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Moving weight rearward in a trailer with all storage forward of axles

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  • #16
    Hi,

    You can create 400# to 600# of load on the rear of the fifth wheel by building a plywood storage box under the couch, a second one under the rear fold-down panel (need to unbolt it for that installation) and building a series of boxes with 3/4 inch maple plywood and 3/4" maple boards in the top storage compartment. The top compartment has a 3/4 inch base, back wall and side walls. I used about 200 screws for the project. There will be many cuts with the table saw because you are building in place. It is fully anchored to the sides and back to support the weight. I store most of my tools in the top box and all the spares under the couch.

    Crespro
    2021 Solitude 310 GK-R. 2020 F-250LB, 7.3L, 4.30, Reese 27K

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    • #17
      Originally posted by Crespro View Post
      Hi,

      You can create 400# to 600# of load on the rear of the fifth wheel by building a plywood storage box under the couch, a second one under the rear fold-down panel (need to unbolt it for that installation) and building a series of boxes with 3/4 inch maple plywood and 3/4" maple boards in the top storage compartment. The top compartment has a 3/4 inch base, back wall and side walls. I used about 200 screws for the project. There will be many cuts with the table saw because you are building in place. It is fully anchored to the sides and back to support the weight. I store most of my tools in the top box and all the spares under the couch.

      Crespro
      I sure would like to see pictures of this box please?

      Brian
      Brian & Michelle
      2018 Reflection 29RS
      2022 Chevy 3500HD

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      • #18
        Hi everyone! I'm baaack! Well it's been 2 months since I originally posted here and we have a few hundred more miles in our wake and a few modifications as well as tons of advice from having attended the Southern Oregon GD rally in Canyonville Oregon back in June (Thanks Jeret & Jen!!). As an aside...anyone who has not attended a rally...by all means GO! Those who have attended fully understand what I mean...right??

        Anyways...back to the weights. I have been trying to decide how best to sum up our changes and how we got within our limits. I guess that's the first thing to say...we are within all weight limits now! I am going start off with the current weights and limits. Then I will go into what we changed to get there and finally with a few things we did not change and why we decided to stay with them. Part of the reason I am going to do this is to thank all of those who weighed in (get it??) and gave their advice as well as assisting those who will be running into the same issues and hopefully capture some ideas for them.

        Old weights (from previous post):
        The specs on the truck from Ford are: GVWR: 11,500 / GCVWR: 23,500 / Payload: 3277 / Front GAWR: 6000 / Rear GAWR: 7000 This is all rated at the tire specs that are currently on the vehicle.

        Our 303RLS had these weights from the factory prior to water and propane. GVWR: 11,995 / GAWR (per axle): 5,200 / GAWR (both): 10,400 / UVW (no water or propane): 9,902 / Hitch Weight: 1,818

        Now here were my weights...Our vehicle with all of the things mentioned (both of us) above but no trailer Front: 5140 / Rear: 4000 / Total: 9140. The trailer with all of our stuff we added and about 1/3 tank of fresh water...grey and black empty...full propane.

        Next here are with trailer...Front: 5080 / Rear: 6540 / Trailer: 9100 / Total: 20740


        New weights: (specs and original weights from the factory remain the same obviously):

        F350 with no trailer, both of us, our normal travel gear and full diesel (48 gallons) and DEF (5 gallons) - Front: 5040 / Drive: 4000 / Total: 9040

        F350 with Trailer (weighed immediately after the tare f350 weigh): Front: 5180 / Drive: 6200 / Trailer Axles: 9320 / Total: 20700

        So doing the math...we are now under our GVWR (11380 v 11500), under our GCVWR (20700 v 23500), under the trailer GVWR (11660 v 11995)

        So how did we do it?
        1. We swapped out the heavy OEM tailgate on the F350 with a Custom Flow 5th wheel vented tailgate. This alone saved us about 60 pounds in pin weight.
        2. We (really me...wicked jules had everything she wanted and NOTHING was jettisonable) strongly reevaluated what we (see previous comment) could do without. So that pared off some weight; particularly in the storage locations up front - mostly redundant tools.
        3. We moved a couple things that had multi-use (trailer and powerplant) to the F350 storage bins under rear seat which moved some weight forward.
        4. We moved soda storage under the fold out couch (we have lots of soda) - GREAT tip
        5. We purchased a Tuffiom trailer hitch rack and a Lund aluminum truck box at the rear of the trailer and moved heavier items to give a cantilever effect. Even though we added weight (around 80 pounds...we moved that weight in back of the axles) and moved heavier items (camp chef stove, griddle and two electric scooters) there. That really paid off in pin weight relief. Another GREAT tip.
        6. We purchased some inexpensive flow meters to determine actual gallonage (one installed prior to the fresh water filter and the other on the black tank fill) that is added. This allowed us to go from the very rough tank monitoring system of 1/3 fresh water to a more precise 10 gallons for travel use. This is important because 10 gallons is roughly 80 pounds vs 1/3 a tank (and probably more since 1/3 is the first indicator on the monitoring system) which is over 200 pounds. 10 gallons is more than enough for bathroom breaks from campground to campground in our experience so far.

        So that is what we did. Here are some of the things we did not change and our reasoning why:
        1. We still weighed with a full fuel tank. We figured we wanted worst case scenario. It is true that fuel burns off steadily and, in all practicality, the fuel tank is never full. We wanted worse case scenario.
        2. We kept the heavy, aluminum roll up (120 pound) tonneau cover. We simply like it. It gives us the ability to put stuff in our bed of the truck and lock it up. The vented tailgate comes with an insert to fully encapsulate the bed. We do not travel with the insert but use it at home from time to time.
        3. We opted to keep the heavy hitch due to limited availability of options. This is probably something we will explore later but now is not the time to shop for trailer hitches. We got burned with our purchase and don't wish to add insult to injury at this time.
        4. We continue to travel with empty grey tanks which is what most folks do. We make exceptions when we are treating them with an enzyme cleaner but we reserve that for very short trips.

        Ruminations:
        Given what we have learned (and obviously not knowing what we still have yet to learn) I would consider the following items in the future. Of course that is in a very perfect world with 20/20 hindsight.
        1. Consider newer tow vehicles. It is very apparent that tow capacities jumped from our 2015 to later models. There is no way to know what is coming of course and we were doing our search at the height of COVID when options were EXTREMELY limited. But knowing this, and assuming choices exist, if someone is searching for a tow vehicle...it is very much worth the time and money to compare towing capacity from year to year in available models.
        2. Tow vehicle buildout packages and options. Although we love our King Ranch...there are several options that we do not use and add weight. Less loaded packages cost less and weigh less which may affect tow capacities.
        3. We have heard more than we care to admit that overweight is just a fact of life; EVERYONE is overweight. Although that may be true...here are a couple of things to consider. If you are overweight and get into an accident, if it's a serious accident, the investigative agency may do a forensic weight reconstruction to determine if weight was a determinant in the accident. If so, you may become liable. Now I am not an attorney...I don't even play on on TV. I am just trying to protect all of the things I have worked for in my life and want to continue to do them. If that's not enough to consider, I think we can all agree that insurance companies are not our close friends. We pay them to cover us and they are glad to accept our money. As I am sure we all can relate to...they are not so friendly when we have a claim. Have you checked your policy lately? Do they say they will pay even if you are overweight? GASP! TikiAl just spoke the forbidden thought! My guess is if they can allege you were overweight they can decline your claim. Good luck at fighting that; especially if the investigative agency claimed you were overweight. I for one do not have the time or resources to fight that. I prefer to have a weigh ticket that shows I am within the limits of my capacities. Having said that, I am not condemning anyone who is or might be overweight. I understand that manufacturers may very well pad their numbers to allow greater operational capacities and therefore are safe to operate outside of their posted capacities. I personally am glad if that is the case...it gives me a wider margin for error...which I like. I have concerns with saying that Joe Someone or Jim Somebodyelse; who I met in a campground, told me that it is ok to be overweight because manufacturers pad their numbers. Related to this are those who say that you can beef up your suspension on your trailer or powerplant and you are good to go. Uh Uh...not so fast. Even though those improvements can very well improve your capacities...only the vehicle manufacturer determines what your trailer or powerplant can handle. Those are on those stickers we all hate. We cannot change them. The shop you just paid thousands of dollars to upgrade your suspension cannot change them. Only the manufacturer can. I wish you all the best if you are going to court waving receipts for suspension upgrades. I hope it works for you. I am not trying to rain on anyone's parade...especially a newbie like me. I have lots to learn and can't wait to learn it. I got to where I am in life by being a tad skeptical and questioning common "truisms". It has benefited me to date and I am not about to change my Motus Oporandi just yet.

        There you go...those are my lessons learned to date and I can't express how helpful everyone on here has been. Great suggestions! Hopefully someone can also glean something from this thread too.

        Happy Trails!

        Tiki Al
        Alan and Julie Hartford
        2021 Reflection 5th Wheel 303RLS
        2015 F-350 SW Crew Cab 4x4 King Ranch

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