blubber55 Posted February 5, 2009 Share Posted February 5, 2009 I searched all over the place, and I cant seem to find the answer though I m sure it must have been asked before. I have an 83 Toyota Dolphin with the 1 ton axle. Everyone seems to be talking about overloading, but not about how much extra weight I can put on BEFORE it is overloaded. I understand it varies, but since I am on the Big Island of Hawaii and cant find any weigh stations I want to know GENERALLY SPEAKING how much extra weight can I load before I ruin the axle/encounter other expensive problems. I dont use the onboard water tank, but I do carry 4 gallons of water inside and the septic is also empty/unused. p.s. I want to add 2 40 lb solar panels to the roof and two 70lb deep cycle batteries in the rear compartment where the propane usually is. Would it make a substantial difference to put the batteries in the front of the coach vs that (preferrable) rear compartment? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoprat Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Generally speaking, these MH are close to overloaded as they stand. Every motor home is different, but I would say that your solar panels and extra batteries should not be too much of a problem.My rig with a dually goes 5800 pounds . Add a couple adults and supplies and your up in the 65 to 6800 pound range. I try and keep the weight to a minimum. Why push it. Gets expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supurcar Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Aloha! We are going to Oahu this spring, we went to Hawaii a few years ago, we love the big island. On the weight issue I am wondering if you plan to use the water tank, and if you removed the propane tank as you mentioned putting some batteries there. I think if you are removing some weight you can balance the additions, if not you may be close to the limit. Because most places we go have water, we just bring some bottles for the dogs and do not fill the water tank and just hook up a hose when we dock. Maybe add some air bags in the rear, they are cheap and it might help. But full tank of gas, wet the thing is close to the max rating if I am not mistaken; a few hundred pounds might bring up to or over the limit. And I think it is true of all vehicles that bringing it up to the max weight limit/Towing capacity is not a great thing whether it is a Ford truck, Mercedes-Benz, or a Toyota MH. Another consideration is that you do not have as much range to travel, I think we drove around the island in a few hours. I might feel a little safer if I am going a short distance versus taking a 1200 mile trip overoaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Land fill, a farmer/rancher CO-OP, state truck inspection station. Good points finding a scale. Water is 8lb a gallon, propane is 4lb per gallon. Most of these Toys were fully loaded with 2 people, water and propane and about 300lb of stuff. Do the math and see how much headroom no water and a 1/2 tank of propane will give you. Does your Toy have the upgraded rear axle?? The orginal five bolt was overloaded sitting in the driveway. Most of the current members are about 500-1000lb OVERLOADED, with the new 6 bolt rear axle. Was on the Big Island last summer, checking what was left of our small kid time houses. Saw a Toy camper, Kona side, is there more than one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaya5150 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 Make sure you tires are in good shape no more than 3 years old if you plan on carrying lots of weight. That has been our only draw back we have carried about 1/2 ton in the dolphin with people, water, propane, and a bunch of other stuff we did not need. Even if the have lots of tread still have them checked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaya5150 Posted February 7, 2009 Share Posted February 7, 2009 How is the rust situation on the RV from it being on the big island and 26 years old?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loop Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 I wonder about the weight issue also, but didn't Uhaul use to use these same 4-bangers and 1-tone axle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kimbo Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I wonder about the weight issue also, but didn't Uhaul use to use these same 4-bangers and 1-tone axle? Yes, UHaul had the Toyotas with the dually one ton axles but everything has a limit. I think there is a good reason why Toyota decided to to stop supplying chassis's to motorhome manufacturers. Even with their full floating axles these chassis's are inadequate, not to mention the frame and brakes as well. Look at Shoprats post above. His unit weighs in at around 5800 lbs. He also mentions, and rightly so, that many people are driving these things overloaded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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