Community Forums

Hatterasman · 08-16-2016, 06:06 PM

Hello. I have a 2004 Jayco rks 24. GVW is 14050. Being new at owning a motor home I am confused about how much weight I can safely carry. (people, food, water, etc.) The sticker inside the door gives me the gross vehicle weight but not the occupants and cargo carrying capacity. Any help? Thanks

Mudfrog · 08-16-2016, 07:09 PM

Unfortunately, manufacturers not disclosing the uvw of their products is par for the course. I'd venture to say that most gas motorhomes leave the factory with little additional carrying capacity.

You might get lucky and find the information through a google search but your best bet is to load it up and head for the scales.

Traxless · 08-16-2016, 07:11 PM

One method is to take the RV with supplies, food, water, people to a truck scale and get it weighed. You'll get a receipt or report that shows the front and rear axle weight and the combined weight. That should give you an idea where you stand compared to the GVW.

Mich F · 08-16-2016, 08:11 PM

Have you looked in all your cabinets, closets and wherever for a sticker, which might have the weight of your RV when it left the factory. I had a 1997 Coachmen 24' Class C which had a very detailed list, in the closet, of the weights, when it was built. It also gave the corner weights on each wheel. My 2013 Class C has large yellow stickers on the front cab doors stating the OCCC of the unit (3,275#). Much less detail than the Coachmen, but the capacity figure is there.

As stated, the fail safe way is to load it up and see how much under the GVWR you are.

It states in the brochure for the 2004 Greyhawk that Jayco affixes a weight sticker to each motor home when it leaves the factory
http://www.jayco.com/tools/archive/2004-greyhawk-m/

Hatterasman · 08-16-2016, 09:22 PM

Thanks Mich F. I found the weight sticker inside the under sink cupboard.

Hatterasman · 08-16-2016, 09:24 PM

Thanks everyone.

hilgert · 08-19-2016, 10:28 AM

I'd still get it weighed. Look for a truck stop on the outskirts of where you live...many of them will have CAT scales.

Load the MH (with passengers, full tank of gas, water, whatever you would normally carry). You just drive up onto the scales (no need to ask anyone first) and make sure your front wheels are on the front pad, and the rears are on the middle pad, and your towed vehicle (if you tow) is on the last pad, then press the speaker button and ask for a weight. When they say "done" (keep the window down) go inside and pay for the weight (about $10). I've done this a few times with my towed vehicle hooked up on the third pad (we put stuff in the towed car and use it as a "trailer").

If you do this by yourself without passengers (that you would normally have) then you can add the weight of the copilot to the front, and then roughly split additional passenger weight between the front and back, etc.

These scales are very accurate (the commercial truckers use them to verify weight). You will be surprised how quickly you get to the weight limit on the rear (hence us putting some stuff in the towed vehicle), especially if you haul a full tank of water. Make sure your understand the maximum front and rear weights, and the total weight. You should not exceed any of them (front, rear or total) for various reasons, and try to balance the relative weights between front/rear in proportion to the front/rear carrying weights.

I started doing this when we had our trailer, and I was VERY surprised on how quickly the weight adds up.

TXiceman · 08-19-2016, 11:01 AM

Take it to a truck stop with full fuel, passenger cargo and get it weighed, front and rear axle weights.

Now 14,050# minus scale weight = reserve load capacity.

Each axle should be under the axles GAWR as well as the GVWR for the RV.

Large class C units do not leave much room for cargo.

We had a 31' Minnie Winnie and loaded for a 2 week trip we were 13,950#...only 100# from the maximum. This was with about 20 gallons of fresh water and nothing in the waste tanks.

If we carried much fresh water, the rear axle weight would exceed the GAWR and the front axle went light and it drove badly.

Ken

hilgert · 08-21-2016, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TXiceman

If we carried much fresh water, the rear axle weight would exceed the GAWR and the front axle went light and it drove badly.

I fly model (radio controlled) aircraft. There's saying we have: "A plane is that is nose heavy flies poorly; a plane that is tail heavy flies once." This is because the control surfaces lose their ability to stabilize the aircraft.

The MH version is that too much weight in the rear can "lift" weight off the front wheels, and those wheels are the control surfaces. In cornering situations on wet roads (as one example) this could be problematic.

This is what I was talking about in my previous post, to try to balance the weight *in proportion* between the front and rear. For example (for simple purposes), if the GVWR is 15000 lbs, and the front GAWR is 5000 lbs (33% of GVWR) of total, and the rear GAWR is 10000 lbs (67% of GVWR), and the total weight fully loaded (they way one would travel in it) was 12000 lbs, then one would want 4000 lbs (33%) on the front and 8000 lbs (67%) on the rear (roughly). This is where carrying full tanks and such can come into play, especially if the tanks (or the extra weight) is far behind the rear wheels.

Everyone driving a MH (of any size really) should understand their vehicle GVWR and front/rear GAWR (and GCWR if you tow something), *and* get the MH weighed front/rear/towed whenever there is a significant change in how the vehicle is loaded.

Beabop · 08-23-2016, 07:20 PM

You also need to weigh it to find the correct air pressure on the table for your tires. The one on the door is for max wt and can make for a hard ride.

hilgert · 08-23-2016, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beabop

You also need to weigh it to find the correct air pressure on the table for your tires. The one on the door is for max wt and can make for a hard ride.

Three words: Koni FSD Shocks.

They are very expensive, but the change in ride from dish-rattling to SUV-like is very noticeable.

TJFogelberg · 08-25-2016, 03:22 PM

I was thrilled when I weighed my '99 Ford E450 and she came in at 12,520. GVWR is 14,050. This is an important topic, plan to pay more attention to weight in the future.

Old Radios · 08-25-2016, 03:42 PM

Slides are a capacity killer on class C's also. Each one can add #800 to #1,200 pounds easily, and in some cases leave almost no capacity for supplies. You would be surprised how many class C's with two or three slides leave the factory at just about maximum weight.

Just note that the added weight really won't have much effect on your gas mileage, just on how much "stuff" you can pack in safely. When near max weight, handling may also suffer, especially if you load is not balanced well.

youracman · 08-25-2016, 08:44 PM

Just FWIW- - For those not intimately familiar with CCC (as I wasn't) there is an excellent explanation at: rvforum.net>RV Forum Community>Glossary that was enlightening; e.g., the CCC calculation assumes I always have 8 people on board (sleeping capacity = 8) and that they each weigh 154 lb! So, in my case (with my "absent" 6 riders) I pick up over 900 lb of "real" CCC for some of my "gear". (You folks with 2008 or later rigs might want to review the aforementioned Glossary re OCCC.) Interesting stuff.

Safe travels.................