My Weights

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ip076

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 11, 2017
Posts
139
After I filled up with gas on the first trip out of town, I drove across a CAT scale and got the report.  I had the truck loaded with everything I'm taking with me for the next two years.  I've got to add a grill and a cooler, but I think that will be ok, especially after seeing how the numbers worked out.

I'm driving a 2017 Chevy 3500 SRW 6.5' box Duramax towing a 2016 Bighorn 3270.  The GVWR of the truck is 11,500, though I swear I read 12,000 somewhere along the way...  The front axle limit is 5600 lbs, the rear is 7050 lbs, and the payload limit on the door sticker is 3710 lbs.  The GCWR of the truck is 25,300.  The 5er has a GVWR of 16,000. 

The readings from the scale were:
Front Axle: 4900lbs
Rear Axle: 6100lbs
Trailer: 10,900lbs.

I attempted to weigh my truck previously, and I believe the non loaded no trailer rear axle weight was about 3400 lbs.  Making the pin weight (plus Andersen hitch) approximately 2700 lbs and the total trailer weight about 13,600 lbs.  The empty weight of the 5er should be about 12,000 lbs.  The fresh water tank was full, so I guess I just pack light.  It seems like my pin weight is right at 20% of the overall weight, but I'm not sure how I could actually load it any more forward.  Actually most of the cabinets aft of the axles are filled with light weight stuff, hats, dvd cases, etc. 

I guess my goal in posting is to get a review from those more experienced.  Anything stick out as being a red flag?  or maybe an area of caution?  Thanks!

 
Gary RV_Wizard said:
Looks to me like you are good to go!  Obviously the truck was well-chosen for the job.

Thanks Gary!  Nice to know the research (mostly on this site) paid off. I'll admit to not knowing how limited a 3/4 ton truck can be when I started this process. I'm glad I went with the 1 ton. Given the minimal difference in price, it's almost hard to understand why you see so many 3/4 ton trucks being sold. I'd certainly be overweight in a 3/4 ton.
 
I question your pin wt.  You do not have the right weights for that.

Pin wt is loaded truck WITH FW - loaded truck WITHOUT  FW.  It is not simply increase in rear axle wt, especially when other things were added to the truck between weights.

With that said, the truck is comfortably below GVWR and GCWR.  Assuming a 2800# pin wt, that gives a 13,700# wt on the FW and a 20% pin wt (calculated from FW axle wt.)

All weights are well within limits and you are good to go!  Comments on pin wt, in this instance is nit picking!  Those comments are for other readers and pin wt calculations.

JOB WELL DONE !!!
 
Grashley,

Thanks for the comments. 

I guess I didn't say, when I weighed just the truck it was almost identically the same on the front axle, 4900 lbs.  That wasn't a scientific weighing by any means, but it was in the same configuration as the truck is towing, minus the hitch and the rv.  I weighed it after hauling a load of trash out of the house to the dump...and it was basically within a gallon or two of a full tank of diesel. 
 
As a practical matter, just about all the pin weight of a 5W falls on the rear axle.  The positioning of the hitch has a slight effect, but they are all so close to the rear axle that very little weight is carried forward.
 
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