Community Forums

Cguardia · 01-21-2014, 02:18 PM

I have a 2011 Veiwfinder 22RBDS and the 2011 brochure for this trailer model states the following weight numbers.
GVWR 6,095 LB
Axle Weight 4,095 LB
Dry Weight 4,535 LB
Cargo Capacity 1,510 LB

I was looking through my manufacture documents and came across the weight info which stated the weight info above was listed on the Weights Tag, Tire Loading Tag and the Dry Weight on a sticker inside a cabinet door. Well this is what I found.
GVWR 6,095 LB
GAWR 4,465 LB (I assume GAWR is the same as Axle Weight in brochure)
Dry Weight ????? LB (No Sticker)
Cargo Capacity 1,135 LB

The dry weight sticker is nowhere to be found. I looked in every cabinet door, inside and out. I looked in and under every drawer.
I only have about 600 LB of cargo, but I don’t like the fact I’m that close to the GVWR.
Also, I’m concerned there is no Dry Weight Sticker as well as the axle weight is so far off.
I have emailed Cruiser RV to explain these differences. I have included the trailer VIN.

Any thoughts….

Cumminsfan · 01-21-2014, 02:29 PM

Brochure weights are never the shipping weight. Brochure weights are always low, along with tongue weights. The GVWR is the same. The payload/cargo rating will fluctuate between the GVWR and new shipping weight on the TT's sticker.
Viewfinder did nothing wrong in advertising a specific cargo rating.
It's up to the owner to read the shipping weight sticker as that will have the final weights on it.
Things are added and those things have weights which are added to the dry brochure weights. That number is then subtracted from the GVWR and that's the new cargo rating.

There should be a dry weight on the sticker as well as a CCC weight and also they almost always show your fresh water tank in gals and then weight when full.
It almost looks like they added the tongue weight into the GAWR.

RustyJC · 01-21-2014, 02:33 PM

Nope, GAWR is the maximum allowable weight the axles can carry. Axle weight in the brochure is the portion of the weight of the "dry" trailer that's carried by the axles. The "dry" tongue weight is dry weight (4,535 lbs) minus the axle weight (4,095 lbs), or 440 lbs. In your 2nd set of figures, the as shipped weight is the GVWR (6,095 lbs) minus the cargo capacity (1,135 lbs), or 4,960 lbs. I don't see how you'll be able to load the trailer with 1,135 lbs of cargo, however, since you have only 4,465 lbs of GAWR, and the brochure axle weight you quoted for an empty trailer was 4,095 lbs.

Are you sure the 4,465 lbs isnt GAW and not GAWR?

Rusty

Cguardia · 01-21-2014, 03:00 PM

I have not been able to find any sticker showing the shipped weight in any inside cabinet or outside storage area. I assume the CCC is the cargo capacity and the is displayed on the Tire and Loading tag.

It is GAWR of 4465 LB per axle

I am going yo try and attach a photo of the tags

RustyJC · 01-21-2014, 04:15 PM

OK, you can carry up to 8,930 lbs on the axles and tires, so you have some excess capacity there since the GVWR is only 6,045 lbs, and probably ~12% or so of that will be on the tongue, not the axles.

Rusty

jesilvas · 01-21-2014, 06:14 PM

Only way to know "dry" weight is to physically weight it.

Cguardia · 01-21-2014, 06:38 PM

RustY JC

That makes sense to me. So the key would be to hook up, load as if going camping, but instead head to the truck stop scales.
Weight the tongue first, then entire trailer. The difference between tongue weight and total weight would be weight on two axles.
Would also give me the % of weight on tongue. Am I correct with this thought?

RustyJC · 01-21-2014, 06:42 PM

Yes, if you can weigh it that way, that would work.

Rusty

myredracer · 01-22-2014, 12:28 PM

I've read that it is a requirement to place a yellow sticker on your TT with the UVW on it as it leaves the plant. However, our 2013 TT does not have a yellow sticker or any other sticker with the UVW as it left the plant. We have a white sticker inside one cabinet door with weight on it, but it's almost identical to the factory published dry weights.

In our case, we ordered a bunch of options that added weight. With one battery, 4 empty tanks, and all loaded up for camping with some very ordinary stuff (BBQ, 2 lightweight chairs, some clothes, sewer stuff, chocks, basic food supply, etc.) our actual weight is just 200 lbs away from the GVWR. The advertised CCC was 1563 lbs. Tongue weight ended up being nearly double the factory number. As a result, we have an 800 lb rated Reese trunnion bars we will be selling (had to go to 1200 lb). We can't even travel with a full tank of fresh water without being overloaded. My point is, forget about any dry weights published by the manufacturer or on stickers.

The best thing you can do is go to a scale and find out what your actual weights are. While you are at a scale, you could also get the TV's weight and as well, figure out weight being transferred by the WDH.

With a TT, you need 3 passes at the scale. TV only. TT + TV with WDH engaged. TT + TV with WDH unhooked and bars in back of TV.

Cguardia · 01-23-2014, 11:43 AM

Just a quick update, the manufacture has responded to my email which included an image of the federal weights tag and tire loading tag. They are telling me there is an error and that the information, including the VIN has been forwarded to the engineering department. An engineer would be forwarding me a corrected tags to replace the current ones. Mean while I still plan to take the trailer to be weight.

FastEagle · 01-23-2014, 12:55 PM

This is just a little input as to what’s going on in this thread about what boils down to vehicle certification.

Dry trailer weight is an engineering target weight. They are never going to actually weigh the empty trailer. All the materials used to build it tell them what it weighs when finished. In fact they are not even directed to physically weigh it.

The hitch weight, even though not on any documentation form, is still an official weight and must be presented somewhere in the documents received by the buyer - normally the owner‘s manual. The reason it is official is because it MUST be used in conjunction with total GAWR during the certification process. It’s value (specific or lowest in a range) combined with total GAWR must be equal to or greater than the trailer’s GVWR.

The vehicle’s federal certification label (shown in the picture) is what I call the signature of the vehicle. It contains the minimum standard for all items depicted on it. And, as explained by the OP, it is in error. Tires, at the very minimum MUST have a load capacity equal to or greater than the certified GAWR. Clearly that is not the case for this certification label.

All RV trailers manufactured since 2007 MUST display it’s cargo information. Normally found in one of the cabinets inside the trailer. Totals are also displayed on the tire placard.

FastEagle