13
TRAILER AND TRUCK
MATCHING TRAILER AND TRUCK
Selecting the right combination requires understanding
a few guidelines. Your Chalet dealer can be a valuable
source of information when matching a camper to your
truck.
A Federal Certification Label is required by law on all
trucks. It is usually located on the driver side door post.
It lists the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), the
maximum weight at which the vehicle may be operated.
It also provides a Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR),
the maximum weight allowed for each axle. The
GAWR, divided by two, is the maximum axle rating for
each end of an axle.
Trailers are considered “truck payload.” New trucks
have their payload capacity posted in the glove box or
on a specification sheet supplied with the truck
owner’s manual. Trucks that have many options and/or
a 4-wheel drive option have less payload. To calculate
payload, the truck manufacturers assume all seat
positions are filled with persons weighing 150 pounds.
One way to determine the actual payload available is
to weigh the truck full of fuel and with the number of
passengers you will normally be carrying and subtract
that weight from the GVWR.
RV’s become overloaded when people put too many
things into them. There is no easy way to determine
the weight you’ve loaded, so there’s a temptation to
keep loading until every available space if filled.
People are loading by volume, but weight is far more
important. Unfortunately, you may have exceeded the
load-carrying capacity of the tires before everything is
on board. The only way to tell if your truck/trailer is
overloaded is to weigh it fully loaded.
The most critical point about weighing a vehicle is that
it must be weighed with everything on board that will
be there while you’re traveling. That means you must
weigh the truck/trailerer with passengers, supplies,
food, water, propane and the truck full of fuel. Bear in
mind that water weighs 8.3 lbs per gallon and propane
weighs 4.2 lbs per gallon. These two items alone can
add over 400 lbs alone. Limiting your on-board water
until you arrive at your destination will lower your total
weight. You must know the actual load on the axles
and wheels, and there’s no other way to do it other
than on a commercial scale.
In addition to knowing the total weight, it is crucial to
know the weight on each end of each axle. That’s the
only way you can find out if the load is both within the
tire capacity, as well as whether or not the load is
properly distributed.
You should be able to find certified scales by looking
in your Yellow Pages for moving and storage
companies, farm suppliers, gravel pits, recycling
companies or commercial truck stops. Be sure to call
in advance to determine whether the facility offers
public weighing services, their hours of operation and
any fees that might be involved.
WARNING
Failure to properly match trailer
And truck can result in undesirable handling
Characteristics and create a safety hazard.
Do not load your vehicle beyond its gross vehicle
weight rating (GVWR) and/or gross axle weight
ratings (GAWR). Both of these ratings are given on an
identification label normally located at the driver’s
door post area.
In addition to knowing the overall weight that can be
safely loaded in or attached to the truck, you should
know how to distribute the weight in the camper so
that correct amounts of weight are placed on each
truck axle. Proper weight distribution is required for
driving stability and will assure that the truck/camper
is not rear, front or side heavy. Heavy weights placed
at the rear end of the truck/camper may cause
undesirable handling characteristics
When loading the RV, store heavy gear first, keeping
it on or close to the trailer floor.
Store only light objects on high shelves. Distribute
weight to obtain even side-to-side balance of the
loaded vehicle.
Secure loose items to prevent weight shifts that could
affect the balance of your vehicle.
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