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BF Weight

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 9:19 pm
by Dallas Baillio
Had my BF weighed on certified scales at Pilot Travel Center in Monument, Colorado. Front axle 3740 lbs. Max is 4600 so underweight by 860 lbs. Rear axle 9740 with a max of 9450, 290 lbs overweight.

Rear axle has been overweight each time I have taken a weight. On 8/1/13 by 164 lbs.

I try to have full water, gas and propane tanks. Of for water a combination off water and holding tanks that equal a full water tank.

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Thu Jun 28, 2018 9:26 pm
by whemme
Some years ago, Born Free built a 30' coach on the E450 chassis. Would you care to guess how overweight the rear axle was on those units?

The rear axle weight on my 2002 26' RSB with full gas, propane and fresh water tank was 9200 lbs. Not sure why my coach is so much less than yours on its rear axle weight.

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 6:31 am
by shilohdad
Our 2006 24RB tended to run a bit overweight on the back axle (we haven’t had our 2017 Spirit weighed yet). To counteract that we tried to front-load the vehicle. We carried our spare as far forward in the underbed storage as we could. We had removed the overcab mattress as we don’t sleep there and put plastic sliding drawers up there. We loaded spare canned goods, spare dog food and other heavy items up there. Basically, if you can stash heavier items up front rather than in the rear, do so.

Also, I have noticed that some owners like to put things, some quite heavy, on or over the back bumper. That will almost surely make your back axle overweight. I don’t know what the exact ratios are, but every pound put on the back bumper adds more than a pound of load on the back axle.

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2018 11:52 am
by nrmcclain
Our 2006 24 RB has a stated Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) of 1.889 Lbs.

The calculated CCC based on actual scale readings under the following loading is 1,830 lbs.:
• Full (engine fluids, fuel, fresh water, hot water heater and LP gas)
• Front seats occupied with power cord, flare kit and trailer hitch on board
• Spare tire mounted on rim placed just behind passenger seat under couch
• Black and grey tanks empty
• Exterior storage compartments and interior storage areas all empty (except as stated above)

Knowing the Gross Axle Weight Ratings (GAWR) this loading results in coach front axle under loading of 1,160 lbs. and rear axle under loading of 670 lbs. or a CCC of 1,830 lbs.

When tools, supplies and food fill the exterior bins, interior cabinets, cupboard and refrigerator for travel, it results in a net gain of 680 lbs. to the coach with front axle now under loaded by 1,200 lbs and rear axle overloaded by 50 lbs. or a total under loading of 1,150 lbs.

The 680 lbs of loading is only using 37% of the total 1,830 lb CCC allowed for in this coach.

Some of the remaining unused CCC of 1,150 lbs (1,830 – 680 = 1,150) could theoretically be placed in the overhead sleeping bed area but that is already filled with pillows equally accounted for but disproportionally used.

Nick & Dee Dee
2006 24’RB

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Fri Jul 13, 2018 9:19 pm
by Roger H
This seems to be a recurring theme on most motorhome marque discussion sites. Everyone recognizes that the rear axle of their coach seems to be overloaded to one degree or another.

What I HAVEN'T heard much about are axle failures, rear axle bearing failures, or tire failures attributable to said "overloading."

That said, is this problem a yawner in the real world? Is the discussion relegated to worrying more about numbers than an actual problem? Has anyone actually experienced a rear axle failure from this?

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Tue Jul 31, 2018 7:33 am
by Brent
Mine is 99’ RK (23’) on a E450. I don’t have access to the #s right now but both axles significantly under max. The trade off is more of a tendency for a firm ride.

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Mon Aug 12, 2019 10:38 pm
by JeffatJacks
I didn't want to start a new thread but wanted to share my numbers as we are working on trying to make sure we are not overweight on the rear axle.

Coach is a 2004 26RB. The vehicle is rated for 4,600lb on front axle and 9,450lb on the rear axle as has been stated by other owners here.

I weighed the coach today with front axle at 3640lb and rear axle at 9220lb. That makes it 960lb under on the front and 230lb under on the rear.

Loaded as follows:
Driver only at 210#, no passenger
Full water, 35 gallons
Full fuel, 55 gallons
Full Propane
Black empty
Grey empty
Interior cabinets and exterior bins all empty with the following exceptions
-Spare tire and rim under the couch right behind the driver seat
-Power cord and safety triangles in the right rear exterior cabinet
-Two Blue Ox safety cables in rear bumper (forgot to take them out)
-Two Tank Drain hoses in storage tube on rear valance
Coach also has upgraded anti-sway bars, rear track bar, and roadmaster steering stabilizer

It looks like I have 1,190lb of cargo capacity which is 42lb less than the stated cargo capacicty of 1232.5lb as listed on the label inside the pantry door. At first glance I was thinking this isn't too bad as I have the spare wheel and tire and the heavier suspension components but I was rolling without my co-pilot today. If I add in for my copilot than I'm close to 200lb less than the factory stated capacity. Also, the Born Free CCC calcuation takes into account four occupents at 154lb so that makes me think I'm heavier than I should be from the get go.

I would appreciate input from the more seasoned Born Free owners. Am I missing something here or are we close to where we need to be? At any rate I really need to throw as much weight in the overhead bunk, right side lower outside cargo bin, and under the couch as I can.

Thanks so much.

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 1:04 am
by Dallas Baillio
Why weigh your BF with empty exterior storage compartments and empty cabinets? You will not be traveling that way. Am I missing something?

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:06 pm
by JeffatJacks
Sorry for the confusion. I should have been more clear in my initial statement. We have been having trouble keeping within the axle capacity on the rear axle so I wanted to weigh the coach empty to see if it was close to the factory specified weight before I try again to load the coach more appropriately to stay within the weight spec in the rear.

Thanks,

Jeff

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Wed Sep 04, 2019 8:51 pm
by bornnorm
It seems the Carrying Capacity is virtually equal to the Max ability of the axles minus the empty weight of the BF.

We used to own a Class A motorhome. It was always in danger of being overweight. Our approach for all our RVs is never carry a full tank of water, always drive with empty black and gray tanks. If we were going into a extended dry camping situation, we would fill up on water just before entering. (That's equal to 800 lbs of water in our Class A.) As well we would dump as soon as we could upon leaving.

That does not mean we didn't carry some water, but just enough for the drive. Also we usually add a little water to both the gray and black tank to slosh and clean as we drive. The class A's fresh, black and gray tanks could hold 1600 pounds.

As a rule we keep heavy weights off the rear of our small trailer for stability reasons.

Re: BF Weight

Posted: Thu Sep 05, 2019 10:02 pm
by John S.
We always travel with a full rank of water. In my class a I had over 7k capacity in my Born free I still have quite a bit extra capacity. 35 gallons of water weighs less then 300 pounds. If you were to break down and sit in a repair lot you would be happy for the water. Fuel is way more weight. I have 55 gallons I can carry when full but that goes down pretty fast.