Has anyone weighed their truck?

EdoHart

EdoHart

Grasshopper
Joined
Mar 12, 2007
Messages
1,036
Location
Santa Maria, CA
I'm fortunate that my company has an old truck scale that measures within 20 lbs increments. It hasn't been calibrated for several years (it's no longer used for business) but it measured a difference of 180 lbs with me in the vehicle and out and I'm about 195 (not quite enough to push it to the next increment), so it's probably still fairly accurate.

Anyway, I weighed mine with the camper fully loaded with food, gas, water, propane, passengers, etc., etc. and my truck came in at about 400 lbs below the GVWR. I'm curious if anyone else has had the opportunity to actually weigh their rigs and what was the outcome?
 
Hey ED,

What is the GVWR of your truck. So your whole set up weight is xxxx pounds?

Here we have two ways of doing it.

Go to the dump get weighed. They have a scale to weigh how much you unloaded and you get charged.

Go to the DMV. They have truck scale to weigh vechicals and trucks. They will weigh you as a public service with no fee.

My set up was pushing close to 6,000 pounds loaded. Need to load up and try again. ('83 Toyota 4x4 longbed & Ranger FWC)
 
1977 Chev truck weight

Ed,

I recently went to a nearby truck stop that has certified scales that will weigh each axle, cost $8.50. I weighed my restored 1977 Chev heavy half with both fuel tanks full, and me and my passenger, nothing in the box. The front axle wt was 2820 lbs and rear axle wt was 2100 lbs for a total of 4920 lbs. The GVWR = 6200 lbs. I'm still looking for a truck camper and since I only have about 1300 lbs load capacity if I want to stay within the GVWR I need to get something light weight like the FWC or ATC products.

Buzz
 
DMV, dump, truck stop = good ideas.

My GVWR = 6600 pounds, my truck weighed in at 6200 pounds. When I first bought the truck I remember calculating I had 1800 pounds of total payload (I don't remember how I figured the empty weight, maybe it was on the window sticker).

So add...
675 Base weight of camper (IIRC)
I have sink, stove, 3 way refrigerator, furnace, 12 gal. water tank
169 26 Gal. Gas at 6.5 lbs/gal (I've read gas can weigh between 6-7 lbs)
96 12 Gal. water
40 Full tank of propane
200 Me
150 Passenger
75 Guestimate of what's in the cab
150 Guestimate of what's in the camper
20 Guestimate of Extra Battery
===
1575 which leaves 225 pounds below my estimated payload, not 400 pounds like the scale registered.

Either my original calculation for the total payload is wrong, my guestimates are high (though they seem low to me), my passenger lied about her weight (I hope she never sees this post) or the truck scale I used is off. I think it's time I seek out a certified scale.
 
Jst last week I weighed everything on a certified scale. Wow, its heavy. Here goes:
7100 GVWR
5600 empty, no tailgate, full gas tank, no driver/passengers
-----
1500 # available payload

6600 weighed on same scale with camper and jacks, no gear,
no driver/passengers, full gas tank, DRY (no liquids in camper)
5600 empty weight
100 jacks (actually about 105-110)
------
900 for camper (they are probably heavier than we all think)

That leaves me with 600# for passengers, food, gear, dog, liquids. Not really alot when you consider the people/dog is about 400.

FYI, water is 8.3lbs/gal. Gasoline is actually a bit lighter at 6#/gal. Go figure. Beer is 1# per.

Of course, all this brings up the debate on other RV forums about weight and GVWR. The "weight police" camp argues to stay at or below GVWR. Everyone else seems to ignore the figure. Personally, I thing GVWR is underrated considerably. When I picked up my camper, I estimate I was at about 1600# payload or over by 100#. My truck felt like it could safely handle hundreds more (not that I want to necessarily do that though.) For example, the 'crewmax' largest cab size of the new tundra has a GVWR of 7200 compares to my doublecab at 7100. All components are the same. Very arbitrary, IMO. And each axle is rated over 4000, which is an 8000# GVWR if just added together.

My guess is that manufacturers can beef up the suspension to handle more weight easily, but are trying to balance ride, handling, expense, durability etc. Thats what the "next level" truck is for, 250, 350, etc. Isn't the frame the same on the f250 and f350? So the difference is in some suspension, brake and perhaps some drivetrain components. Personally, I wouldn't worry about a few hundred lbs IF it handles (brakes, change lanes, appropriate tires etc) safely. I would hate to be overloaded and have an accident.

Erod has done some serious mods to his tacoma to handle this much weight, I wonder what he thinks on this topic.
 
there is a liability issue. that is... if you are over GVWR during an accident.
we dont plan accidents do we?
Think about the brake system... There is a relationship between GVWR and the K Joules dissipation the brakes provide.
 
there is a liability issue. that is... if you are over GVWR during an accident.
we dont plan accidents do we?
Think about the brake system... There is a relationship between GVWR and the K Joules dissipation the brakes provide.

Thats why I stressed *IF* it handles safely. GVWR is not a legal requirement. It is a *suggested* number from the manufacturer. Also, how much can you tow without trailer brakes? I'd wager its more than the payload for 1/2ton. Would that weight be safer in the bed or towed behind (same brakes doing the stopping)? Given all that can go wrong with a trailer, I'd say in the bed, but one is within GVWR and one setup isn't.
 
There are stock from the factory and then there are modified trucks. There is also how the load is carried in relationship to center of gravity and etc... There are a lot of factors that play a role if the load is safe. You can have load shift when braking or swerving that will cause an accident.

Luckily our campers have a low center of gravity. My truck / camper combo is more stable in cross winds than my ’97 Toyota 4-Runner.

We start by tieing down the load and using some type of help to raise the back end. Then add more pressure in the tires. That’s not much of a modification.

My truck is highly modified from the brakes, axles and springs. It has been done to safely carry the load.

Each design has some factor of safety, just be careful when threading near the edge.
 
I recently weighed my rig at work and it came in at 8030 lbs. This weight was with 1/2 tank of fuel and water, full propane, all of my camping stuff and myself on board. The only thing missing was the dog and a few groceries. With a 11100 GVW I still have alot to go.

marc
 
Here's a link for finding one kind of certified scale by zip code:

CAT Scale Locator

Or check out truck stops or places that sell gravel, etc., by the weight.

I think these scales are accurate to something like +/- 20 lbs, but am not sure. The truck stop scales usually give you *two* weights for one payment, so one could drop the camper to get the loaded/unloaded weights.

Personally, dry weight of an RV is not very useful because who uses it dry? It's just a starting place for paper computations...

I dunno if GVWR is a legal restriction (It sure seems to be for commercial vehicles), but exceeding the GVWR in an accident wouldn't be helpful to one's court case...

Center of gravity is very important with TCs, and it makes sense to me to keep the fuel tank as full as possible unless one's truck is really jacked up.
 
Here's a link for finding one kind of certified scale by zip code:

CAT Scale Locator

Or check out truck stops or places that sell gravel, etc., by the weight.

I think these scales are accurate to something like +/- 20 lbs, but am not sure. The truck stop scales usually give you *two* weights for one payment, so one could drop the camper to get the loaded/unloaded weights.

Personally, dry weight of an RV is not very useful because who uses it dry? It's just a starting place for paper computations...

I dunno if GVWR is a legal restriction (It sure seems to be for commercial vehicles), but exceeding the GVWR in an accident wouldn't be helpful to one's court case...

Center of gravity is very important with TCs, and it makes sense to me to keep the fuel tank as full as possible unless one's truck is really jacked up.

With regard to modifying a truck, remember that some of the things we do, like overload springs or air bags, do not actually improve the weight-carrying ability of the truck, they just make it *appear* to be level. Warnings that the gear won't change the weight-bearing of the truck are usually made by the gear manufacturers.

Here's a quote from the Firestone FAQ:

">>Do the air springs increase the payload capacity of my vehicle?

The air springs maximize a vehicles carrying capacity within the vehicles GVWR. Do not overload the vehicle."

And a quote from SuperSprings:

"SuperSprings does increase the rear spring capacity, but not the GVWR, GAWR, bearing or frame capacity."

In addition to the GVWR for a truck, there are also the GAWRs for the front and rear axles and these (usually larger in total than the GVWR) should not be exceeded. Mods to make a truck level aren't going to change the axle, rim, shocks, bearings, differential gear wear, etc.
 
I had my 2007 Tundra Reg Cab Long Bed 4x4 4.7L weighed at a CAT Scale Locator ($8.50).

Truck including...
Tailgate
Full gas
Me (180#)
Bench seats
SR5 package (cruise, skidplate, pwr doors/locks, etc)
AM/FM 6-disc CD
18" allow wheels with 275/65R18 tires
Cold kit (hd battery/starter, heated mirrors)
Deck rail system (rails only, no tie downs)
All-weather rubber floor mats
Mudguards
Sliding rear window
Wheel and spare locks
Line-X spray-on bed liner
Nerf (tube step) bars (also covered with Line-X)

My door sticker says...
GVWR: 7000#
GAWR FT: 4000# with P275/65R18 tires at 30 PSI cold
GAWR RR: 4150# with P275/65R18 tires at 33 PSI cold

Per CAT Scale...
FRONT AXLE: 3300#
READ AXLE: 2240#
GROSS WT: 5540#

So, 7000# - 5540# = 1460# left for wife/camper/supplies.

I do plan on having my local lumber yard put a skid of shingles into the truck bed to see how much the top of the hitch changes from 20" down to x" to see if I do or do not need/want air lifts.

(No camper until June 2008: one Mississippi, two Mississippi...)

Mike
 
Weighed my Truck

Hi all - I am still shopping for a camper - plan to purchase before next summer's camping season. I'm a horse camper so haul a tag-along horse trailer. So I will have to consider the weight of the camper, passengers, as well as the tongue weight of the trailer. I have weighed my truck with me and full tank of diesel - 7100 pounds. The GVWR is 8900, so that leaves 1800 payload. The specs on my 2 horse trailer says is has a tongue weight of 520 pounds, so that's increased with the horses in there. Interestingly, one of their 3 horse models has a tongue weight of only 390. With a 3 horse, I think it carries more of its weight over the trailer axles, which are 3500 each, for a total of 7000. So, I may move to that size trailer and try to keep more of weight over the trailer axles - such as horse water tank and hay in rack on top, rear tack, kitchen box, fire wood box and corral panels over fenders.

I'd really like a Keystone, which is 1050 dry weight. A Grandby is 750 dry weight. So calculations continue.
 
Even if one is hauling a trailer with a fifth wheel hitch, the tongue weight of the loaded trailer should be 10-15% of the loaded trailer weight, which would be 700-1050 lbs for 7000 lbs of trailer, horses and gear.

I suspect the 'dry' TW of the three-horse is changed considerably when the horses are loaded, likely with one of them being pretty far forward.

That's true even if using a weight distributing hitch, before the hitch is tensioned -- When tensioned, the WDH transfers some of the truck's rear axle weight(including TW) to the front axle and trailer axles (in a proportion that corresponds to the distances between all the axles, as I understand it).

If the TW is too light, the trailer will tend to sway, both from passing trucks, etc., and from the road, speed and steering inputs. Probably worse with horses because they shift their weights and it certainly wouldn't be a pleasant ride for them.

Were I you, I would be doing some serious reading about this on the groups that use horse trailers as it bound to be a common thing to put a TC on and a horse trailer behind a pickup.
 
Truck: '98 F150 XLT 4x4 off-road.
Empty wt: 4400# (per title)
GVWR: 6000#
GVAWR(F): 3600#
GVAWR(R): 3550
CAT Scale:
Steer Axle: 3220
Drive Axle: 3480
Gross weight 6700
Truck contents:
Myself
Edna
1/2 tank propane
one week's clothing and food
ice
6 gal. water
mtn. bike
portapotty
full gas tank
house battery
three canvas chairs
folding camp table
small propane grill
hand tools
tow chain
'01 FW Hawk
700# over the GVWR? :eek:

I'm speculating that they over-report the weight to avoid running afoul of their overweight guarantee?
 
700# over the GVWR? :eek:

I'm speculating that they over-report the weight to avoid running afoul of their overweight guarantee?

Don't count on it. If it is a certified scale, then it should be within 20# of true weight.
 
:mad:

Gross weight--

6700#

Titled weight of truck--

4400#

So then our 'moderately' loaded Hawk with a tank of gasoline and two passengers weighs...

2300#

?

Claimed dry weight of Hawk--

695#

Tare weight of the rest of our stuff--

1605#

:confused:
 
That 4400# is before options. Weigh the truck empty with a full tank of gas (no people) and I bet it is closer to 5000#. What is on the title is not the true weight of the truck as delivered, more likely the base model with nada. I weighed everything and it adds up to about 1500-1600# with people, water, camper, dog. I'd wager you are in that ballpark too.

Although, your GVWR is 6000 and you weighed 6700? That would imply you are over big time. Are you sure the GVWR is 6000 and not more?
 
Just looked it up and your GVWR is 6000 (max on that model is 6250). So, if your gross weight is 6700, you are over quite a bit. Maybe try another certified scale to be sure. In doing my research last year, I actually weighed everything, piece by piece, to see what we weigh. My measurements/estimates matched the truck scale within 100#. Good luck figuring it out.
 
Weights

The dry weights of the campers are for a stock camper without any options in it. Now add about 300 to 350 pounds to that to allow for options, water, propane, ect.
 
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