This is part of a series on getting my truck and camper weighed. The truck is a 2012 Dodge Ram 3500 Dually/Crew Cab/Long Bed/4.10 gears and the camper is a 2013 Palomino Sabre 36QBOK-7.
The first weighing was good and told me that I was under my ratings for the truck. I wanted to know a bit more details, so I weighed the truck by itself. This meant that I had to suck it up and and park my trailer in a spot with the big rigs who were on the job and didn’t want some yahoo making a fool of himself (or they did and I was temporary entertainment). I took the easiest spot on the lot (along an open side/end) and still made a fool of myself as I backed into the spot.
The next things that I wanted to know is:
- what does my truck weigh with my family and I when it’s ready for a trip?
- The math is done for me – 9,200 pounds
- what is my actual vs. advertised payload capacity?
- On my doorjamb is a sticker that says I have a payload capacity of 4,297 pounds
- After adding add-ons to the truck (hitch, RetraxPro bed cover), myself, my family, car seats, snacks, waters, etc. this has dropped by almost 1,200 pounds! to 3,100 pounds (GVWR/12,300 minus the wet truck weight/9,200). This difference shocked me!
- what is the pin weight of the camper?
- This is the difference between the 2 rear axle weights: 6,260 – 3,960 = 2,300 pounds
- what is the actual gross weight of the camper itself?
- This is the trailer axle weight from the first weighing plus the pin weight: 11,560 + 2,300 = 13,860 pounds
- This is under the camper’s gross weight rating of 15,825 pounds
- what percentage of the camper’s weight does that pin weight translate to?
- This is the pin weight divided by the camper’s gross weight: 2,300 / 13,860 = 16.6%
- This was lower than expected, but given the dual slides in the bunkhouse, it makes sense
A couple of caveats – this was my first camping trip of the season and thus, we are definitely carrying less than the end of the season because we tend to accumulate crap during our trips and purge at the end of the year. I also didn’t know it, but I was out of propane. I was carrying about 1/2 to 2/3 of a tank of freshwater which is pretty typical for us. My 5 waste water holding tanks were as close to empty as possible (with just some winterization R/V antifreeze in each- about a gallon each). I sometimes carry more or less waste water, depending on my last trip and when my next one is. And, due to winterization, my water heater tank (10 gallons) was empty; that is typically full.
Read the Rest of the Series
- Introduction
- Getting Weighed #1 – Truck and Camper
- Getting Weighed #2 – Truck Only
- Getting Weighed #3 – Trailer Axle Weights
- Closing Thoughts
