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travelgirl · 11-18-2010, 09:26 AM

Good morning to all,

Travelgirl here again. This morning over breakfast my husband was reading the specs on our coach. It shows on the specs that our coach weighs 31,480 Lbsit shows that we can put 8800 lbs on the chassic and the towing cap is 10,000 lbs at the hitch thats a total of 49,080 I may not know a lot about coachs but that seems a lot of weight. What happens if we exceed that limit of weight and we put more weight on board then what it says. I know we dont have to pull into a weight station but I know the by common sense that the coach can do more then that amount of weight. I'm talking about Dot or the police. what can happen because i know once we start to pull the 30ft trailer behind it and finsh loading it it could poss be more what is the general rule when it comes time to that kind of weight or deal. I was told no matter who you distribute the weight ur okay. another word if your at 41,000 pounds on the coach even tho u have a 10,000 lbs hitch u can only put on the hitch to add up to 49,080 can someone help me my husband and i to understand the concept of this. much thanks

RickO · 11-18-2010, 10:13 AM

Hi Travelgirl...

That is one heavy coach you've got there. That weight of 31480 sure sounds heavy for a "dry weight".

As for a "general rule" regarding exceeding your weight ratings it is don't! Some might tell you that if it's balanced you will "probably be fine" but I would not trust the safety of my family and others to a "probably".

With >4 tons of CCC (cargo carrying capacity) and 5 tons of towing you've got a lot of head room to begin with so hopefully it won't present a problem.

Good Luck...

Rick

travelgirl · 11-18-2010, 11:02 AM

Hi Ricko,

thank you for your responce your right when I look at the coach and look at the specs chart it says 31,480 lbs thats loaded with fuel and oil. is thaT still considered dry weight. my husband has plans to take it over and weight it to be sure. But your right in what you wrote I agree with you some have told us it doesnt matter who u balance it out as long as you do not exceed that weight weather u put 12,500 lbs on the hitch and 6300 on the chassic as long as you do not exceed 49,080. But my husband knowing him he likes to exceed weight control he does it all the time with the pick up. Our pick up truck has a hitch rating of 12,500 lbs and he always goes over we have a boat that weighs 14,700 pounds and he tows it with the truck and loaded all up inside and we go to the ocean with it all the time. Something just seems funny. I thought they put a weight rating on there for a reason of "Safety" Safety is the most inportant thing to me and my family but sometimes my husband can and loves to push the issue. well will keep u posted as to what the real weight is when he outs it on the scale later on his way home from work with it. thanks for the reply

deandec · 11-18-2010, 12:20 PM

Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) is the maximum amount your rig can weigh and meet the Final Manufacturer's rating.

Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) is the maximum amount your rig and its tow can weigh according to the Final Manufacturer.

Gross Axle Weight Rating is the number of pounds the subject axle can carry.

Maximum Tire Capacity is the maximum pounds your Tire can carry and operate safely as certified by the tire manufactuer. It is a component of determining what your axle can carry.

In motor vehicles, the gross trailer weight rating (GTWR) is the total mass of a road trailer that is loaded to capacity, including the weight of the trailer itself, plus fluids, and cargo, that a vehicle is rated to tow by the manufacturer.

It does not appear that the above absolute GTWR description allows the movement of weight capacity unused in the GVRW to be assigned to the Towed Trailer even though the GCWR is not violated.

Operating a rig exceeding the above limits is a traffic violation, may be unsafe, and could factor against the operator in a civil litigation lawsuit. (Been there, done all of that.)

Commerical rigs that get cited for violations of the above may have to unload the rig to the allowable maximums at the spot of violation. (Been there, done that.)

As you noted, RV's are not often subject to enroute weight tests by LEO's.

Your safety, other drivers' safety, and lawsuit defense are the most likely victims of exceeding the manufacturer's certification.

travelgirl · 11-18-2010, 03:30 PM

Howd to all,

My husband just got home with the coach about thirty monutes ago and we went over and talked about the specs to what the CAT scale said when he pulled in for a personal test. I think the specs are wrong due to the fact the specs say Dry weight is 31,480 Lbs but when I cross reference the CAT sacle sheet the coach right now with what we have on board and a full load of fuel weighs 31,984 Lbs and I know we have more then 2,000 lbs od acc on board we hve not even got to the outside acc. so I think the specs are wrong something is not adding up here.lol. so i'm guessing if the specs are wrong then my GCWR fully loaded including the tow is wrong. But people hve said as long as you dont exceed ur GCWR it does not matter how u balance out as long as u donr exceed the weight. I'm nott aking that chance with my safety and my family safety. i just want to to do whats the right weight is. Iknw out hitch is rated for 10,000 Lbs I need to contact Foretravel and ask them or call them to find out more info. Just wnt to keep every one safe including our family. I know well enough from my husband that even if we exceed out weight the coach can handle the stop just dont wnt ot hurt or hve people hurt. I know we are not subject to pulling in to scales set by tractor trailer standards and laws but have been told tht we can still be stoped and asked to pull in for a test. just like I have off road Diesel fuel on my property for my tractors and toys but we can still be stoped and check for the die in the fuel. dont want me or my husband to break any safety or the safety laws set by the federal and state mandates. well best to all happy holidays

CD · 11-19-2010, 09:03 AM

Travelgirl
Technically you can’t transfer weight from item to another. If the hitch is rated at 10K and you put 14K on it , you risk breaking the hitch and/or the TV frame from fatique . If you overload an axle, the other one can’t compensate for it. Each component needs to be within their ratings. Like was stated before, if something that is over loaded fails and you are in an accident and someone involved demands that your rig be weighed, you could litterly “LOOSE THE FARM”. Can you do it? Sure, but how much risk do you want to put your family & others in?

travelgirl · 11-19-2010, 02:57 PM

Thank you all so much for replying and responding to our add that my husband and I posted in responce let me ask one more question if the hotch is rated for 10K and the chassic os rated as stated what needs to stay within the permits you said you can not transfer weight and I understand that what i want to ask is we were told that we could take the coach to a welding shop and have a tech and machanic beef the hitch up by adding more welds on it and more bolts in place to handle more weight the trailer that my husband bought is rated for a total 15,000 lbs trailer can we beef the hitch up from 10K to 15K with the welder or mechanic or is that still taking a risk I know our coach can handle the stopping power and the extra weight but again are we still taking a risk by beefing the hitch up. Thans to all

goldwingerx2 · 11-19-2010, 06:17 PM

We have done just that beef up the hitch but went one step further we have a Trailer Toad. They are used by many racing people to tow several race cars in stacker. Our is rated 3500#s tongue weight and 19000#s trailer and cargo. It does have its own brakes and allows the MH to ride like it does when it is not towing anything. Just do a Google on Trailer Toad and you should find some info. We are very happy this setup. I have no interests in the company or sales.

denochs · 11-19-2010, 06:38 PM

One additional thing you need to check. Since you have a 40' RV with a 450 hp engine you need to look at the scale ticket closely to see what the front axle weight is and what the rear axle weight is. Now check your tire ratings. Are the G or H rated tires?

One of the greatest dangers that can be overlooked is the weight the tires can handle. Especially if you will beef up your hitch to handle more weight. Unless you have a tag axle you may overload the rear axle and tires. A blow out can cause significant damage to your MH.

If you know what brand, size, & load range your tires are, someone will provide a link to help you know how much weight you can put on them.

Dave

travelgirl · 11-20-2010, 08:19 AM

Dave,

Thank you for your responce. is it possiable to have the hitch beefed up is there such a thing. on the scale ticket it self that we it just shows the whole entire weight of the coach that my hubby weighed on. does not break it down at all into front and read axle weight. but looking at the spec that are in the book it shows as followed GCWR:49,080 then towing cap: 10,000 Lbs then ot shows front axle rating: 18,720 and on the rear axle it breaks it down into two parts it says without towing rear axle rated: 20,360 then it says rear axle with tow: 20,360+10,000 lbs with towing total cap:30,360 lbs. not sure if i'm reading this right. now what is the difffernce between G and H rating if my husband beef's the hitch up do we have to put stronger or new tires on there that can handle more weight. how do I check to see what the rating code is on the tires. thanks for all your help what a nice family this irv2 site is.

Happy holidays to all

CD · 11-20-2010, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelgirl

Dave,

Thank you for your responce. is it possiable to have the hitch beefed up is there such a thing. on the scale ticket it self that we it just shows the whole entire weight of the coach that my hubby weighed on. does not break it down at all into front and read axle weight. but looking at the spec that are in the book it shows as followed GCWR:49,080 then towing cap: 10,000 Lbs then ot shows front axle rating: 18,720 and on the rear axle it breaks it down into two parts it says without towing rear axle rated: 20,360 then it says rear axle with tow: 20,360+10,000 lbs with towing total cap:30,360 lbs. not sure if i'm reading this right. now what is the difffernce between G and H rating if my husband beef's the hitch up do we have to put stronger or new tires on there that can handle more weight. how do I check to see what the rating code is on the tires. thanks for all your help what a nice family this irv2 site is.

Happy holidays to all

It's possible that you can increase the capacity if the tires but will the wheels and axle be able to carry the weight? When it's all said & done, legally your ratings will still be the same.

deandec · 11-20-2010, 11:02 AM

You can beef up the tires and rear axle capacity by changing tires, wheels, and axles.

However, then you become the Final Manufacturer with all the attendant liabilities and responsibilities.

However, just changing the tire capacity and or axle capacity may not change the towing capacity. You may be able to calculate the necessary technical formulae for the subject tow vehicle, but most folks cannot.

It sounds like your rig is certified by the Final Manufacturer to tow 10,000 lbs and carry 23,000 lbs on the rear axle. (Most states and federal highways limit axle weight to 20,000 lbs regardless of the axle capacity.)

If you just ignore the regulations and do what you want to do, there will likely be no consequences 99% of the time. Then all you need to do is decide if you can afford the 1% if it happens.

RickO · 11-20-2010, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelgirl

Dave,

on the scale ticket it self that we it just shows the whole entire weight of the coach that my hubby weighed on. does not break it down at all into front and read axle weight.
Happy holidays to all

You're really going to need to get at least accurate weights for each axel. "Cat" scales are readily available on interstates and would be well worth the $9 they charge.

Rick

travelgirl · 11-20-2010, 11:58 AM

Hello to all,

Thanks to all who repiled to this add. I agree with all that you are saying. Now the question I have for you all is this if I beef up my hitch from 10,000 to 15 K I upgrade the tires yes I understand that my GCWR will not change. then the question my husband and I have now is this is we beef the hitch up and we upgrade the tires and my GCWR still 49,080 no matter what how much more will our coach be able to handle if my husband beed up the hitch and tires do we have to take it to the a place that will dyno it and tell us how much extra we can put on once we invest to upgerading I know for a fact that the research I have done on the fortravel on the chassic and engine from what I have read u could GCWR up to 55,000 to 58,000 lbs and it would not hurt the coach. Can some one please answer that i'm rated now fully loaded now 49,080 so if I take and we beef it up so i'm a extra 10,000 after beefing it all up and thats aboput what I will be adding is about an extra 10,000lbs but how will I know sure that after beefing the hitch and tires up what the coach then can handle. who do I have to tke it so we can get the new rating amount. Happt Holidays to all thanks for all your help