34Y Corner Weight Concern

I posted in irv2 but only received one response with weights, would like to see what others have gotten when they weighed their coach, Thanks

Had my 2011 Coach weighed at Freightliner in Gaffney a couple weeks ago. Was a bit troubled by the rear axle weights.
4 corner weights are:
LF 4220  RF 3868
LR 8960  RR 8520
My concern is the coach had about 3/4 fuel, fresh water and LP. Holding tanks close to empty. I have less in this coach that the gasser it replaced yet I am almost at max on rear axle. Axle rating is 17,500 and I am at 17,480 with a significant imbalance from left to right on both the front and rear. I was not in the coach when it was weighed, so another 230 pounds of imbalance in front left to right. I have over 2,000# of additional capacity on the front axle but there is no way to load much weight on the front axle, so I am not sure what I can do.

I tried calling Winnebago but after holding for over an hour, I gave up. Sent them an EMAIL and they have yet to contact me.

Thought I would see what other 34Y owners that have weighed their coach have gotten for their 4 wheel weights. I do have the washer/dryer option which adds weight to the left rear, I assume that is some of the left right imbalance in the rear.

Any thoughts from the forum members,

yoda2405 said:

I tried calling Winnebago but after holding for over an hour, I gave up. Sent them an EMAIL and they have yet to contact me...

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The next three or so weeks are the busiest of the entire year for Winnebago with the Grand National Rally starting next Sunday.

we have an Itasca version of that MH and last time the weight on the rear axle was 15160#.  No W/D, but that's probably less than 300#?  The engine is an ISB though. 

By adjusting ride height they can shift weight from the rear to front.

Would have ride height checked and if it is good ask Winnebago and /or freighter to adjust ride height as such as to shift weight onto front axle without going out of spec.

When I was in Gaffney at Freightliner where they did the 4 corner weights, I also had them check the ride height and it was ok. I do not know if it was in the high mid or low end of the allowable range. I will check my paperwork and see if they noted, I doubt it is. If you have experience with this, how much effect can that have on front axle loading? I assume you lower the front end in relation to the rear end to shift weight forward, but does not seem like it would have very much impact, but if you have experience in doing this would like your thoughts and experience.

I did reach out and finally got through to Winnebago and they do not have any information on weights except overall weight by model type not specific coach VIN. So not much help about my specific coach. There suggestions were to not be overly concerned as most coaches run overloaded and to not carry significant fresh water as the fresh water tank runs longitudinally between the frame rails below the holding tanks and slightly rear of the holding tanks. This positioning would load the rear axle more than the front, wish it were forward of the holding tanks as that would help.

Plan on visiting Forrest City in late August or September for some other issues and will bring this up again in person and see if I can get any additional traction on some resolution.

Thanks,

yoda2405 said:

I did reach out and finally got through to Winnebago and they do not have any information on weights except overall weight by model type not specific coach VIN.

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That's interesting.  There is a unique/specific weight sticker printed out for every coach and posted somewhere in your unit.  Your weights depend on the options your unit is equipped with.

Plan on visiting Forrest City in late August or September for some other issues and will bring this up again in person and see if I can get any additional traction on some resolution.

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That would be Forest City - don't make the locals mad  .

I have my sticker that shows my load capacity, but it only shows total vehicle not 4 corner. I was trying to see if they had the as built 4 corner weight. But the service administration could only advise the total weight wet or dry for the typical model of my coach. Nothing for as built for my specific coach and options.

I have excess capacity on front axle but I see no way of moving substantial weight to the front axle. Do plan on emptying all cargo and reload with an emphasis of placing the heavier items as far forward as possible. After trying to find stuff after moving to this coach 3 months ago, moving everything around will make that even more challenging, but I am concerned about overloading the rear axle as I know I will never be any lighter than I am now as stuff tends to accumulate.

All suggestions are welcome,

the airbags are forward of the rear axcel.  Increasing the height on the rear air bags would cause it to pivot across the rear axcel thus removing weight from the front and the other way around. People with motor cycles mounted on the back of the motor home have used this method to correct for about 1000 lbs added by the mount.

Dave,

I have a 2010 34Y Journey. I too had a 4 corner weight at a FMCA rally in Oregon.  I was nearly full of fuel, and had just filled with fresh water. Full propane, and holding tanks empty.  I too was really close on my rear axle weight. I was quite surprised too at how close my rear axle weight was. I have the washer/dryer option and have added 2 batteries to my bay for a total of 6 six volt batteries and 2 starter batteries.

My corner weights were as follows- RF 4350, LF 4375, RR 8425, RL 9050.  I was only under #25 on my rear axle.  I was most concerned that my left rear was #650 heavier than my right rear.  It turns out that being that much off is not that different than many other rigs.  Some are off way more than mine.

But the reality is that on that side of the rig is the full wall slide, the washer/dryer, the batteries and the dresser. The electric bay and the water bay are also on that side.  So there are no movable items on that side.  I was at at a shop getting some work done in Redlands, and the owner noticed that the back of my coach appeared to riding low in the back.  He put it on the rack and checked the specs. I was within spec, but still was not sitting right. He adjusted the ride height so the back was lifted up an inch, but still was within Freightliner specs.  The ride is better and it looks better sitting still.

I did rearrange some inside stuff I could move around, but I am probably still close to my rear limit.  No worries, I rarely ride with full water, and I was already full timer loaded. 

Unless you are planning to carry much more cargo I wouldn't worry about it.  Most of my cargo is in the front bays anyway. 

Adding (or removing) air from the airbags on a non-tag axle coach does NOT shift any weight around fore/aft. It can't with our current laws of physics. (Corner weights can be affected, but total front and rear weights can't change.)

It does seem kind of wrong for a reputable company to design and build a coach that is so close to the max. Probably not something to get too upset about but it could be annoying for sure.

John Canfield said:

Pretty neat idea Marty!  With all of those jugs of liquids up there, you now have a crash barrier  .

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No kidding huh! Wonder if I could get a discount on my insurance for a safety device!

mrschwarz said:

Sarge: I was surprised at your comment about Alaska. We spent 4 days in Valdez and two weeks on the Kenai alone.

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Yeah Michael, all I can say is different people travel different. I have talked to several people that have spent days just wandering around and stopping at every road side sign and tiny museum that they have come across.  I guess the DW and I have slightly different interests. And part of that is from extensively traveling through many nooks and crannies of the US.

Part of that also is that we are not fishermen. Lots of folks love to hit the extensive array of streams and lakes up here and dip a line whenever they can.

Yoda, you have a PM.