GVWR concerns

[Justin_Queue]

Full disclosure, complete newbie here regarding RVs in general

Question for all you motorhome owners (may specifically just Entegra Vision owners?) Weight concerns. The GVWR is 18,000lbs, and stock weight with a full propane tank and full tank of gas is 16,708 (according to yellow sticker). Is 1200lbs enough weight to manage if you're hauling 4 to possibly 7 people in (along with all the other goodies you bring on a trip)?

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Justin_Queue

Full disclosure, complete newbie here regarding RVs in general

Question for all you motorhome owners (may specifically just Entegra Vision owners?) Weight concerns. The GVWR is 18,000lbs, and stock weight with a full propane tank and full tank of gas is 16,708 (according to yellow sticker). Is 1200lbs enough weight to manage if you're hauling 4 to possibly 7 people in (along with all the other goodies you bring on a trip)?

OCCC on the sticker is 1,200 lbs? If not, what is it?

That's pretty minimal. Hopefully you do not own it yet. The NHTSA uses 150 lbs per person. Are there seatbelts for 7 people in that thing?

I've never owned a Class C but apparently many are short on payload capacity. Our Class A gasser has an OCCC of almost 2,900 lbs. I don't know where all of the weight goes, other than the water tank, but it adds up fast.

Ray

[TXiceman]

1200# is not much stuff for clothes, food and other camping supplies for just 2 people, four, I don't think so.

Maybe they plan on you taking along one change of underwear, a toothbrush and a fifth of bourbon.

Ken

[Justin_Queue]

Originally Posted by NXR

OCCC on the sticker is 1,200 lbs? If not, what is it?

That's pretty minimal. Hopefully you do not own it yet. The NHTSA uses 150 lbs per person. Are there seatbelts for 7 people in that thing?

I've never owned a Class C but apparently many are short on payload capacity. Our Class A gasser has an OCCC of almost 2,900 lbs. I don't know where all of the weight goes, other than the water tank, but it adds up fast.

Ray

It's a class A. There are 8 seatbelts. I'm totally confused the allowance is just under 1,300lbs.

[Realmccoy270]

Looked at the coach online. It’s packed with amazing features but three things give me pause: a vacuum bonded floor sacrifices strength and durability for weight; big slides require very stout mechanisms for long term use, and the carrying capacity is low for four or more people if you expect to carry any water in the tank and much gear. It’s not uncommon for coaches to be full of features but shy of carrying capacity. See if you can look at a cross section of that floor in a brochure. A vacuum bonded floor is very difficult to repair once it un-bonds in high traffic areas. It will also depend upon how much you will use it. Compare that floor to a Tiffin or Newmar of similar size.

[NXR]

Originally Posted by Justin_Queue

It's a class A. There are 8 seatbelts. I'm totally confused the allowance is just under 1,300lbs.

Sorry, my mistake. 8 * 150 = 1,200 lbs. This makes no sense. Which exact Vision model is it?

I've read that Entegra apparently never made a gas model until after Jayco or maybe Thor bought them. I've read many people speculating that the new owner just rebranded one of their gas motorhomes as an Entegra and charged more. That sure would explain this. (Thor owns Jayco.)

It reminds me of the REV group installing 8,000 lb hitches on some of their coaches that have the 22,000 or 26,000 lb GVWR F-53 chassis, both of which can only tow 4,000 lbs unrestricted. And claiming they have a tow rating of 8,000 lbs. That other 4,000 lbs would have to come out of the OCCC but their OCCC was about 3,500 lbs. Even if the totally empty motorhome was being dragged by a tow truck it could not tow 8,000 lbs.

Good for you for catching it. Our Class A is 38' long on the 22,000 GVWR chassis and has more than double the OCCC of that one and we had some heavy factory options installed: combo/washer dryer, dual pane windows, and a sliding tray underneath.

Ray

[theroc]

Welcome to the forum.

I just noticed a thread in the (iRV2) Entegra Owner's Forum about the same topic ...you might find it interesting to read through:

Entegra Vision 27A Question

Also in the thread, somebody posts a spreadsheet with a multitude of specifications on various Entegra models direct from Entegra themselves. They even give the minimum CCC figures. For the Vision, it ranges from 1,527 to 2,362 lbs. depending on the floorplan:

GO HERE or you can download it from the link in the referenced thread

[jaydee325]

Originally Posted by Justin_Queue

Full disclosure, complete newbie here regarding RVs in general

Question for all you motorhome owners (may specifically just Entegra Vision owners?) Weight concerns. The GVWR is 18,000lbs, and stock weight with a full propane tank and full tank of gas is 16,708 (according to yellow sticker). Is 1200lbs enough weight to manage if you're hauling 4 to possibly 7 people in (along with all the other goodies you bring on a trip)?

Short answer is no, 1200lbs of NCCC (Net Cargo Carrying Capacity) is not enough.

Here is a link to the Jayco website that explains the terms related to weight capacities.

A GVWR of 18000lbs means that is the maximum your rig can weigh with all fluids, fuels, occupants, and cargo (groceries, clothes etc). I've found stock weights provided by manufacturers should be taken with a grain of salt since various option combinations can vary. To know for sure, the vehicle would need to be weighed to know its actual weight.

Another important specification is the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating). This is related to GVWR and usually the GAWR of each axle should total up to GVWR. As pointed out in the attached link, you can load a MH and be below GVWR but one of the axles be overloaded. This can usually be remedied by moving loads around.

I'm surprised this website does not have a sticky or article discussing this important safety issue (at least I could not find one!)

[bigb56]

Our CCC on our small class A is very low as well, about 1,000 lbs. It is manageable because we are only 2 people, pack light and carry only 10 gal of water on the road. We have 4 seatbelts but we could never carry 4 people and gear. It's made for vacations, could never full time in it. Seems it is very common for the builders to supply enough seat belts to load you to GVWR with no gear whatsoever. In some cases, like the B class vans, you can even exceed GVWR with just people unless they are all very small children. I think the rig in question would be doable for camping with 2 people but only as a limo around town for a full load of people.
The easiest and most accurate way to figure your remaining CCC is to hit the scales with a full tank of fuel and your passengers/driver. Subtract that from the GVWR and that's what you have left to bring along.

[bigb56]

Originally Posted by jaydee325

Another important specification is the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating). This is related to GVWR and usually the GAWR of each axle should total up to GVWR.

I don't think this is correct, I have never seen the total of the axles' ratings equal the GVWR, usually the combined axle ratings are a good bit more than the GVWR. This is the case with both my trucks and my motorhome, maybe others are different?

[jaydee325]

Originally Posted by bigb56

I don't think this is correct, I have never seen the total of the axles' ratings equal the GVWR, usually the combined axle ratings are a good bit more than the GVWR. This is the case with both my trucks and my motorhome, maybe others are different?

That is why I said usually!

[jacwjames]

IMHO this is not enough payload.



Unfortunately there have been multiple reports of similar specifications on new RV's, and in a lot of cases the new owners did not investigate prior to purchase. One recent post asked the question if the water heater tank could be drained during travel to increase the ability to carry stuff by ~50lbs. YIKES.



I hope you are just in the process of looking.

[TXiceman]

Larger class C motorhomes are usually pretty low for cargo capacity. We had a Minnie Winnie, 31 ft. with no slides. With just the two of us and a small dog, empty waste tanks, 15 gallons fresh water, full fuel, and supplies for a two-week trip, we were exactly 100# under the chassis GVWR and under on both axle GAWRs.

With the addition of slides, the weight issue has become more of an issue. We had seen several Jayco Class Cs that were over the front axle GAWR with two passengers up front. And some others were over the rear axle GAWR when they filled the freshwater tank.

I do not understand why these manufacturers continue to build these poorly designed RVs and unloading them on the poor uneducated consumer.

Ken

[mistercee]

Originally Posted by jaydee325

That is why I said usually!

I don't even know that 'usually' is appropriate.

I'm not a motorhome guy, but for trucks and trailers the combined front and rear GAWRs usually never equal GVWR. If that were the case you would need to have the load distributed exactly right in order to avoid overloading one axle or the other, making it very difficult to load up to the GVWR.

Perhaps it's different in the motorhome world, curious to see the follow-ups.

https://tfltruck.com/2018/07/ask-tfl...s-rating-gvwr/