gvwr ratings?

[hippy]

does anyone know why my trailer has a total gvw of 9800#, but my axle ratings are only 4400#'s each. im not great at math, but that totals 8800#'s. am i missing something? how can you put 9800#'s on those axles?? the axles are made by Lippert Components.

[seasonedsole]

Tongue weight????? 12-15% of gross?? Always wandered myself.

[CD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hippy does anyone know why my trailer has a total gvw of 9800#, but my axle ratings are only 4400#'s each. im not great at math, but that totals 8800#'s. am i missing something? how can you put 9800#'s on those axles?? the axles are made by Lippert Components.

The manufacures are playing number games. If you figure 10% for tounge weight it will figure out. You will have to carefully load TT to get full load and have it distributed right. Our TT has about the same situation but our actual travel weight is about 1400 lbs under the GVWR so I don't worry about how I load it. A lot of TTs don't have that much carrying Cap. I remember seeing the spects for one that only had 650lbs carrying cap.

[hippy]

weird, mine has 2800 cargo capacity, 7000 dry weight. 950 tongue weight. mayb it is a numbers game, but would feel better if it was the other way around.

[hippy]

so are you guys sayin that because my tounge weight is near 1000lbs, that this would account for the 1000lb difference, if so then i get it now... thanks for setting it straight.

[CD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hippy weird, mine has 2800 cargo capacity, 7000 dry weight. 950 tongue weight. mayb it is a numbers game, but would feel better if it was the other way around.

Don't believe the dry weight. Our TT has a dry weight of 6300lbs and CVWR 10400lbs. I can't believe that I have almost 3K of stuff in it.

[hippy]

ya, dry weight seems a little sketchy too, ours had lots of options that could affect that, 30# tanks, outside kitchen, etc. would b nice to have it weighed somewhere.

[kb0zke]

That has been one of my concerns, too. Yes, I understand that some of the trailer's weight is on the hitch, but I worry about the dynamic loads from some of our less-smooth roads. There is one road I drive regularly that will catch strangers with a series of small hills and valleys. If I'm at the right speed I'll find myself getting light at the tops of the hills and heavy at the dips. It seems to me that a trailer axle system that is at or near the load limit might be overloaded at that point. Sooner or later, something is going to break.

One two-axle trailer I looked at has a gross weight of 10,000 pounds. The axles are 4500 pounds each. How much more would a pair of 5000 pound axles cost over the 4500 pound ones? The dealer said they weren't available! I'm guessing that if I was buying one from the factory they'd be available, and probably for not much more money, either.

[CD]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kb0zke That has been one of my concerns, too. Yes, I understand that some of the trailer's weight is on the hitch, but I worry about the dynamic loads from some of our less-smooth roads. There is one road I drive regularly that will catch strangers with a series of small hills and valleys. If I'm at the right speed I'll find myself getting light at the tops of the hills and heavy at the dips. It seems to me that a trailer axle system that is at or near the load limit might be overloaded at that point. Sooner or later, something is going to break. One two-axle trailer I looked at has a gross weight of 10,000 pounds. The axles are 4500 pounds each. How much more would a pair of 5000 pound axles cost over the 4500 pound ones? The dealer said they weren't available! I'm guessing that if I was buying one from the factory they'd be available, and probably for not much more money, either.

Don't believe him. I have 6500lb RV axles under a flatbed trailer.

[wingnut60]

Just about every weight of axle if available if you know where to look, but just changing out the axles to higher weight rating won't do it by itself--there will be changes needed in the springs/hubs/drums/wheels and tires. Every little upgrade adds a few dollars, and the mfgs do only what it takes to get the weight rating correct.
What the dealer meant was the upsized axle wasn't available from the mfg, or just did not want to mess with it.
Joe

[seasonedsole]

There is an aluminum band around the axle that tells its capacity. More often than not, the sticker is reflecting the tire rating. Example-load range "C" each tire rated 2200lbs each. If the band around the axle states 5200lb, the only way to achieve this would be with load range "E" rated at 2600lbs each. The manufacture may not recommend that much weight because of frame structure.

[FastEagle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hippy does anyone know why my trailer has a total gvw of 9800#, but my axle ratings are only 4400#'s each. im not great at math, but that totals 8800#'s. am i missing something? how can you put 9800#'s on those axles?? the axles are made by Lippert Components.

Trailer manufacturers are only required to meet the minimum standards. In the reference you can find those standards for your trailer.

Tire selection and rims and motor home/recreation vehicle trailer load carrying capacity information for motor vehicles with a GVWR of 4,536 kilograms (10,000 pounds) or less - Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

FastEagle

[jmtandem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hippy does anyone know why my trailer has a total gvw of 9800#, but my axle ratings are only 4400#'s each. im not great at math, but that totals 8800#'s. am i missing something? how can you put 9800#'s on those axles?? the axles are made by Lippert Components.

It costs less for the manufacturer to make the trailer. I think it is ridiculous especially considering that the axles rarely carry the same weights so it can be easy to have one slightly under its rated capacity and one slighlty over. For a few dollars more at the manufacturer the axles could be more stout, hubs and tires able to handle more load and then maybe we would not experience all the tire issues that seem to be prevalent on RV forums. Weigh each axle separately loaded for a trip and learn what each is carrying. I did, it was an eye opener.

[hippy]

Fast Eagle, thanks, interesting document. "9.2 On RV trailers, the sum of the GAWRs of all axles on the vehicle plus the vehicle manufacturer's recommended tongue weight must not be less than the GVWR. If tongue weight is specified as a range, the minimum value must be used."