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Thread: Weight Help

  1. #1
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    Weight Help

    We’ve got a new Momentum 399TH towed by a Ram 3500 dually (HO engine, 4.10 ratio).

    Truck GVWR 14,000
    Max Payload 5590
    Rig GVWR 20,000

    We weighed ourselves at the CAT scales for the first time last week and I believe we were very over. Our weights were (hitched up with 2 passengers and full gas):
    Front Axle 5380
    Rear Axle 9200
    Trailer Axle 15400
    GCW 29980

    Just the truck and 2 passengers and full gas:
    Front 5380
    Rear 4200

    I added the top two weights when towing to get a total of 14580 for the truck and then added the the trailer axle to the difference between the rear axle when towing and the rear axle unloaded to get the trailer weight (20400.)

    So that put us 580 over for the truck and 400 over for the rig. We did a purge, and then moved as much as we could from the basement to the garage, completely emptied our tanks and then weighed again. New numbers:

    Front Axle 5380
    Rear Axle 9080
    Trailer Axle 15300
    GCW 29760

    So we are still over for both, pretty considerably (by my math we are 460 over for the truck and 300 over for the rig.) Although we are under for each truck axle individually (max of 6000 and 9750). This is where I need help.

    1. Am I doing the math correctly?
    2. How on earth do I reduce weight when I’ve got nothing heavy to get rid of?
    -In our purge last week we brought a full truckload of stuff to Goodwill and it seems like maybe it saved us about 100 lbs,
    -No toys in the garage, it’s a bedroom; no equipment, nothing outside of standard clothes, household items, etc.
    -We stored all books, photo albums, and anything else with heft in a storage facility.
    -We removed the super sofa and the lower happijac benches and instead have a card table and small loveseat.
    -We estimate that our heaviest things when driving are our ladder, toolbox, power cord and stabilizer and we moved all of those from the basement into the garage to shift the weight off of the hitch.

    It’s just so hard for me to believe that we’ve got the highest GVWR for a truck that I can find, our towing capacity is 43,000, and this is a Toyhauler, meant to hold ATVs and motorcycles and with just two people’s belongings we are still so over? How do families with lots of kids and gear do it?

  2. #2
    Site Team Redapple63's Avatar
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    Do you have full water? Try just going with say 15 or so gallons, potentially you could do it all with just minimizing fresh water (if you are traveling with full water).

    Not sure if you are full time or not, but these cases call for hard choices in what you consider essential.

    Good Luck!
    2019 GMC 3500 SRW Sierra Denali Duramax
    2020 Reflection 315RLTS

  3. #3
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    Being that you have a toy hauler, it is designed to be tongue heavy so that you can put weight in the garage and still be safe. Without much weight back there, it makes sense that it would be a little heavy on your truck. Personally, I’m more concerned with the axle ratings than the 14,000 GVW largely set for tax purposes, and wouldn’t sweat a couple hundred pounds there if your axles, tires, and suspension can support it.

    As for the overall weight, I can’t comment. Math looks fine. Interesting that your front axle weight is constant.
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    Site Sponsor JCR GD's Avatar
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    That does seem heavy. Do you have washer and dryer? Extra batteries? Double pane windows? Anything else maybe not so standard?
    Jim (& Sharon)
    2015 GD Momentum 385TH - SOLD
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    Quote Originally Posted by JCR GD View Post
    That does seem heavy. Do you have washer and dryer? Extra batteries? Double pane windows? Anything else maybe not so standard?
    We do have a washer dryer in the garage (220 lbs total) and we have 4 lithium batteries + an inverter (total 160). Our solar panels are the thin flexible ones, about 30 lbs total. I'm working with a cargo weight of about 4,000 lbs, and I'm estimating that what's listed above, plus my propane, tools, etc, total about 1000#. Water in the hot water heater would be 100#. So that should leave 2900# for food, clothes, and household items. We added a table in the back (although I consider that a wash because of what we removed from the garage, but for argument's sake let's say that another 100 lbs) and I do have an upgraded mattress (adds +60lbs above what the standard weighed). We are at 2740. I just never could have guessed that the amount of stuff for 2 people (in the space the RV offers) could add up to over 2500#.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Stealth13777 View Post
    Being that you have a toy hauler, it is designed to be tongue heavy so that you can put weight in the garage and still be safe. Without much weight back there, it makes sense that it would be a little heavy on your truck. Personally, I’m more concerned with the axle ratings than the 14,000 GVW largely set for tax purposes, and wouldn’t sweat a couple hundred pounds there if your axles, tires, and suspension can support it.

    As for the overall weight, I can’t comment. Math looks fine. Interesting that your front axle weight is constant.
    Thanks. We are well within weight for our tires (rear truck tires are rated up to about 13K total and trailer tires are rated up to over 24K) and axles. So I guess I'm just going to be vigilant about checking tire pressure and condition, and try to never travel with anything in my tanks when possible. And continue to try to shift things towards the back of the rig to take a little bit of pressure off the truck.

    I've also noticed A LOT of sinking when I lower the pin onto the truck bed, but my Ram comes with an airbag suspension package so I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about that other than shift the weight to the back of the rig. Is there a rule of thumb for how much rear bed drop is normal?

  7. #7
    Seasoned Camper Hobo Bill's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=Stealth13777;339251]
    As for the overall weight, I can’t comment. Math looks fine. Interesting that your front axle weight is constant.[/QUOTE

    Very odd that your front axle on your tow vehicle never changes weight. Something is not right. Your rear axle gained 4880 pounds but your front axle didn't change at all. I guess your king pin is exactly over you rear axle, which it should be ... but usually the steer axle changes a little bit. What is your payload on your TV ?
    Last edited by Hobo Bill; 01-03-2021 at 01:16 PM.
    Hobo Bill
    From Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
    Traveling Full Time Across the US
    2019 Reflection 5th Wheel 337RLS
    2007 Dodge Ram 3500 DRW Cummins 6.7 Turbo Diesel
    Goodrich T/A KO2 All Terrain Tires
    Reese RP30081 20K
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

  8. #8
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    [QUOTE=Hobo Bill;339353]
    Quote Originally Posted by Stealth13777 View Post
    As for the overall weight, I can’t comment. Math looks fine. Interesting that your front axle weight is constant.[/QUOTE

    Very odd that your front axle on your tow vehicle never changes weight. Something is not right. Your rear axle gained 4880 pounds but your front axle didn't change at all. What is your payload on your TV ?
    Max payload is 5590.

  9. #9
    Long Hauler bertschb's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jillhope7 View Post
    Max payload is 5590.
    Is that the payload rating from your truck's door sticker or from a Ram document somewhere?

    In all three of my trucks with three different 5th wheels, the front axle weight of my truck never changed by more than 50lbs or so with the 5th wheel attached so I don't find that odd at all.
    Brian & Kellie
    2020 Solitude 310GK-R, FBP, 1,460w solar, 540ah BBGC3, MORryde IS w/disc brakes
    2020 F-350 Platinum SRW Powerstroke Tremor, 60g TF fuel tank, Hensley BD3-F air bag hitch

    Previous setups:
    2019 Solitude 373FB-R, 2019 F-350 Platinum DRW Powerstroke, Hensley BD5 air bag hitch
    2016 Reflection 318RST, 2016 GMC 3500 Denali SRW Duramax, Hensley BD3 air bag hitch

  10. #10
    Seasoned Camper Hobo Bill's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=jillhope7;339354]
    Quote Originally Posted by Hobo Bill View Post

    Max payload is 5590.
    So you have 710 lbs left to go on payload - 300 for you and passenger = 410 lbs left to go for payload. Maybe try moving more "stuff" towards the front of your fifth wheel towards the king pin. What does your hitch weigh ??
    Hobo Bill
    From Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
    Traveling Full Time Across the US
    2019 Reflection 5th Wheel 337RLS
    2007 Dodge Ram 3500 DRW Cummins 6.7 Turbo Diesel
    Goodrich T/A KO2 All Terrain Tires
    Reese RP30081 20K
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]

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