How Do You Increase Cargo Capacity? Options

[Kevin H]

I've been following a blog where the person has a Winnebago View. She had it weighed and discovered that she is pretty overweight. She has been trying to reduce her load but is not having much luck. It occurred to me that I have heard this story many times. Folks try to reduce their actual cargo, but I don't recall anyone ever mechanically increasing the cargo capacity of their rig. I don't know the exact numbers but I think an increase of 1000lbs would solve her problem.

If anyone has suggestions on how to do this, I'll point her to this thread.

Thanks in advance -- Kevin

[FlyingDiver]

Buy a bigger RV. Seriously. You can't modify the rig to increase the official GVWR, without getting the manufacturer involved. Which isn't going to happen, 99% of the time.

joe

[jetboater]

Well you could install bigger axles,transmission,heavier front end,ect,but way too much $$$.Just need to get rid of stuff you don't really need.Do you really need service for 8?

[Kirk]

Add a larger brake system and perhaps heavier frame rails. Then there are tires and wheels. To do this successfully, you first must know what the limiting factors are in the factory set GVWR. It could be any of a great number of things. There are things which people do and some even have success to a degree. But overloading of an RV can cause so many different issues that it just isn't practical to do and most attempts just increase one area, while ignoring others.

The first thing about operating in an overloaded condition is safety. It will effect all aspects of handling and the only way to know just how much is to experience all types of bad road conditions, emergency situations, bad weather and every combination of them. No matter what you choose to do, there is huge risk involved. No doubt that it will cause excessive wear and tear on the drive train, at the very least. Parts will not last as long as they would if operated in the design limits. No matter what you do, increasing the weight without a complete replacement of the brake system will mean that you will have a significantly longer stopping distance.

It will effect handling in turns and uneven roads because of the effect on the suspension components and since most motorhomes have extensions welded to the frame rails to support the rear, it could even bend or break those welded sections.

In addition to all of this, most overloaded RVs will also have the extra weight unevenly distributed. It is important to know the weight of each side, each axle and in the ideal, each wheel. Each axle has a weight limit that is designed into it when it was built. The only way to increase that is to replace the axle and all of it's suspension parts. For proper handling, any vehicle should weigh the same on each side and while being exact is not vital, within about 10% is important.

As you can see, this is a very complicated situation and even if it were possible to change it, the cost would be prohibitive. You either find a way to carry less weight, or you can risk your safety and the reliability of your RV.

[fulltimemh]

Pull a trailer

[maddog348]

Sorta like the old saw "What do you fill a barrel with to make it lighter??? ~~ Holes !"

[Big Greg]

Kevin, if your friend was ever in an accident I imagine any lawyer would love to represent the other party against an over weight RV driver. A seriously over weight RV is a hazard to everyone on the road. Greg

[Kevin H]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I was not surprised by anything presented, I just wanted to get an idea from the field. I do not know this person, I just read her blog daily and the thought occurred to me to look at an overweight problem from a different perspective.

-- Kevin