Weighing your Tent Trailers,Truck Campers,Fifth Wheel Trailers,Travel Trailers,Class C Motorhomes & Class A Motorhomes

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Understanding the weights of your RV is very important. Knowing what you can tow, or the loaded weight of your motorhome/tow vehicle will assist in understanding what your unit really weights. We suggest that for the family that tows a trailer, fifth wheel or drives a motorhome to weight that vehicle first (this should be done with a full tank of fuel, LP gas and anything or anyone that would be riding in the vehicle on a normal trip).
You can do this at any truck weight station. Its simple and easy and the cost is less than $10.00. Cheap price for safty & security.

Next we suggest that you compare what your weight was to what the manufacture states the GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating) should be. Now you know how much weight you can put in the tow vehicle or motorhome safely without going over the GVWR. Here is an example: Lets say you own a truck and it weighed in at 7,450 lbs. Now lets say that the GVWR by the manufacture is 12,000 lbs. This means that you have a carrying capacity of 4,550 lbs.

Now that you know the weight of your tow vehicle/motorhome you can figure out how much weight you can safely tow. This is where the GCWR (gross combined weight rating) comes in. This is the total weight of the tow vehicle/motorhome along with the weight of the trailer/towed car. Lets say that as in the example above the truck weights 7,450 lbs and the manufacture states that the GVWR is 20,000 lbs. This would mean you could tow a trailer or fifth wheel with a GVWR of no more that 12,550 lbs.

Through all of this you will also get the axle weights of the tow vehicle/motorhome and trailer. You will need to compare these to what the manufacture has stated is the GAWR (gross axle weight rating) of the vehicle. You can visit Interstate Scales to locate the scale nearest you.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to Contact Us.

GVWR (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating): Means the maximum possible loaded weight of the Trailer-Fifth Wheel-Motorhome or Tow Vehicle. The GVWR is equal to or greater than the sum of the unloaded vehicle weight plus the net carrying capacity.

UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight): Means the weight of the Trailer-Fifth Wheel without any supplies loaded into the unit.

NCC (Net Carrieing Capacity): Means the amount of weight that can be put in the Trailer-Fifth Wheel-Motorhome or Tow Vehicle,that when added to the UVW will be equal to or less than the GVWR.

GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating): Means the maximum permissible loaded weight a specific axle is designed to carry.

Base Weight: Means the estimated weight of the motor home without fuel, options, water, cargo or passengers.

GCWR (Gross Combined Weight Rating): Means the value specified by the motor home manufacturer or tow vehicle manufacture as the maximum allowable loaded weight of the Tow Vehicle or Motorhome with its towed vehicle.

Liquid Weight Reference : Water (gal/ltrs) = (8.3 lbs/3.8 kgs), Gas (gal/ltrs) = (6.1 lbs/2.8 kgs), Diesel (gal/ltrs) = (7.1 lbs/3.2 kgs), LPG (gal/ltrs) = (4.2 lbs/1.9 kgs)

Metric Conversion : Multiply pounds x 0.453 to obtain kilograms, Multiply gallons x 3.785 to obtain liters.