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Old 03-13-2006, 08:35 AM   #1
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While attending a local rv show this weekend, I noticed nearly all the TT's & 5-r's had signs on them stating "WEIGHS ONLY X". Knowing what I know now, that "X" amount seemed pretty low - especially on some units. So, upon finding the weight stickers inside cupboard doors & doing some quick math, I noticed that the "X" amount being touted was mostly the UVW. Some weights, I couldn't even figure out - maybe they were the brochure listed UVW.

When I cornered a sales rep at one dealer about such statements, I was told that they prefer to emphasize the empty weight because it gets people interested in the units & that since the carrying capacity is such a huge variable many would be put off by showing the GVWR on a sign in front of it. Hinging selling a unit based on how little you load it up instead of it's GVWR, not to mention the GCWR, is really scary. One dealer had a pretty little 1/2ton truck under the nose of a 41+ft 15,000 GVWR 5-r. He said it was because the Dodge dealer didn't have the right one to lend them for the show display.

Just goes to show you, it's still the buyer that better know & understand camper,tow vehicle and combined weights & not get all starry-eyed over a unit they see & get told "sure, you're truck will pull that". I'm sure most can pull anything, but can they stop it is the question.
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Old 03-13-2006, 08:35 AM   #2
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While attending a local rv show this weekend, I noticed nearly all the TT's & 5-r's had signs on them stating "WEIGHS ONLY X". Knowing what I know now, that "X" amount seemed pretty low - especially on some units. So, upon finding the weight stickers inside cupboard doors & doing some quick math, I noticed that the "X" amount being touted was mostly the UVW. Some weights, I couldn't even figure out - maybe they were the brochure listed UVW.

When I cornered a sales rep at one dealer about such statements, I was told that they prefer to emphasize the empty weight because it gets people interested in the units & that since the carrying capacity is such a huge variable many would be put off by showing the GVWR on a sign in front of it. Hinging selling a unit based on how little you load it up instead of it's GVWR, not to mention the GCWR, is really scary. One dealer had a pretty little 1/2ton truck under the nose of a 41+ft 15,000 GVWR 5-r. He said it was because the Dodge dealer didn't have the right one to lend them for the show display.

Just goes to show you, it's still the buyer that better know & understand camper,tow vehicle and combined weights & not get all starry-eyed over a unit they see & get told "sure, you're truck will pull that". I'm sure most can pull anything, but can they stop it is the question.
L-
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Old 03-13-2006, 09:18 AM   #3
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Just goes to show that the number one rule of RV shopping is "Never believe the RV sales person or delaer!"...with the exception of our own Don the Rally master...

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Old 03-13-2006, 10:36 AM   #4
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Bravo
well said
when we were shopping for ours. I checked the gvwr stamp before i even looked any further.

drove my wife nuts a few times, until finally she would say its only 15000 can we pull it?
there should be a requirement to ensure the tow vehcle and rv match weight wise for capacity.
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Old 03-23-2006, 08:32 AM   #5
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In today's sue happy world how do they keep from being sued? When we were first looking at trailers many years ago we didn't have the advantage of websites like this. All we had was brochures and salesmen so we tended to look at them as experts. All I knew was our SUV manual said it could tow 8500 lbs. It didn't say anything about being based on 1 person, etc. And being a novice I didn't know anything about GCWR GAWR, etc. In fact it wasn't even listed in my owners manual anywhere. The so called experts, the RV dealers, said "Oh yeah, your SUV will pull this 10,000 lb trailer. They under rate them on purpose! I send people out of hear every day like that." (This really happened to us). Fortunately I was a little smarter than that but we did still ended up with a trailer I felt was too big for our Grand Cherokee at 26 feet and 7,000 lbs. But didn't come to that realization until after we had bought it. Still I see people pulling trailers that are way too big for their tow vehicle even with the advent of the Internet. I don't consider myself the weight police just learned from experience.
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Old 03-23-2006, 02:39 PM   #6
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RV Dude:
In today's sue happy world how do they keep from being sued? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Because the statement that 'Sure, your vehicle can pull it' is never in writing. In fact, most sales contracts specifically state that the written word supercedes any verbal committments. The buyer still must beware. I'm amazed at what I didn't know the first time we bought a camper. Now I know to do my homework ahead of time and not get swept away by some smooth talking devil
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Old 03-24-2006, 03:49 AM   #7
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Gentlemen,

I've been doing my research using published ratings on the web and to a lesser degree in brochures. Can I trust these data?

I will probably buy a used RV initially. Where do I find the sticker?

Thanks,
Ralph
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Old 03-24-2006, 04:52 AM   #8
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The weight sticker with VIN is normally located on an upper kitchen cabinet wall or door.

Some manufacturers weigh each coach as it comes off the assembly line. Carriage and Newmar do for sure. This will include any and all factory installed extras. Anything added by the dealer must then be added to that. If you are near limits, the best thing is to weigh your truck first after loading it with fuel, passengers, tools, etc ready to go. Then, have any rig weighed before buying it. Be sure to add for what you will be putting into the rig in your calculations.
Bob
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Old 03-27-2006, 04:39 AM   #9
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I've been helping my brother-in-law through his first experience in buying a travel trailer and truck and have been through all of it, diesel vs. gas, 1/2 ton vs. 3/4 ton, etc. A short math session took care of the diesel issue and the size of the trailer they are getting (31 feet & 10,000 lbs GVWR) took care of the truck size issue. That left the issue of big block vs. small block gas in the 3/4 ton. As a GM guy, I told him I would have a hard time recommending one or the other on the other brands, but on the GM trucks, I wanted him to get the big block because the Allison transmission was the best there was, period. Now that I have had my truck for a little over year, there is still nothing like having over 400 ft-lbs available at any time in combination with 5 gears.

By the way, last Saturday my brother-in-law pulled up with a 2004 clone of my truck that he found up in St. Petersburg, FL. Low mileage and can't be told from new. Now he needs to get his Sunnybrook trailer ordered.
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Old 03-29-2006, 05:35 AM   #10
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You and your brother-n-law should pull those loads just once with 705 ft-lbs. at 1900 RPM at 65-70 mph up hill and tell me what you think. In OD without down shifting to boot!
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Old 03-30-2006, 08:26 AM   #11
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jumbo Jet:
You and your brother-n-law should pull those loads just once with 705 ft-lbs. at 1900 RPM at 65-70 mph up hill and tell me what you think. In OD without down shifting to boot! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

#1. I never tow much above 60 mph and 400+ ft-lbs handles my trailer great with occasional downshifts into 4th gear (Eastern US).

#2. My truck is quieter and will pull a heavier load up a grade at its torque peak of 3200 rpm vs. your truck at 1900 rpm. (450 ft-lb @ 3200 rpm = 274hp, 705 ft-lb @ 1900 rpm = 255hp).

#3. I saved $5,000+ when I bought my truck.

Oh yeah, I saved $5,000+ when I bought the truck.
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