Weighed the Monty Today

[mach111]

My intention of this posting is to share the info I have for others. I was able to weigh each individual wheel on a single axle scale at a trucking company. I have weighed my previous rv's here for years. Please do not flame me for the weights on the Monty sound light but after this weighing I went down the road to the CAT scale which confirmed the previous axle weights. The Monty is loaded with our things but we are weekend campers while we still work fulltime.

TV is 2012 Dodge Ram 3500 4x4 Dually long bed full fuel tank factory stock.
Monty is 2009 2980RL basement loaded tanks empty-no gen set-bike rack on rear-one a/c-factory pin weight is 2450.

TV
LF 2280
LR 3080
RF 2280
RR 3020

Monty
LF 2140L
LR 1920
RF 2240
RR 2000

Individual wheel weights is the only way to tell true weights for me to base my decision to install new tires. Based on these weights Michelin XPS Ribs will be my new tires. My factory TR-6 rims which are 3500 rims can handle the load after speaking with Treadit tech person. I am no weight police but trying to make our rig safe to drive and have peace of mind while traveling. I am so happy to know MY wheel weights with no guessing and assuming.

[8.1al]

Based on your weights the ribs should be more than adequate for your trailer

[DQDick]

The tires should do you well. Have you ever weighed the truck without the camper on it? Just wondering if you are transferring weight off your front wheels.

[Irlpguy]

Thanks for sharing your information mach111. I have the same TV and it is interesting to compare your total weight per axle to mine. When I am loaded and ready to roll, including the wife and dog I weigh in at 11,683 so I am packing a 1000# more than you on my TV.

I cannot compare the RV weights since mine is a 2012 - 3402Rl and is heavier overall and heavier right from the factory.

I was wondering if you were hooked up to your Monty when you weighed each wheel and does your Monty have 6 or 7 thousand lb axles?

[mach111]

I was hooked to Monty when weighing.
Our Monty has 6k axles.

[Tom S.]

No flaming, but the weights on our 06 3500 (I know - different model) were considerably higher. At your weights, good "E" rated truck tires would be a no brainer, as they are rated at 3040, if I remember correctly. Here are the weights on ours:

RF: 2,900
RR: 2,725
LF: 2,725
LR: 2,900

As you can see, the trailer was extremely well balanced side to side, in fact the guy doing the weighing (RVSEF) was surprised himself. You can also see though that two axles were within 140lbs of the truck tire's "E" rating, which was too close for comfort for me.

[Irlpguy]

Assuming your weights were accurate Mach111, and your heaviest trailer wheel was carrying 2240 lbs then the XPS ribs with a capacity of 3042 @ 80 psi should be an excellent choice. If inflated to the max 80 psi this gives you at least 800 lbs reserve capacity on each tire and as important as that, it gives you a tire rated for 75 mph as opposed to 65 on the ST tires, while still exceeding the capacity of your axles.

Just remember you only get the 3042 rated capacity when aired up at 80 psi.

Good luck with the new skins.

[mach111]

Ed,

Thanks for your input. Yes, I do plan to air to 80 psi.

Always enjoy reading your info in all subjects. You are a great ambassador for the forum. You and others have helped me to make our Monty more enjoyable and safer. I have been studying tire info for several months now and I feel good about installing Michelins. Besides I found a good outlet for our tires for the landscape trailers w/o paying new tire prices. Those ole "Marabombs " work well on the trailers in the 6-8k range.

In near future I plan to weigh TV w/o Monty to compare weights. I am curious about the front axle weight w/o Monty as Dick mentioned.

[DQDick]

The reason I mentioned it is that I found I was shifting about 500# to the rear. Not a big deal, but air bags fixed that and made for a better ride and better feel of control.

[Irlpguy]

Randy, according to the best information I can find the curb weight on our TV's is right around 7900 lbs. I have a custom built storage box behind the cab in mine which when I weighed the truck had my 3000 watt Honda, a small electric air compressor, tools and 3 - 5 gal jerry cans full of fuel.
I weighed it alone with myself, my wife and dog as we normally travel and the axle weights were. Front: 4938 lbs Rear: 3946 lbs for a combined weight of 8884 lbs.

The change in weight when hooked to the Monty with all the same conditions was Front: 5026 lbs Rear: 6657 lbs for a combined weight of 11,683 lbs. Unlike Dick I added an additional 88 lbs to the front axles and 2711 lbs to the rear axle. Combining the two gave me a pin weight of 2799 lbs.

Our trucks have a GVWR of 12,300 lbs so you can see at 11,683 I was under my GVWR but not by much. You might be interested to know the weight on my trailer axles was 12,456 lbs. If I assume each wheel is carrying about the same amount then dividing that figure by four would suggest I am carrying 3114 lbs per tire. So with Marathon tires rated at 3420 lbs I don't have much reserve capacity. If one or more of my wheels is carrying more weight than the others then it compounds the problem of insufficient reserve.

All of us with the heavier RV's should be equipped with "G" rated tires and that is what will go on mine when I replace the Marathons.
I do not profess to be in any way an authority on tires, but I believe you are fine with the LT tires according to your weights.

[twindman]

I have a 2006 2980 model. My hitch weight is 400 lb heavier, but I have 3 batteries and a front AC unit, so that is probably 200 lb. And the weight is loaded for a 90 day summer trip. My axle weight of the trailer is about 900-1000 lb heavier than yours. Again loaded for summer and I think including 400 lb of water in the fresh tank.
So I think we are pretty close when adjustments are made. Of course, my truck is overweight by 5-600 now, but each axle is okay.
Just for what is's worth.