Ample CCC for fulltimers?

[Schake]

Hi, all -

Wife and I plan to buy our first coach shortly, and I am curious what experienced full-timers think a sufficient CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity) is for two retirees. While we don't have hobbies that require heavy equipment, I will have some tools for upkeep of coach & the Jeep. Other than that, it should be the usual things one uses.

What do you think?

[sandsys]

The rule of thumb for people we don't know is 1500 lbs. per person. Some of us need more and some need less.

The best way, in my opinion, to figure it out is to start weighing things you hope to bring. I had no idea what blue jeans weigh until I put them on the scale. I was also surprised at how much a ream of printer paper weighs. Figuring out some of those weights will help you determine how much CCC YOU need. I mean how often do you really think about what a 1 lb. package of ground beef weighs? Or a 16 oz can of fruit?

Linda Sand

[TXiceman]

For the two of us, we added about 2800# to our 5er after we moved in.

Ken

[MeanderMan]

I agree that 1500 each is generally sufficient.  We've been full timing for almost 14 years; we started with everything we "thought" we'd need, and each year tossed another one of those essentials away.  It's a learning process, you'll find you evolve as time goes on, especially in the kitchen.  Be careful when reading the literature, and be sure and have it weighed (four corners) before buying, if possible.

[sandsys]

40 minutes ago, MeanderMan said:

Be careful when reading the literature, and be sure and have it weighed (four corners) before buying, if possible.

Getting a four corners weigh on demand is hard to do. But we made driving the rig over a scale part of the test drive. At PPL the scale is part of a gravel yard. It's an inexpensive way to learn a rig's true CCC since you never know the weight of dealer added options otherwise.

Also learn the difference between CCC and OCC since the rules changed between those two.

Linda Sand

[FL-JOE]

We are hauling 3,400 pounds of "stuff".  That is all of our personal belongings, clothing, food, everything.  Our basement storage area of the coach is pretty full but organized.  We try to keep things evened out.  When we purchase an additional item that may weigh 10 or 15 pounds we try to see what we haven't used in a few months and get rid of it.

[Kirk W]

Everyone is different in needs. We traveled quite happily with 2200# for the two of us. We have known people who lived in small RVs like a class B with less than half of that. Joe makes a very good point that you must consider everything including your groceries. To help manage weight we limited the number of canned goods that we carried. Some folks carry a collection of wine which can add a great deal of weight very quickly. Tools also add weight very rapidly. Based on a lot of observation, I'd suspect that most people carry at least 1500# per person and would suspect that the average is more on the order of 2000# per person. 

[bigjim]

22 hours ago, sandsys said:

OCC

??

[Schake]

I've heard of NCCC. but have not heard of OCC before. Can anyone help?

 

[sandsys]

1 minute ago, Schake said:

I've heard of NCCC. but have not heard of OCC before. Can anyone help?

 

That's what I get for relying on my leaky memory. I guess I don't know what the new term is after all. Sorry.

Linda

[Kirk W]

7 hours ago, Schake said:

I've heard of NCCC.

Our preferred terms tend to identify us by age or years of RV experience. For many years the RV industry didn't reveal any weights beyond those that the federal highway administration required of the chassis manufacturers because they were exempt from those regulations. Thanks to groups like the RV Consumer Group, the RVSEF, Escapees RV Club, and FMCA the education of RV owners and buyers has slowly forced the manufacturers to begin to observe the rules applied to the automotive industry. The term CCC was cargo carrying capacity and was just the dry weight subtracted from the GVWR. Later it was changed to Net Cargo Carrying Capacity and is net of things like fuel, lubricating oils, water, and such. NCCC is a more useful term but even now they could be much more free with needed safety information. The weights given by most of the RV industry are all designed weights and are sometimes far from reality since they do not include any optional equipment weight that may be added nor do they include design changes after the initial weights are determined. That is the reason that most of us suggest that you need to have an actual weight of the RV and preferably the weight on each wheel. Newmar has supplied actual weights of each RV as lit leaves the assembly line and there may be one or two others who do this, but most are very secretive. Back in the 1990's there were actually two motorhome models sold that exceeded the rated GVWR of their chassis as they left the factory.