2014 21BHS - Weighty Matters!

[charliem]

[quote source="/post/4565/thread" timestamp="1414615542" author="@fasteddieb"]Going through the stuff we carry with a line item veto:

Well, it's a start!

Now Karen has to do the same things with our housewares.[/quote][font size="3"]Eddie,

I don't see anything very heavy yet. I think you're going to have to give up the 3 ft. prop wrench, the 6 ft. Hi-Lift jack, the 50 gallons of Av Gas, and the 5 HP compressor  . How're your tongue weight measurements coming?
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[fasteddieb]

We really don't have anything that heavy.

Water filter, hose,  misc sewer supplies, two aluminum chairs and a small camping table - just not a whole lot in the front passthrough.

Stock 12v battery and 2 propane tanks and the WDH hardware.

Like I said, next thing is to look at bedding and housewares and the like, but that just does not seem that heavy either.

Still working on a real scale - just queried my Experimental Aircraft Ass'n buddies to see if anyone has a scale in that range.

[leslie]

20 lbs here + 20 lbs there = too much stuff before you know it

[fasteddieb]

Found an aircraft weighing scale - friend of mine just a few hangars down.

May try to arrange borrowing it on Friday.

To be continued...

[fasteddieb]

OK, I borrowed the scale - its a digital scale designed to weigh cars but bought to weigh planes.

I leveled it and zero'd it and set it up thusly:



I'll let you know what he says.

[leslie]

I am looking at putting some of the heavier items in the shower for transport. This is not as convenient as in the outside access, but it will definitely lower the tongue weight. The heaviest items are what I need for hitching.

[solds88]

[p]15 or maybe 20 years ago I purchased what I thought to be a reasonably lightweight 5th wheel, corrugated aluminum, no slide out, etc. I had a 1/2 ton pickup and all the weights and ratings were well in spec. I think the truck had a 3.18 diff. which gave me pretty good mileage on both flat ground and in the hills. When I took it out west, in the mountains, I burnt the paint or whatever it was coated with, off of the differential. I then realized that the truck didn't have a big enough  a** or the power to go through these mountains. I was only at 6 or 7 thousand feet, tops. After I returned home I purchased a 3/4 ton stump puller. The next time I went out west there were no issues at all except now I was getting 7 MPG. All my numbers said I was golden, but it was not so! I hope you'll be able to work it out. James    [/p]

[spot1]

On our trip out west last month someone pulled out in front of us and had to make an emergency stop. Just got stopped "under control" in time and was happy our TT was only 2000lbs. The tow capacity of our TV is 6300lbs. If we would have been towing a TT at our maximum capacity, I'm confident we would have been involved in a accident. I'm conservative too and like to have additional safety margin for unexpected situations. If we purchase a 21 BHS, will probably purchase a Toyota Tundra 5.7L or Dodge Ram 1500. The 21BHS is within the limits of our Nissan 4.0L Frontier, but I want a larger safety margin.
Hope you can get it straightened out!



 

[daplumbr]

I would not exceed any of the 4 main weight limits in towing: 1) tongue weight, 2) total trailer weight (trailer plus cargo), 3) total tow vehicle weight (vehicle, plus cargo, plus tongue weight), or 4) total weight of everything going down the road. Each limit is there for a specific reason and if you exceed even one your safety and the safety of others on the road is compromised, particularly in an emergency. 

[tinkeringtechie]

if there's a way to beef up my Class III hitch to carry the extra weight.

I don't think the hitch is the issue. The limiting factor is most likely the frame (or lack thereof). Tongue weight like that needs to be transferred with the WDH and that kind of torque will eventually bend the sheet metal that makes up the unibody.

[kodabear]

Ummm . . . your rear stabilizers aren't down are they? If they're on the ground, you're taking weight off the axles and putting it onto the tongue. Just a WAG.

[fasteddieb]

[quote source="/post/4778/thread" timestamp="1415138044" author="@icebear"]Ummm . . . your rear stabilizers aren't down are they? If they're on the ground, you're taking weight off the axles and putting it onto the tongue. Just a WAG.[/quote]If only...

...I cranked them up about an inch off the cinderblocks they rest on.

And the whole rig is level.

It just looks like the tongue is MUCH heavier than the 440 stated weight, even with minimal gear. 

Drat.

Just looked at the specs on the Toyota Sequoia - over 900 lb tongue weight capacity and over 7,000 lbs total. Only fly in the ointment? Fairly poor mileage - 13 city and 17-18 highway. The Flex does much better, even with its 365 hp!

[tinkeringtechie]

Only fly in the ointment? Fairly poor mileage - 13 city and 17-18 highway. The Flex does much better, even with its 365 hp!

Once you're towing we're all getting 11-12. Our plan is to get a small electric car for trips in town and use the Sequoia for road trips and towing. In the meantime we average about 16.5 with a mix of city and rural driving.

[solds88]

[font face="comic sans ms" size="3"]I'm very happy with my latest TV, it's rated at 16/22 and I can get 21 OTR if I go easy on it. I recently took the TT to Florida and got a solid 12 MPG, using the cruse control @ 70 MPH. I could probably squeeze out 1 or 2 more MPG if I would slow down just a little.    [/font]

[djsamuel]

[quote source="/post/4791/thread" timestamp="1415172823" author="@james"][font face="comic sans ms" size="3"]I'm very happy with my latest TV, it's rated at 16/22 and I can get 21 OTR if I go easy on it. I recently took the TT to Florida and got a solid 12 MPG, using the cruse control @ 70 MPH. I could probably squeeze out 1 or 2 more MPG if I would slow down just a little.    [/font][/quote]James has a Silverado 1500.  I averaged 11+ MPG over 5,000 from Florida to Arizona and Utah with my Ram 1500 (4.7L V8).  You could do even better with something like a Ram 1500 diesel (3.0L).  I know people that tow larger TTs and get about 20MPG with that, and it tows great since it is a diesel.  When it comes to towing, there is not as much of a mileage hit with a pickup versus other tow vehicles.  The camper is a huge wind drag.