I am an experienced camper having owned travel trailers in the past and now we are looking at purchasing a 2024 GD Solitude 391DL. I have an F450 DRW so I am not concerned about truck or tow capacity.
However I am concerned about the advertised Unloaded Vehicle Weight of 15,300 with a GVWR of 16,800. That leaves < 10% of GVWR for water, waste, propane, batteries, and personal gear. Considering this unit holds ~100 gallons each of fresh, grey and black water we could be well over GVWR with full tanks alone. I've seen on some Facebook groups people posting about cracked suspension components on the 391DL.
I reached out to my salesperson to inquire as well, but are there options to increase the GVWR? The axle options on the order sheet are both 8k axles, the difference in the two choices is ABS Drum brakes versus disc brakes. There is also an "independent suspension" option but it also is an 8k axle. Presumably other components outside of the axles would also need to be upgraded in order to increase the GVWR.
Have you had any problems with your 391DL capacity? Do you know of any other way to add safety margin while towing?
Thanks,
Darin
However I am concerned about the advertised Unloaded Vehicle Weight of 15,300 with a GVWR of 16,800. That leaves < 10% of GVWR for water, waste, propane, batteries, and personal gear. Considering this unit holds ~100 gallons each of fresh, grey and black water we could be well over GVWR with full tanks alone. I've seen on some Facebook groups people posting about cracked suspension components on the 391DL.
I reached out to my salesperson to inquire as well, but are there options to increase the GVWR? The axle options on the order sheet are both 8k axles, the difference in the two choices is ABS Drum brakes versus disc brakes. There is also an "independent suspension" option but it also is an 8k axle. Presumably other components outside of the axles would also need to be upgraded in order to increase the GVWR.
Have you had any problems with your 391DL capacity? Do you know of any other way to add safety margin while towing?
Thanks,
Darin