right side as is the washer/dryer I plan to add as previously mentioned. What do you think?

Don

[DLane]

All,

With respect to axle loading and individual wheel loading, is there a guideline for the % of total axle weight rating an individual wheel can handle. I assume it can be more than 50%, but don't know how much more. Any thoughts?

Don

[FlyingDiver]

For the individual wheel capacity, you need to look at the charts for the tires that are installed. Which I said earlier in the thread. Yes, there will be some leeway, but I wouldn't make any assumptions about how much.

Are you looking at the 3933 floor plan?

I wouldn't freak out about the weight distribution at this point. You haven't loaded it at all, and the weights you're looking at are without fresh water loaded either, from what you've said. And maybe not propane either. How many people will you be carrying normally? You could have two or three sitting on the left side couch, which will add a several hundred pounds to that side. I expect you can get it down to 5% different between the sides, which will be fine.

joe