Curb Weight, GVWR, Carrying Capacity, Etc.

[roadog]

Hello All,
  My wife and I are shopping for a "new to us " diesel pusher.  We have been looking for a while and have developed a strong idea of what we think we want.  We intend to full-time for at least a couple of years, and have the idea that we would like to do a fair bit of what seems to be considered "boondocking".  It seems to me that we will need to be able to haul a fair amount of supplies with us.  The problem that I'm running into is that there seems to be an unbelievably wide range of GVWRs and carrying capacities for what appear to be similar coaches, and as we are looking at older coaches the information is sometimes difficult to find.  (We are determined to find a mid-coach entry and don't care for slides, two more subjects of much debate, so we are largely limited to '90s coaches.)  I have seen references to the likelihood that a great many of the coaches on the road are overloaded, and would like to avoid this if possible.  I am more concerned about stress on the rig; suspension, brakes, leveling, etc. than legality, but all are issues that need to be considered.  This has all been preamble to my list of questions, for which I would love to hear answer/discussion of any or all.
How much does YOUR coach weigh?  (empty\full, GVWR, CCC, whatever)
How much does all the stuff you full-timers out there carry weigh?
Are you over weight and do you care?
Does anyone know the empty weight (yes I know this will be an extremely vague approximation) of a 1994 Monaco Crown Royale 40'?

  Thanks for reading this tome and to all who care to reply.
 
  As a reply to someone else who asked about finding the weight of older coaches, I have found several sites with brochures for various brands.  Some of these are very helpful, though limited to their own brand.  I have found sites for Beaver in all their incarnations, Foretravel, and some for Newmar.  I'll try to tell anyone who is interested how to find them, though I'm not great with computers or I'd just post the links; don't know how!

Thanks Again,
Jon H.

 

[Dan Walters]

Jon,

I have a 2000 American Dream and weighed it with full fuel and all our "stuff" for camping(dry or otherwise) at just over 29,000 pounds.  My GVWR is 32,000 so I'm under that by almost 3,000 pounds.  My GCWR is 42,000 so I can tow up to 10,000 pounds.  I tow a Toyota Prius on a tow dolly that weights about 3800 pounds so I'm under the maximum there also.  I would not want to be overweight on GVWR or GCWR due to safety, and if you do have an accident and found to be over weight it could cause you legal problems and insurance problems.  So, it's best for you to find out what the maximum weight ratings are for the coach you want and stay under that.  You can usually find those numbers somewhere in the coach on a specifications sheet.  Look in the closet or on the back of a cabinet door.  Mine is on the back of one of the kitchen cabinet doors.  My last coach had a spec sheet on the wall in the closet.  If you can't find it, contact the manufacturer to get the specs for the specific model you are looking at.  Then when you get a coach, load it for travel and have it weighed at a truck scale to make sure you are not over weight.

I don't know what a 1994 Crown Royale weighs but look for the spec sheet or call Monaco with the specific model number to get the information you need.

Dan

 

[dan2]

Hi, welcome. You should care about slides, don't settle on (your home) one without them. Whats ur price range?

Dan

 

[Kim (skyking4ar2) Bertram]

Jon,

Welcome to the Forum and the land of never ending opinions and facts.

My previous coach, a 2006 Fleetwood Expedition with four slides, weighed out 5,000# under, wet and with all our full timing stuff in it. The new coach will be weighed next week and I can report back on that, but expect it to be similarly light. You will put several thousand pounds of "stuff" in your coach, trust me. We have taken a lot of pain to travel light and have been dropping things along the way (no pun intended) for the last two and a half years. There's just a lot of stuff you do not need full timing.

And, yes, I think it's extremely critical to know what you weigh and to NOT be anywhere near gross weight, just like in airplanes. Maybe that's where I get the phobia about being heavy. Tire wear, stopping distances, and the ability to control a large piece of equipment are all influenced by weight. As Dan pointed out, there are some liability issues with being overweight. Ask all those truckers on the side of the road with portable scales under them about to be fined.

Personally, I wish you would reconsider your reluctance to take advantage of slides, especially if you are full timing. While it is certainly done and has been done by many, imagine sitting in a box for a couple of days in bad weather with your spouse. Test drive that by sitting in one at the dealer from open to close and see what I mean. There is something to be said for the advantage of not crawling over stuff. Yes, slides add a complexity to the equation, but they are not rocket science.

There are too many ways to do what you want to do to count, and it is a very personal decision. There is no wrong way, and no right way, just your way. So have fun looking, keep doing your homework, think outside of the box (pun intended), and enjoy the journey!

 

[cdat]

If you really are not interested in slides, you might want to consider some of the Blue Bird buses that are out there.  They almost always have a surplus of CCC, plus a huge amount of basement type storage capacity.  I do not have the links anymore, but I'm sure that someone will be along shortly that can post them.  If I was single one of the Blue Birds would be my 1st choice.  Good luck in what ever you choose.

JT

 

[Just Lou]

Full timing in my old Bounder, without the slide, would be like closing all the bedroom doors in my current S/B ranch, and living in the hallway.  Ain't gonna happen

 

[Kim (skyking4ar2) Bertram]

Lou,

I believe that hallway analogy is one we can all easily appreciate!  ;D ;D ;D

Kim

 

[bucks2]

If you truly want a mid entry with no slides, I won't try to change your mind. If you've looked and decided, then who am I to argue?

So instead I'll address the weight issue which for me is an important part of your decision. As you approach 40 feet of motorhome, you reach the limits of legality and practicality, quickly. Since I did not weigh my coach empty I can't tell you how much we added for our 7 month fulltiming adventure each year. But, when I did the math pre-purchase it was obvious to me that I wasn't going to find a 40 foot coach with 3 or 4 slides that would be underweight by more than a few hundred pounds once loaded. Running anything at the maximum weight will not give maximum life or maximum reliability.

Some folks "save" weight by travelling with water tanks empty. Buying food on the road as they go, and other methods. All are valid and workable, but not necessarily the most convenient. For us the solution was 3 more feet of coach, 43 total, and a tag axle. The extra 10,000 pounds of capacity, two extra brakes, and two extra tires for stability was worth the minor problems such as 2 extra tires to buy every 7 years or so.

People full time in 27 feet every day. People live without 2 TV's successfully also. We chose to have more room and more amenities. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing wrong with 27 feet either. It's all about the choices you can live with. But, when you buy it will cost a lot of money to change if you later decide you can't live without slides or close to the edge on weight. There is a reason that slides and large coaches are popular and sell.

Ken

 

[Larry N.]

...
But, when I did the math pre-purchase it was obvious to me that I wasn't going to find a 40 foot coach with 3 or 4 slides that would be underweight by more than a few hundred pounds once loaded. Running anything at the maximum weight will not give maximum life or maximum reliability.
...

Ken

Well, my 45' Beaver has a max gross weight of 50,000 and is just over 42,000 empty, and as I typically run it, it is in the 44,500 to 46,500 range (full 150 gal fuel and full 100 gal of water), with plenty of margin on each axle. So though in some cases your statement is accurate, in others it's off a bit. Like most things, it varies with the unit.