Weighty Question

[BCook57]

OK, I finally had a chance to weigh my 2007 DSDP Model 4307. Here's the results (from a Cat scale):

Steer Axle 14,140
Drive Axle 14,380
Tax Axle 6,900

Conditions: full fuel, 1/2 fresh water, full propane, empty gray and black, all the normal stuff we travel with, plus me in the driver's seat.

So, all you knowledgeable weight experts, give me some help in understanding if these seem reasonable. At first glance, it seems my front axle may be overloaded, right? May need to move some stuff around. Could not get corner weights, or at least I didn't know what to ask for and the 20-something young ladies behind the counter didn't know what I meant either.

Thanks in advance for your help. I'm leaving Florida on Saturday morning to take the MH back to Michigan for the summer.

Bob

[Route 66]

Tag axle vehicles shift some weight to the front axle, so your front weight sounds reasonable.

I believe your front axle is rated at 14,600 #, so you are not overweight on the front axle, but one side may overweight.

Corner weights are also known as individual wheel weights. Not too sure you can do that on a CAT scale.

Be sure to set your tire pressures based on the weights you have.

However, there is still the unknown wheel weights and you may beo overweight on one side of the front. I doubt the rear can be overweight on one side since you have a tag axle and the weights are well below GAWR.

Moving things around in an air suspended vehicle to shift the load is neither an art nor science. More like luck.

As you move the load, the ride height valves compensate for the load, and some of that weight gets transferred unintended.

I suggest stopping at Spartan In Charlotte, MI for corner weights and ride height adjustments.

Wheel weights can be increased/decreased by adjusting the ride height........somewhat.

[tmitchell]

I was at Lazy Days Rally Park, two days ago. They had a sign, on the way to the cafeteria, that stated: Will check the weight of each corner of your motorhome and fill tires to proper weight (something like that) for $99.
Seemed a bit pricey, to me. I weigh my corners at grain elevators, when I am in Kansas.
Tom

[RVDude]

Sometimes various rallys offer corner weighing (I think I've seen these in the $30-50 range)
Newmar can do it in Nappanee too.
The Spartan suggestion is primo because you can also have the factory set/adjust ride heights.

[michaelpatri]

I'm here at Spartan in Charlotte now. They did weigh my 4 corners, and lowered the pressure in my front tires from the Newmar recommended 120 psi to 95 psi based on the weights they came up with.

I am still in for service, so I don't know wlhat the weights were, but I did take my Kountry Star for a spin today, and WHAT A DIFFERENCE. a much better ride.

When I have access to the weights, I will re-post - probably tomorrow.

By the way there are some great people here.

Happy Travels

Mike

[michaelpatri]

I finally got near a computer while I had the slip given me by Spartan regarding the weight of my '07 Kountry Star DP.

The weights are as follows:

Front 5350 left, 5188 right - recommended psi is 100 - down from the 120 psi on the Newmar sticker in the coach. This did make a substantial difference in ride quality.

Rear 9450 on left, 9740 on right - recommended psi is 90 - about the same as on the coach sticker.

Question - should I attempt to balance the weights better from side to side by moving 'stuff', or is this rig balanced well enough?????

Thanks

Mike

[tmitchell]

I would say that your balance is fine the way it is.
Tom

[GaryKD]

Hi Mike,
Did Spartan check the ride height, then weight the coach? Making sure ride height is correct comes before moving things around.

[Capt. Bill]

Mike - from my experience with 2 Newmar Coaches on Spartan chassies, I would say you're fine on weight balance. I always add 1,000# to each axle(500#/wheel) to compensate for 6 extra people, coolers etc. being in the coach riding to tailgates, etc., this also gives you a slight safety factor of ~10% on your individual wheel weights.

Happy Trails my friend-

Capt. Bill

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelpatri I finally got near a computer while I had the slip given me by Spartan regarding the weight of my '07 Kountry Star DP. The weights are as follows: Front 5350 left, 5188 right - recommended psi is 100 - down from the 120 psi on the Newmar sticker in the coach. This did make a substantial difference in ride quality. Rear 9450 on left, 9740 on right - recommended psi is 90 - about the same as on the coach sticker. Question - should I attempt to balance the weights better from side to side by moving 'stuff', or is this rig balanced well enough????? Thanks Mike

[michaelpatri]

Yep, Spartan did check the ride height -- it was right on. I can't help but wonder where Newmar got the figure of 120psi for the front tires???????

It was a very rough ride until the tire pressure was adjusted down........

Thanks, Capt Bill, for the reply concerning balance -- while I have often been accused of being off-balance, I'm glad to know my coach isn't.........

Happy Travels

Mike

[FlyingDiver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelpatri Yep, Spartan did check the ride height -- it was right on. I can't help but wonder where Newmar got the figure of 120psi for the front tires???????

120psi is probably the correct figure if you're maxed out on all axles. They don't know how much you're going to load into the RV, so they have to assume it's max loaded.

joe

[Norm4015]

Quote:

Originally Posted by michaelpatri Front 5350 left, 5188 right - recommended psi is 100 - down from the 120 psi on the Newmar sticker in the coach. This did make a substantial difference in ride quality. Rear 9450 on left, 9740 on right - recommended psi is 90 - about the same as on the coach sticker. Question - should I attempt to balance the weights better from side to side by moving 'stuff', or is this rig balanced well enough????? Thanks Mike

Mike, your side to side weights are almost perfect. Spartan says the difference in weights between the ends of axles should be no more than 5%. In other words, a 12,000 axle can have a difference of 600 pounds between the two wheels and a 20,000 pound axle can have a difference of 1,000 pounds.

Enjoy your new ride.

[VACMAN]

Here comes the dumb question..Bear with me guys I am a fairly newbie..What is ride height

[Route 66]

Ride height is how high off the ground the air bags lift the rig.

There are air valves with linkage between the chassis and axles that control how much air goes in the airbag to keep your rig level and at the proper ride height.

As weight is increased in one area , the valves allow more air into the air bag to bring your coach back up to the proper ride height.

This linkage can be adjusted to raise or lower the ride height.

When ride height is changed, weight is shifted depending whether the height was raised or lowered.

Spartan and other shops can tweak the ride height to correct side to side imbalance within certain limits.

Too much tweaking and the rig can lean to one side.

It's a trial and error procedure along with weighing each wheel to see what the results of any given change are.