What's your rig's weight FULLY LOADED, and do you care if it's over the legal limit?

[bajadulce]

Recently discovered that my rig was only rated at 5.5K #'s even tho the paperwork states 7K. My rig prob does weigh less than 5.5K #'s empty, but fully loaded and off on an extended trip, it will go over that. And so am curious as to what others have to chime in.

Fake duallies and the stress they put on the bearings are obviously a big concern on these rigs and comes up time and time again as well as tire date concerns, but what about the overloaded rig on the full floaters? The MAX GVWR for any toyota before 1995 appears to be 6K and many are less. It has been documented that many rigs straight off the manufacturers' floor come in close to this number, and so surely most if nearly all are over the legal limit when loaded and trip ready?

Staying within the limit is fine if you're just going for a Sunday drive with provisions to last the weekend, but what about those that go on extended trips? Most of us want to fill our rigs with all kinds of goodies! And I've seen ppl toting around Scooters, battery banks, TVs, microwaves, generators, bikes, books... etc, etc. No way are they under the 6K limit.

Greg's former 18' Sunrader weighed in around 7K #'s. Being the electronic enthusiast he is, he might have had a few extra gadgets to be sure, but doubt his rig had THAT much more stuff compared to the rest of us?

... finally what are your thoughts?

[waiter]

Mine weighs 6700 (took it across our truck scale at work), fully loaded, water, groceries, etc. Do I care, NO. I have new tires, good shocks, springs, airbags, and brakes.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[linda s]

I checked the original brochures on toyota reference

http://www.toyotareference.com/t100

The GVWR for the one ton was only 6000lbs not 7000 but it seems the main difference between your 4x4 and the 1 ton is heavy duty springs and a heavy duty stabilizer bar. maybe you could find some heavy duty ones at a wrecking yard and upgrade yours. The Odysey 4x4's were built on a 5500 lbs chassis and weigh much more than yours does. I wouldn't worry too much about it but heavier springs might give you a little more wiggle room.

Linda S

[bajadulce]

John:

So you're only 700 #'s overweight. And with your wife, that's another 120#'s (cause all women weigh that I've learned) So 1K overweight seems pretty manageable.

You're also an engineer too right? Just asking, cause you seem to have a good grasp on the structural integrity of these motorhomes and offer a lot of sound advice. I'm not trying to justify being overweight, but I think those guys who claim sticking below the GVWR (and you know who you are) are blowing this thing totally out of proportion about being in the neighborhood of 1K overweight.

So I guess then, when does it become an issue? 500#'s, 1K? 1 ton?

Edit:

Linda posting same time I was>

Thnx for links. I'll have to check the factory links/details for the real GVWR. Guess I shouldn't trust general google 95 Toy Truck specs. (Says I have a 24 gallon tank too!.. which maybe I do?). Ya funny that a 4x2 would have a higher GVWR than a 4x4 truck w/ same axle, brakes etc. Maybe something else going on. I do have firestone airbags installed btw and am looking to update the leaf pack next spring as well as possibly upgrade to 16" rims/tires.

[linda s]

By the way I have 2 little Sunraders and they both weigh in at right around 5000lbs. Nissan is a v6 but the Toyota has a built in gen set that weighs at least 120lbs or more. Yours doesn't have much on the interior weight either. Someone on the Toyota Camper site gutted one and weighed all the stuff he took out of the interior. Weighed about 476 lbs. I'm betting the stuff you put in yours weighs much less. You removed the bathroom and holding tanks too didn't you? That would be quite a bit more weight too.

Linda S

[Bunneys]

In full camping mode: full gas, water, propane, fridge two kids, wife and I plus all our stuff for the weekend. Black and grey tanks empty = 2,764 KG or 6093 LBS If I were to go longer than a weekend, it would weigh a lot more. I have no concerns about safety of an overloaded well cared for true 1 ton unit. However, if you are going down hill, be mindful of your brakes, and drive accordingly.

[Gary_M]

Legal is a broad term used here as we toyhome captains are not required to stop at weigh stations. Sometimes I feel overloaded with the tanks somewhat filled but do feel in total control. I can only drive 50-55 on open highways anyway so I guess being on the side of a turtle helps. ;-)

I feel toyhomes as well as motor homes in general are better suited to handle overweight conditions better than any camper type out there.

I agree with Bunney that you should be mindful of the downhill. The only other damage from being overweight I see is the nut behind the wheel that would lead to blown engines, loosing brakes ect...

Cheers,

[Maineah]

Well they come in at under 10,000 so it's not likely DOT will flag you 10,000+ is where it get hairy.

[bajadulce]

Wonder if anyone is driving close to that 10K mark. Guess it would take a lot to hit that lol.

So the consensus seems to be that it doesn't really matter as long as the rig is in top shape and you drive accordingly. The limit? Take along whatever fits in the rig?

Worse case scenario:

A teenager texting cuts you off and your only way to avoid hitting the baby-toting-bicyclist is to verve off the road smack into the $2,000,000 dollar marble statue sitting in the mayor's manor front lawn. The teenager is long gone, nobody saw anything, the statue is reduced to marble pavers, and its determined to be your fault. The new claims adjuster/investigator working for your insurance company is out to make a name for himself. His wife left him to roam around the country w/ a guy in a toyota motorhome after all... Question: Can this situation get sticky because you are over your car's legal limit by 1,000 #'s? Or do things like this only apply to big rig commercial trucking?

[Vanman]

Weight seems to be everything on our Dolphin. Got it in Haggerman, Idaho. Totally empty, no water in any tanks, only thing in it besides me was the lugnut wrench, jack, owners book, and hook for awning. Put 65 # in all tires drove it back to bay area at 65 to 70 MPH. Best tank was 15 MPG worse was 12 MPG. Find out all the stuff needed to actually use it at Camping World load it up and go to Felton run year before last driving fast and hard for 10 MPG. Last year on Felton run remove excess stuff and drive for gas mileage, slow and carefull, result: 10 MPG. Will see what it is this year. When I'm finished sorting everything out will definately get her weighed.

vanman

[linda s]

Wonder if anyone is driving close to that 10K mark. Guess it would take a lot to hit that lol.

So the consensus seems to be that it doesn't really matter as long as the rig is in top shape and you drive accordingly. The limit? Take along whatever fits in the rig?

Worse case scenario:

A teenager texting cuts you off and your only way to avoid hitting the baby-toting-bicyclist is to verve off the road smack into the $2,000,000 dollar marble statue sitting in the mayor's manor front lawn. The teenager is long gone, nobody saw anything, the statue is reduced to marble pavers, and its determined to be your fault. The new claims adjuster/investigator working for your insurance company is out to make a name for himself. His wife left him to roam around the country w/ a guy in a toyota motorhome after all... Question: Can this situation get sticky because you are over your car's legal limit by 1,000 #'s? Or do things like this only apply to big rig commercial trucking?

Quit stressing until you get it weighted. Bet your way under with all the stuff you removed from the Sunrader coach.

Linda S

[Eve "n" Stephen]

1984 18' Sunrader, fully loaded for a week in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, 5795 lbs with full water, gas, propane and empty holding tanks. This includes my wife and I plus a 110 pound dog and his food. We very rarely go over 55 and often slower, as we are photographers and tend to take back roads, some on the marginal side!

Steve

[Derek up North]

And the GVWR of your 1984 18' Sunrader?

Edit: 1984 GVWR is 4825lb.

[Eve "n" Stephen]

I assume that GVWR is with the standard 5 lug rear end, not the full floating 6 lug. If I remember right, empty, other than me, no water, no gas to speak of, no propane it was around 5100.

Steve

[Gary_M]

Worse case scenario:

That could happen to anyone, regardless of the condition of the toy or the surroundings we drive in. Chill!

Like Linda says, get it weighed.-)

[bufbooth]

^{My wife's grandma brought a brand new 30 foot motorhome and it was 1,000 lbs over (and was empty) its own GVWR and she}

^{stated that from her experience that over GVWR is the norm and not the exception on new RVs that she was looking at.}

^{Just wanted to state that to let folks know that over GVWR is not limited to our Toyotas. My Odyssey empty weights in at 6,400lbs}

^{and I think my GVWR is 6,600lbs so I am over GVWR as soon as I get in it. I have upgraded my tires (195R14) and my shocks}

^{(Bilstein) and do have rear air coils.}

[Derek up North]

I assume that GVWR is with the standard 5 lug rear end, not the full floating 6 lug. If I remember right, empty, other than me, no water, no gas to speak of, no propane it was around 5100.

Steve

I'm afraid that changing the rear axle doesn't change the GVWR.

^{I think my GVWR is 6,600lbs so I am over GVWR as soon as I get in it. I have upgraded my tires (195R14) and my shocks (Bilstein) and do have rear air coils.}

None of our 'homes have a GVWR above 6000lb.

[bajadulce]

This wasn't meant as some troll topic nor to incite a riot. I was just curious what some of the rigs out there weighed and if anyone was actually "legal"... for whatever that means.

I feel toyhomes as well as motor homes in general are better suited to handle overweight conditions better than any camper type out there.

Good point. Agree, the lower CofG compared to other huge slide-in campers is definitely a big help.

@weighing:

Yes, I have weighed my own rig and it weighs 4,780 #'s with basic camping gear that never leaves the rig (i.e. dishware, silverware, pots & pans, stove, propane, blankets, etc). But I can only estimate how heavy it will be fully loaded. I'm sure to easily cram at least 1K+ worth of items into the rig for an extended vacation (150+ lbs of surfboards, 100 lbs of clothes, 300 lbs of groceries, 200 lbs drinking water, bikes, chairs, tarps, books, ... etc etc). So I will be way over the limit of 5.5K. I'm not stressed over this, but am bummed to find out that the 1.5K extra wiggle room I thought had was a mistake in the paperwork.

Yes, I did remove a ton of stuff from my rig as well as 2ft of actual coach (my Sunrader is missing 2' of shell out of the center). But the missing mass is more than made up in the additional honeycomb joisted floor, interior fiberglass paneling, heavy lifting jacks, and the steel subframe/flatbed.

@ worse case scenario:

Sorry for beating around the bush. Guess this was a poor attempt at trying to be humorous. Prob why I never tell jokes. The underlying question was:

What are the legal ramifications of being over loaded if any? And unless something looks out of place by the cop on the scene, undoubtely nothing would ever arise. Tho obviously these things have a reputation for being overloaded, and I'm sure insurance companies are aware of this as well?

Nobody here is severly overloaded

John is 1K overweight

Stephen is 800#'s

Bunneys is 100#'s for a weekend trip

Bufbooth is 400#'s empty. And I think I read somewhere that a lot of Odyseys use 5.5K GVWRs?

All of these numbers are harmless I would agree.

I think I read that all 4x4's were 5.5K max?

I'm afraid that changing the rear axle doesn't change the GVWR.

^^ This

You (or some other company such as an RV builder) could beef up/modify your car's suspension/frame to your heart's content, but whatever is stamped on that tag in the door and how it came shipped from the manfctr. is the GVWR.

[waiter]

Why 6,000 GVWR??? Look at EPA, IRS, Dept of Trans, DMV, regulations. 6000lbs is a breakpoint for different vehicle categories.

IMO, Structurally, the vehicle can easily and safely handle over 6,000lbs. Odds are very good the "6000" came from the Toyota legal department. If the vehicle was licensed and manufactured at a higher GVWR, it would incur different licensing, regulation, Inspection, and tax ramifications.

When I say Easily and safely, Vehicle must have the full float rear end, and heavy springs or air bags.

John Mc

88 Dolphin 4 Auto

[Derek up North]

I don't disagree at all. However, the C&C is officially 6000 lb and there's no way to change that, as far as I know. And I think it's illegal to exceed it. Whether you're likely to get 'caught' while driving down the road is another question.

If I was a lawyer representing the family/estate of the 'loser' in an accident involving a MH, I'd make sure every last piece of the MH was picked up and weighed.

[Totem]

I don't disagree at all. However, the C&C is officially 6000 lb and there's no way to change that, as far as I know. And I think it's illegal to exceed it. Whether you're likely to get 'caught' while driving down the road is another question.

If I was a lawyer representing the family/estate of the 'loser' in an accident involving a MH, I'd make sure every last piece of the MH was picked up and weighed.

^ including the corpses of the driver and passengers; because hey; they just might have heirs that can be sued you never know.

[bajadulce]

Ah major accdent. I pictured just a small fender bender, the police take reports, everybody exchanges policy/drivers lic, and drive away. If some later date a lawyer wanted to inquire as to the rig's weight, it would be long gone from the scene.

However, a total would be a different story. Now the vehicles are towed away and probably stored in some yard? I've never been in any accident so not sure what happens when cars become wrecks?

[Derek up North]

Yes, I was thinking a 'worst case', much worse than running over the Mayor's statue!

[linda s]

Worse case scenario if your still alive you have removed your 100lbs of clothes, I don't think I own that much, Your water and groceries have spilled on the road and if someone weighs it your still going to be under the GVWR. The general rule is to pack light. You don't need that much stuff.

Linda S

[Derek up North]

Worst case is you run over and kill the mother, the baby survives and there's no damage to you or the 'home. But enough of this cheerful stuff.

I'm just surprised that a lawyer wouldn't sue an owner's backside off (and the manufacturer if it's overweight leaving the Showroom, as some claim).

[Totem]

from the pictures I've seen in here of wrecks I don't think there would be much left of anyone to sue.

I'll stop now by adding on a serious note that I have driven the USA coast to coast severely over GVWR for my 86 was 5xxx lbs and I was at least at 6800 + on every voyage. with over 20,000 miles and going added on just our travels I would think the axle, frame etc would have snapped by now.

Granted I put many beefier parts on and a swaybar, 1 ton on front and back. If this was to be a problem I can personally attest it would have become my problem based on some of the crap I drove my rig through , especially in the Yellowstone trip.

I have overloaded nearly everything with glee and I think its great. Just to make the clown car more fun I just got another German shepherd 2 weeks ago. so this past weekends trip to Traverse had his weight in there too. weeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Derek up North]

from the pictures I've seen in here of wrecks I don't think there would be much left of anyone to sue.

I think we could take on a bicycle.

[bajadulce]

T:

How many dogs ride in the "rocket"? I'm pretty sure Derek's got you beat there in terms of a full sled. And dog food can get pretty heavy if going on a long trip!

D:

Ya the "shattered" $2million statue was just my powder puff way of describing a lot of damage without dropping the gruesome F-word you guys are throwing around. (Fatality).

L:

Ya 100 #'s of clothes does sound ridiculous... that's the problem with guesstimating. Maybe 50#'s tops (wife and I.. something like 10-40 distribution of course). I do know that I'm guilty of bringing along way more stuff than I need.

Sorta related since you guys have steered this topic towards accidents:

I just noticed that my truck has a driver side airbag? Hope that thing never goes off on some washboard road or other bump?

[Gary_M]

Sorta related since you guys have steered this topic towards accidents:

I just noticed that my truck has a driver side airbag? Hope that thing never goes off on some washboard road or other bump?

Speaking of airbags...

I have to plead guilty. I got into spat with the better half of why it was safe letting our 6 year old sit in the passenger seat. I told her it had no air bag, ever watch the movie "The Blind Side"? Even so thought it was safer than strapping her to the couch in back, not sure what flying object she would encounter. I could just flip a coin, there seems to be pros and cons to everything when it comes to these Toys.

[Derek up North]

I'm pretty sure Derek's got you beat there in terms of a full sled.

I've got 8 under the roof at the moment (including 2 Huskies for the sled). I wouldn't even try to go anywhere in a 'home with them all. Not enough floor space.

[ShaggyRV]

Well I just got back from weighing my 1985 granville. Everything was in it except for the wife(95lbs) and our clothes and some groceries. we usually pick those up near our destination anyhow. The tanks are empty except for the few gallons I have in the system for winterization. The propane is close to full. I'm guessing I would have 300lbs more including the wife and other stuff I normally take.

Front 2020lbs

rear 4100lbs

Total 6120lbs

So I am overweight and don't care!! I am going to look at ways to shave some weight for MPG reasons. My roof air seems to be nearing the end of its life so I'll start there. I'm going to try and find the lightest/lowest profile unit I can. I'm also going to get rid of some other things that I really don't need. When I do use my fresh water tank I also try to get it filled at or near my destination. Oh well on to finding ways to make it lighter.

[stamar]

My friends 18 foot 81 sunrader had a fully lloaded weight of 5100 lbs with the gear.

I dont know whaat mine is. i always assumed 6000 lbs

[stamar]

You know my number one thought whenever I see everyones weight is why are we using 185/14 tires in the front if the weight is 2000 lbs? All tires can handle that weight thats nothing.

[Derek up North]

Each of the 6 tires has around 1000lbs on it. You won't catch me running passenger car tires, front or rear.

[stamar]

The passenger tires that come upp for toyhomes have 1300 llbs capacity. 195 75 14.

The truth is there's less weight on the front end of a toyhome than a ford f150 of which there are several million out there with passenger tires.....

I've got the 185 14s on mine and I like the stiff ride but there's something wrong here....