1979 ford midas

[John_uk]

Lorna many thanks, will go home and check for sticker straight away

the bumper on mine will take the hitch/rack, and the chassis main rails seem to join directly with the bumper, it all looked solid last time i was there.. I may take a pic of the underside anyway, just to see if it's similar to yours.
It has quite a long overhang, and adding the bike and the rack will just make things heavier.. I will check the tyre loading index as well...
one thing for sure, if I stand on the bumper the van doesnt even budge.. and I am quite heavy

[John_uk]

no joy re: Weight

I have looked at all the areas I would have expected a sticker etc..

VIN is 2GDJG31M9E452700G - I know the 'J' designation in my chilton manual means a GVW of 10000-11000 lbs , but why specify a range?

Of more interest is the seperate Axle loadings.. so if anyone can help please do

John

[Wallaby Dan]

john_uk, Is yours a ford or Chevy chassis??

[Lorna]

John_uk
Is your Midas a Mini (Class C on a Van chassis with a sleeping berth over the van cab?). Tomorrow (when it is daylight) I will look at the label on mine. We have the same size Midas. There's a good chance that the weight loads and other spec's are similar. I will post as much info on mine as possible. You may find it helps you or gives you a ballpark figure.

[John_uk]

Dan thanks its a G30 Chevy GMC...

Lorna that would be relly useful

23foot C class bed over cab ..

Click below for pic (it now looks a bit more tired than it did then)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2fj8MH_LeQ0/SNeWXS7fpsI/AAAAA.../s1600-h/CHEVY+1.jpg

[John_uk]

some more stuff..

Front tyres max load is
2350
2405 lbs

rear tyres
2090 x 4

van was weighed a few months ago

9570 Lbs - 2 people, tanks half full, cupboards full etc

[RedneckExpress]

Huh, you weight about 500lbs more than me and I full-time in a pickup camper .

[John_uk]

I may have got my maths wrong, not use to Imperial

4350kgs , 2 people etc

[Wallaby Dan]

That tag should be there on the door. It sounds like a 4500 front axle and 8000 rear to me! The tires are not the weak link..Don't think. Since yours is a lot like Lorna's, i would go with her figures.

[Lorna]

The Tag from Frolic MFG (folks who made Midas Mini part) -
GVWR: 10,000lb
GAWR Front: 3900lb with 8.00 X 16.5 6 ply tires
GAWR Rear: 7000lb with 8.00 X 16.5 6 ply tires

The GMC tag -
GVWR: 10,500lb
GAWR Front: 3900 lb Rear: 7200 lb

Tires are the same as above.

I can't locate my owners manual from GMC for my Chassis (GMC Vandura 3500). I will keep looking for it. I may have packed it up with some boxes of books. It has more info on the engine and running gear.

[Wallaby Dan]

Not to far off! Over a tad. That should get him what he needs.

[John_uk]

thanks all

this image is from my Chilton...

here

Fourth letter in, mine is a J...

If I was to assume a GVWR of 10,000 then I have about 440Lbs spare.. but that's with only two on board.. put two adults more on and I am right on the limit.. add a motorbike on the back and I am 440lbs over the limit.. (it's unlikely that I would carry four and a bike but possible)

If i had 10500 or 11000 as a max, then I have a fair bit of payload left..

Obviously, seperate axle loadings are more important, especially with long overhangs and bikes...

I think I will get bike on, and get to weighbridge and see what's what..

Lorna why do you think there is a difference between your two GVWR's ?
John

[Lorna]

I have no idea about the differances in the weights. I do now that this rig has been overloaded and we are probably running close to the max. Our RV section is pretty heavy and we have added weight to it with the work we've done to it. We also added some Ride-Rite air bags to the rear axle. The leaf springs were bottomed out. It was so bad that I thought that I would break the axle everytime I hit a seam in the concrete roads driving thru Atlanta. David installed the airbags and it rides great. I can keep it on the road better as well. We've been running 55 lbs air per bag.

[John_uk]

thanks Lorna

I think I will get it running better (see other post) and get it weighed..

Yep , thinking about better springs too..