How to deal with 1997 Tioga Walkabout above Gross Vehicle Weight Rating

I recently purchased a 1997 Tioga 23' Walkabout.  The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) is 10500 lbs.  The vehicle weight unloaded, but with no water or propane gas is 9640 lbs.  So that leaves a carrying capacity of 860 lbs.  My wife weighs 120 lbs and I weigh 150 lbs which gets the gross vehicle weight up to 9910 lbs when we're in it and leaves 590 lbs of carrying capacity before the Walkabout is over its GVWR.
    My guess is our tools, water, propane, bikes, kites, surfboards , a stand up paddleboard, etc. will add about 850-1000 lbs, so the gross vehicle weight might be as high as 11000 lbs.  The front axle gross vehicle weight rating of the Walkabout is 3700 lbs and the rear axle weight rating is 7500 lbs for a total of 11200 lbs.
    There have been a lot of these small motorhomes sold and my guess is that many of them of them, if not most, are operating above their Gross Vehicle Weight Ratings.  I'm interested in suggestions about how to deal with my over GVWR Walkabout, any real world information about how people have dealt with C Classes that are over the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating and if I'm correct that many or most operate above the GVWR.
    Thanks for your help.

That is the huge problem with class C and why I always recommend people get a class A instead. My recommendation is to upgrade.

The chassis manufacturer can tell what factor is limiting the GVWR to 10,500 when the axles are good for 11,200. Could be as simple as tires or springs, but I doubt that.
Who is the chassis manufacture and where in the country are you located. Maybe one of our members can give the name of a good chassis shop that might be able to help you.

ken

The chassis manufacturer is ford.  It's an e350 cutaway.  I'm located in Park City, Utah.

Thanks for you help!

You seem to know the weights involved, research the tire maker and size to determine if the limit is the tires.
    Tire upgrades are easy and you may need new ones anyway per the existing date codes.>>>Dan

The problem is having the right tool for the job..... a light weight vehicle is best used by a retired couple that carry a minimum amount of cargo and passengers. That is the market that these vehicles are meant for. When an active family buys one and tries to make the coach meet the demands that it was not built for, that's when problems occur.

It's sorta like asking us to help you fit a family of 6 in a Prius. The car was just not designed for that....... the wrong tool for the job.

Having said that, there may be things that you can do to help the weight carrying capacity (like bigger tires, HD springs & shock) but the problem is, the vehicle is totally designed around that maximum capacity. The marketing dept recognizes that there is a market for a light weight vehicle that is big enough for comfort but only has a small demand for extra CC. They send those specs to the engineering dept and that vehicle is designed (top to bottom) with that max capacity in mind. Everything is tested, weighed and calculated to those specs.

One of the biggest safety issues that you may not be able to overcome with that vehicle is the braking system. The E350 is basically a 1-ton van chassis. It has the same brakes as a 1-ton delivery van. Placing a large, relatively heavy, camper on that 1-ton chassis is placing a lot of stress on those brakes. My guess is, that may be one of the biggest safety challenges that you have with that vehicle.

IMHO, you have the wrong tool for the job and may be far better off, safety wise and economy wise, upgrading to a vehicle more suited for your demands.

One other thing...... could be, would be, and may be's are dangerous speculations when trying to calculate you suspected weight. It is very easy to pull into a scales when you are on your way to your next camp-out, fully loaded and get her weighed. I think that you might be in for quite a shock.

As Wavery says, there really isn't anyway around the fact that the truck (the E350) is too small for the load you want to carry. Newer C's that size are built on the E450 chassis, for just the reason you cited: insufficient carrying capacity in the E350. The only honest answer to your inquiry is to buy a coach large/strong enough for the load you plan to carry.

It's common for the GVWR to be less than the sum of the axle GAWRs - there are many other factors that go into the GVWR rating.  But as a practical matter, the wheels aren't going to immediately fall off if you exceed the 10,500 by one pound, nor are you automatically bullet-proof by staying one lb under 10,500. The stress on the drivetrain and suspension and the ride and handling of the vehicle are going to continually worsen as the load grows up to and beyond the GVWR.  Ford gave a max limit (GVWR) where they think you are pushing your luck too far, but you might elect to go further. I wouldn't, but I'm not you.