Community Forums

Chris Hayes3 · 02-21-2019, 12:34 PM

I bought anew 2019 Entegra Vision 26X. As i was going to install a Tire Pressure Monitoring system, i took the recommendation from TST to get the motorhome weighed. It is preferred to get weights at each wheel, and each Axil. So i went to my local public scale and weighed each corner of the motorhome. The results i got are as shown below.
Driver Front 3,560 Lbs
Passenger Front 3,540 Lbs
Driver Rear 4,860 Lbs
Passenger Rear 5,080 Lbs.
All adding up to 17,040Lbs.
Now as my coach has a GVWR of 16,000, i was amazed. As this is still very new to us, i only had 3/4 tank of fuel, 1/2 tank of water and very little in the storage bins. 4 of them were empty. No food or drinks no clothes. I did add Roadmaster suspension upgrades. Addition Rear Sway Bar, steering stabilizer, and replace the front sway bar with an uprated on. I also added a second house battery, as one seemed like a future problem.

I could not see how i could remove over 1000Lbs to be within limits. So today i went back to the scales to weigh the entire coach. Surprise to see it weighed 15,020Lbs. So i weighed the front and rear axils, getting
Front 6,100 Lbs
Rear 9,000 Lbs.

Lesson learned don't try and get individual wheel weight measurements, on a scale that is not specifically engineered to do it. A traditional truck scale just does not work, at least it did not for me.

Chris

Gordon Dewald · 02-21-2019, 01:57 PM

Using a truck scale can be done successfully. To the extent possible the weight should be a close to the center of the platform as possible, although a properly configured scale should be accurate across the deck.

2000 lbs heavy is confusing. Generally the surrounding area is sloped away from the scale for drainage so reading light would be somewhat expected.

Looking at the numbers I would guess that the approaches to the scale were not level and the torque introduced by the rear wheels not being level added to the weight on the front. The reverse would also be my guess for the weighing of the rear axle.

Chris Hayes3 · 02-22-2019, 09:57 AM

The area adjacent to the Scale did indeed slope gently away from the scale. We did also try and get the wheel being weighed as close as possible to the center, but obviously that did not work. Before i went to the scale i used, i did call another scale and he advised against it as the readings will not be accurate. Although i did not expect a very accurate reading i was not expecting this far off of a reading. I guess the only way to do it accurately is to use the 4 scale method, where each wheel gets its own scale.
That said, what i ended up with is close enough to set my tire pressures. Coincidently the results i got and using the Goodyear RV tire pressure chart are within 2 PSI of what the factory sticker says they should be.

Chris

FIRE UP · 02-26-2019, 10:44 PM

As usual, folks over worry about stuff like this. I've never, ever weighed the corners of any of our coaches. I weigh the front AXLE (not axil) and rear axle and, totally. The tires have been adjusted to the weights and I've never, ever had any issues with them, other than the infamous Michelin sidewall cracking. I too have been running at or a bit over the total GVWR of our coach. The earth is still rotating, the sun and moon are still there and I still have my first born.

Just be cognisant of your coaches weight and, apply the tire pressure appropriately and you'll be fine.
Scott

96 Wideglide · 02-26-2019, 10:55 PM

If you just wanted the weight for tire pressure settings, I'd just go by the higher weights.

R.Wold · 02-27-2019, 10:52 PM

What you got was how much weight each wheel was carrying in the current position of the coach - not 1/4 of the total load. So you cant add them up for the total weight, but you can (and should as you did) use those numbers to determine proper tire pressure. So all is well - you got good data.

Chris Hayes3 · 03-06-2019, 12:17 PM

I started this thread to show what i received when i tried to weigh my MH per the instructions in the Goodyear RV Tire guide. It states as follows.

It is important to weigh your RV at a location that can provide axle-end specific weights. You should not expect to measure equal loads at both ends of the same axle, because floor plans and component locations vary significantly, however, you should distribute the load to obtain the best balance possible.
Use the following guidelines to ensure proper tire inflation pressure for motorhomes and RV trailer tow vehicles:
Determine the heaviest end of each axle and use that load to select the inflation pressure for all tires on that axle.

If the tire manufacturer believes its a sound practice and required to set the correct tire pressures, then i will follow their guidance and not the "Oh don't worry i don't do it and i have never had a problem" advice from some contributors to the site.

Chris

Mudfrog · 03-06-2019, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Hayes3

I started this thread to show what i received when i tried to weigh my MH per the instructions in the Goodyear RV Tire guide. It states as follows.

It is important to weigh your RV at a location that can provide axle-end specific weights. You should not expect to measure equal loads at both ends of the same axle, because floor plans and component locations vary significantly, however, you should distribute the load to obtain the best balance possible.
Use the following guidelines to ensure proper tire inflation pressure for motorhomes and RV trailer tow vehicles:
Determine the heaviest end of each axle and use that load to select the inflation pressure for all tires on that axle.

If the tire manufacturer believes its a sound practice and required to set the correct tire pressures, then i will follow their guidance and not the "Oh don't worry i don't do it and i have never had a problem" advice from some contributors to the site.

Chris

What the 4 corner weigh does is give you the heaviest end of the front axle and the heaviest end of the rear axle. This is the information needed to set tire pressure for each axle.

In your case, I'd set pressures to at least handle the heavier 3560 lbs for the front and the 5080 lbs for the rear. On the rear, don't forget to divide by two and use the lower dual capacity number. Adding 5% or 10% more to that wouldn't hurt either.

Chris Hayes3 · 03-06-2019, 10:37 PM

Agreed that's what i did.
Thats why weighing the four corners is what you need to ascertain the correct air pressure. Weighing just the Axel could give you the incorrect pressure. Both Goodyear and Michelin site tire pressure as one of the most important elements of tire safety.

Chris

1982 · 03-07-2019, 05:16 PM

I would suggest loading it for travel and visiting the scales again. Did you have your passenger with you (+150 lbs)? Was your water still 1/2 (if so add another 200lbs for full). Was your propane only 1/2 full (add 30 lbs for full)? Was your gas tank still 3/4 (add 120 lbs for full)? Those 4 storage bins still empty (grill, chairs, tools, etc.) add 100- 200lbs. Did you have all your kitchen stuff? You said your fridge was empty (add 50lbs) And it's surprising how much all your clothes and personal stuff weigh. All in all, we ended up adding close to 1,000 lbs with all our "stuff".

halfmoa · 03-07-2019, 05:39 PM

Chris: You are approaching this issue the correct way. Just because someone claims to be ignoring what tire manufacturers, coach builders, RVSEF etc., say and they haven't had any problem, doesn't mean you should take the same chances with your family's safety as they did. Best case, have the coach weighed at the 4 corners. If that's not possible, you can use a truck scale, axle at a time, add 8%, divide by 2 and that should give you a pretty safe weight to air to. I've weighed over 4,000 coaches, and very few are more than 8% out of balance side-to-side. However, this is only the process to use until you can get it weighed wheel-by-wheel, and try to find someone who can weigh all positions at the same time, i.e., 4 scales. Weighing front axle, then rear axle will introduce some error that's avoidable by using 4 scales.

Good luck in your travels, continuing researching RVing questions yourself, sometimes free advise is worth exactly what you paid for it.

marjoa · 03-07-2019, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Hayes3

Determine the heaviest end of each axle and use that load to select the inflation pressure for all tires on that axle.[/I]

If the tire manufacturer believes its a sound practice and required to set the correct tire pressures, then i will follow their guidance
Chris

Good for you Chris. Four wheel weigh is the correct way to do it for many reasons.

Once you've determined the correct PSI, it's always a good idea to add +5%-10% more for insurance and possible weight creep. Oh, and always set your proper PSI when tires are COLD.

BTW...if you are ever in Livingston, TX go to Escapees. They have a weigh station there where you roll onto 4 separate scales. Their scales are calibrated and very accurate. I think the cost is $50 but it's the most accurate weigh you'll ever get. CAT scales along the highway IMO are just not that reliable for the smaller weights we RVer's have with our rigs.

It's called Smart Weigh. You may want to check to see if any of their other locations around the country have Smart Weigh Services.
https://www.escapees.com/education/smartweigh/

Also here's a link to everything you could possibly want to know about RV tires.
http://www.rvtiresafety.net

Chris Hayes3 · 03-08-2019, 11:17 AM

Thanks All
I had the MH set as we would be when traveling except for food and clothes. All the heavy stuff, including expected water and fuel, also two people before i weighed it. Both times were with the same loads. I did them one right after the other. I plan on getting a proper 4 wheel weight done when i can find a place to do it.
My original intent in posting this was for awareness, that a traditional truck scale, while ok for axel and total weight, is not good enough for individual measurement, and by quite a high margin. I was not expecting super accurate measurements, but this would be better than not weighing it at all. I was not expecting the dramatically different results that i got. Hence the posting for awareness.

Chris