So, there you are in the dealership clutches. The salesman is wowing you with the features, the closets, the stacking washer-dryer, the triple door refrigerator, the generator that will light up a city block, fuel tanks large enough to get from Seattle to San Diego without stopping for fuel and on and on.
Each one of these products has weight. Weight that will affect the way the chassis functions and sits. Denny owns a Four Winds on a Kodiak Chassis and writes this, ” I had RVSEF weigh my coach a couple weeks ago… about 85% of max on the front, and 100% on the rear… actually, I was 300 lb. over max on the drivers side due to poor weight distribution by Four Winds. Drivers side is more than 1500 lb. heavier even when empty except for fresh water. So much so that the coach leans 4″ when it is empty.”
Now just think for a moment, when entering and exiting the interstate highway system, going around the cloverleaf entrance ramp, which way are you turning? If you answered right, you are correct. In a right turn which side of the rig is the weight transfered to? If you said the left side you are correct. In Denny’s rig that is already 300 pounds overweight on the left side and the left side of the rig is 1500 pounds heavier than the right side, what does that do to left side tire loading and body lean on a right turn? This could make for some interesting moments.
What to do you ask? Before I purchased my current rig, even though it was then 17 years old, I drew a rough layout of the chassis and components. I included water tank, fuel tank, refrigerator, water heater, black and grey water tanks, generator, kitchen unit (sink, stove, oven, and microwave), sofa, recliner, propane tank and on, I think you get the idea. Then I checked the weight of each unit. That can be obtained on line. Just find out who sells the stuff and then check the shipping weight, it will be close enough. Water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon, gasoline between 5.8 and 6.5 pounds per gallon, propane is 4.2 pounds per gallon, and diesel weighs 7.3 pounds per gallon.
The closer that you can get the load evenly distributed the better chance that you have of having a good handling rig, and of course a good handling rig is a safety factor. Handling will effect the number of miles that you can safely drive a day, the comfort of your passengers, and your comfort level in tight situations.
Well I am still house bound with bronchial problems and getting real antsy about getting Rover fired up and heading for warm. Stay tuned and I’ll talk to you more next week.
Brad