Weight of possessions

[Believe]

I totally realize that this is extremely subjective but just wondered what the weight of most possesions are. We found a different trailer but only jolds 1,090 lbs. We will have clothes,dishes, food, some cds, dvds, clock, towels, blankets, blender, cross stitch stuff, and all the "basement" stuff. We have the bed of truck and back seat.

 

Also we had a trailer then hubby didn't like pulling trsiler, went to 5th wheel but cos my knees dont love stairs and getting in bed in most 5th wheels we are thinking of trailer with different type hitch. Just we see most ft ing with 5th wheels....

[LFDR3116]

I don't know what our stuff weighs, but we are in a class a and I'm sure that our stuff weighs more than 1,090. We also have a utility trailer that we pull that DH has tool boxes and tools on as well as motorcycles/scooters. We also have a Jeep that I drive and we have stuff in the back of that too.

[horizon36]

We have about 2,200 Lbs of "stuff" on board. We also tow a Jeep and have stuff loaded in it as well. One of the things you can do is to gather the stuff you plan to take with you and use a bathroom scale to weigh it one batch at a time. Tally it all up and see what your total is. Also consider fresh water that you will carry at 8.3 pounds/gallon. If you have a 60 gallon fresh water tank and keep it 1/4 full you are carrying 125#'s of water or 480 if it's full.

[Dennis M]

Last time I weighed we had gained 2,080 from the bare, dry fiver. This included adding approximately 50 gallons of water and two 40 lb propane tanks. We carry enough clothing and gear for 6 - 7 months at a time in the fiver.

 

Since then I expect we have gained probably another 500 lbs. In addition I carry about 100 lbs of tools in the truck.

 

Been a couple of years so I probably should weigh again, but then the fiver GVW is 20k so plenty of breathing room.

[nana25k]

First of all you can not just consider the carrying capacity if the RV. You truck has a gross combined weight rating. That means not only what you RV weighs but everything in the truck as well including the fuel, how much you both weigh, and all the stuff you toss in the back seat and in the bed. Many people don't take that into consideration. Even people who have motorhomes don't realize that they can not fill the vehicle they tow along casnt be over loaded

Now having said that we carry about 2100 lbs in our MH. It was the same in our fifth wheel

 

As for steps in the 5th wheel its only a couple, they aren't step like stairs in your home. I would suggest you go spend several hours in one. Think about how often you will actually go up the steps everyday

 

If your Hubby found towing the travel trailor unnerving I would ask if you had a weight leveling hitch with really good sway bars. Those make a world of difference.

 

I'm not sure I can picture 2 adults fulltime with only 1K pounds total.

Good luck on your decision

 

Good luck on your decision

[GlennWest]

Last time we weighed we were right at 2k with our possessions. We are full time also.

[sushidog]

Everyone is different, but most FTers I've spoken with over the years have suggested a CCC of around 3,000 lbs. for a FTing couple.

 

Here's a similar recent thread on the subject: http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=119007&hl=

 

And another useful one here: http://www.rvnetwork.com/index.php?showtopic=117022&hl=

 

We're planning on needing nearly 4,000 lbs of CCC, but this is more than most (still less than some). Your needs will certainly be different than mine, just be sure to weigh your rig on each wheel when loaded, to ensure that you are both within your RVs limits, and the weight is evenly distributed.

 

Chip

[sandsys]

We once had a Class B with about 800 pounds available for stuff. We had to trade our Corelle for plastic plates and my jeans for cotton slacks. We even started sharing shampoo and deodorant. Things weigh a lot more than you realize. We used a bathroom scale to help us decide what was worth taking. Have you weighed your cold weather coat yet?

 

Linda Sand

[Second Chance]

Per the CAT scales, we loaded between 1,800 and 2,000 pounds. This does not include fresh water (which would be a bit over 600 lbs for our rig).

[RV_]

We've found that the average is around 1000 pounds per person is about right. Some are way above that others below. Those with a Class B can't hold as much as a C. From there the 5th wheels/Class A Travel trailers and buses vary wildly. You will cut down after a year in most cases. It is a real shock to find how little we really need to live well. In fact, the less the better . . . to a point.

[Barbaraok]

While the steps up to the bedroom area in a 5th wheel may not be much, the steps from the ground up to the main level can be atrocious. I couldn't do that day in and day out. I do like that we can dump the air on our MH and we will be much closer to the ground and while we still have stairs, much easier to navigate than the outside ones on 5ers that we have visited.

 

I always suggest that people take all of the clothes they think they are going to need, lay them out and then take AT LEAST ½ to Goodwill. You just don't need that much in the way of clothing, and what you do take should do double duty. We live in jeans & t-shirts, one dress outfit each and we are lucky if we were that 'dress' outfit in a year's time. I don't even own a dress anymore - just a pair of dress slacks and a top. And each year we still pull out more stuff to give away because we just don't use it. Same with other things. Get in the habit of "if something new comes in, something old goes out". It is amazing how little you really need to have. Remember, the people around you probably won't be there next week to see that you are wearing the same top you wore last week.

 

We added about 3500# (that includes the washer/dryer) after we purchased our RV. We are still underweight and will never come close to our combined weight because we have a 10,000# hitch and only pull a Subaru Forester, so we can put quite of bit into the car. But again, over the years we have reduced, reduced, reduced. Turns out all of the things that you think you have to have, you don't need.

 

Barb

[GlennWest]

Well some of us still work and washing clothes every day would be a drag. I have the most clothes but they are all FR work clothes. Have very little causal

[Biker56]

I Full time and travel single. My MH has a sticker in the closet that says I have a CC of 5,989 lb with coach Dry.

I just weighed it last week with full fuel and 80 gal of fresh water.

I can still add 1,550 lb to top out the GVWR.

 

So I have added 4,439 lb of CC which includes 2 roof mounted dishes, 3 window awnings, slide-out awning, all outside compartments full and everything inside.

Like clothes, pots/pans/dishes etc., 3 extra TV's, 2 drawer fire proof file cabinet, toaster oven, stand alone Ice Maker, extra 1.5 cu ft freezer, 2 desktop PC's, 2 Laptops, printer, and many items that have been added.

 

Don't think I could get by with just a little over 1,000 lb of CC.

 

OH!!! I am also pulling a 4,680 lb Toad. That is within my 5K GCWR.

[nana25k]

Our former 5th wheel had easy exterior steps and the ones in the MH are much narrower and steeper even when aired down as low as the rig will sit. My sister with bad knees much preferred the 5th wheel. Its a matter of shopping around for what fit you. Even some travel trailors have killer exterior steps. Nothing is going to be as easy as a ranch house on a slab with no steps

[Believe]

If we only carry 100 lbs water, we will have max of 1,400 lbs. Our old trailer we have is 1900.lbs.

[reed and elaine]

Our Open Range weighs 8500# dry and 12400# max load, tires are rated at 3100# each so total is 12400# and axles are rated at 5200# each so 10400#. Rear axle of dualie is rated at 8400#. We weigh every time we change and we weigh with 81 gallons of water, the propane canister filled, 35 gallons of diesel in main tank and 45 gallons in auxiliary tank, an extra propane tank and two to six filled 6 gallon water Jerricans. Both of us are in vehicle when we weigh.

 

Our weighins have been at 9500# on rear axle and 7500# on rear axle of pickup with front axle just about maxed. Checked with Chevie dealership and they said this is fine but don not overload rear axle rating. Dualies are 4 x tires rated at 3100#. We are weight police. We also weigh truck dry to determine weight put onto rear axle by king pin.

 

One also has to be sure that one is below rating for frame (12400# for ours) . Comparing weighings, we are about 1000# below max weight for frame.

 

A generally stated expression is that if you have not used in the last year, get rid of it as expressed by Barbaroak. This excludes emergency gear i.e. jacks, jack stands, tools, extra water pump and blackwater/greywater valves etc. We can probably dump 90% of our clothes and not realize they are missing. We spent 12 weeks taking buses around Ecuador and Peru and had no problem doing fine with a backpack each. We just washed out our underwear and socks nightly and shirts and pants as required.

 

Reed and Elaine

[Yarome]

It all works out about the same, but I would say it's more like 1500 lbs for a single, and 500-800 lbs for each additional person when full timing. One strategy I've found has been to keep a couple of rental closets at strategic locations for those items I just don't want to part with, but use very infrequently. Ie., I still prefer a sidewall tent and wood stove when hunting in cold weather, but I only need it once a year during elk season. My cold weather/hunting closet is in one part of the country, and my scuba gear and deep sea poles stashed elsewhere. If you get into some of the outlying podunk towns, it's really not very expensive if you pay by the year.

 

My rigs are more than capable of toting everything, but why lug around weight when you don't need to? I don't know for sure.. but I would imagine, financially, I make up the rental costs in gas savings. At least I like to think so.

[reed and elaine]

We have met a lot of folks who are afraid to weigh their rigs since they know they are way overweight.

[Mark and Dale Bruss]

We have met a lot of folks who are afraid to weigh their rigs since they know they are way overweight.

That works well since if you know know you are overloaded, your tires won't blow out.

[reed and elaine]

You may learn as much from folks who are doing it all wrong as you do from folks doing it correctly as in "we're never going to make that mistake!"

 

Our first year we ran into a couple at Wind Cave National Monument that had blown both tires on left side twice - and were afraid to weigh their rig.

 

As noted in our above post, we are 3000# on the safe side on both rig and tow vehicle.

 

Reed and Elaine