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Old 07-12-2007, 08:36 PM   #1
traveltunes
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Real world weight for a full timing Big Sky owner.

Hey everyone,
I thought I would let you know how our Big Sky came out on the scales; this is with all the option's except dual pane windows. We have the stacked w/d, generator, 2nd a/c, quad slide toppers, etc. The fresh water tank was full also. We are full-timing and have everything we could possibly need. I'm sure I'll get some comments on this, anyway for the real deal here it goes.

Truck without trailer:
Steer Axle: 4,440 lbs.
Drive Axle: 3,520 lbs.
Gross weight of truck: 7,960 lbs. GVWR for truck is 9,200 lbs.

Truck with trailer:
Steer Axle: 4,480 lbs. the GAWR for my truck is 4,670 lbs. so I'm under by 230 lbs.
Drive Axle:6,700 lbs. the GAWR for the truck is 6,084 lbs. so I'm over by 616 lbs.
Gross Weight for truck only on the scale with trailer is: 11,180 lbs.
So total I'm 1,980 lbs. over the trucks GVWR.

Trailer Axles only:
Gross Weight: 12,780 lbs.

The pin wt. is 3,180 lbs. just under 20% of the trailer weight.

Total weight of trailer without truck: 15,960 lbs. I was over the trailer's rating of 15,605 by 355 lbs.

Grand total combined weight is 23,920 lbs. The truck is GCWR is 22,000 for my 2006 Chevy 2500HD D/A Crew Cab 4x4 Short Bed.
I'm over by 1,920 lbs.

Once I got rid of the fresh water, I was within the trailer weight rating.

I'm sure the weight police wannabe's will have something to say, but there is no way I'm over enough to cause any damage to the truck.IMO I also have the super duty air bags and two extra super leaf springs per side. I did upgrade the tires to 265's Bridgestone Revo's 10 ply and that added over a 1,000 lbs extra load capacity per tire.

When I compared the 1 ton SRW same year, make and model it only had a payload difference of 261 lbs. a bigger gas tank, and a higher rated rear axle, and the same max transmisson trailer weight of 12,000 lbs. everything else was the same. The truth is unless you have a dually or bigger, most of the SRW trucks pulling a similar rig to ours, are overloaded.

I have since moved quite a bit of stuff around and got the weights as good as they will get without buying a dually or bigger. I had also read that someone was talking about practicality for the tow vehicle and with us the TV is our only mode of transportation. In our current situation the only option would be to buy a 1 ton dually and then buy a small fuel efficient auto. I just don’t think I’m ready to sell one and then buy two. Aside from the weight facts given above the rest of the comments are purely the my opinions.
Someone said they wanted real world numbers and I am "Mister Real World"…lol Maybe I shouldn’t divulge so much information but I was born in the Show-Me-State and that’s what I do best. (Show You )
I'm not afaid to let everyone know about my problems with truck or trailer. I think awareness is the best thing a forum could have and I am proud to let everyone know it.

I hope this helps put some things into a good perspective. Be safe out there.Let the fun begin!
 
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Old 07-13-2007, 12:42 AM   #2
rldriver
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Traveltunes, very interesting numbers. My dry weight with 3/4 tank of water and no W/D or 2nd AC was about 12,500 gross for our Big Sky. Given that then you have about 3,000 pounds of "stuff" including the two items above. I have been thinking that when we get ours full we will be over on our numbers also but have decided to run with it. We should know in a few months where we stand, that is as soon as the stick built sells. We had a offer today but have not heard back on our counter.

Are you using a 16K hitch or go with a larger one?
Dick

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Old 07-13-2007, 01:06 AM   #3
Ozz
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Thanks for being honest and sharing your 'stats. Sounds like you have her set up exactly the way you want for travel. Good luck and keep those speeds under 65.
See you on the road.
Ozz
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Old 07-13-2007, 02:34 AM   #4
bncinwv
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Good point Ozz, over on rv.net, I always read all the posts detailing blowouts, and firmly believe that 95% of the tire problems are SPEED AND LOAD RELATED (guarantee that will open a can of worms). Although I must admit I cheat a little on the Missions and set the cruise on 68. Sorry.
Bingo
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Bingo and Cathy - Our adventures begin in the hills of WV. We are blessed by our 2014 3850FL Big Sky (previous 2011 3750FL and 2007 3400RL) that we pull with a 2007 Chevy Silverado Classic DRW CC dually.
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Old 07-13-2007, 02:36 AM   #5
richfaa
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If you feel Ok about it then so be it. We understand about the dually.We have one and it is also our only mode of transportation when we are on the road which has been most of the time. The dually is a pain in the butt, It is inconvenient many places you can not go.We are considering a new truck and wanted to get away from a dually. Helen's response was.."remember why you got one in the first place' We will stay with the dually warts and all..Not what we want but what we need IMO. Life is a crap shoot anyway.
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Old 07-13-2007, 03:24 AM   #6
Wrenchtraveller
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Thanks for your honest post. I was pretty certain that the larger Montanas would be over the Gross Axle Ratings on many SRW pickups. Your post proves it. Thanks again. Don.
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Old 07-13-2007, 04:35 AM   #7
azranger
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See attached link with photo of the weight ticket for our loaded 2007 Montana 3475-RL. It shows that we are within GVWR's for both the trailer and our 2006 Dodge Ram 3500 diesel 2WD SRW short bed quad cab. This is the reason we decided on the basic 1 ton truck and the 3475 rather than the 3400. We gave up some stuff (4WD/DRW on the truck and storage in the kitchen) but gained weight advantage to keep us within capacities.

actual weight sticker of 1 ton truck & 3475RL
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Old 07-13-2007, 09:13 AM   #8
Cat320
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by traveltunes

Grand total combined weight is 23,920 lbs. The truck is GCWR is 23,500 for my 2006 Chevy 2500HD D/A Crew Cab 4x4 Short Bed.
I'm over by 420 lbs.
Hate to tell you this, but you are over 1,920, not 420. The GCWR of all 2500HDs is 22,000...you'd be over weight for a dually.
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Old 07-13-2007, 09:34 AM   #9
traveltunes
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Cat 320,
You are correct. It was late last night when I typed that. The GCWR is 22,000 for that truck. Either way I'm still overloaded. I will make a correction on the post. Thanks

Looks like I've already been busted by the weight police and I'm still parked.lol
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Old 07-13-2007, 09:37 AM   #10
traveltunes
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rldriver,
I upgraded to a 20K hitch because I only had a 15K with the Mountaineer. I pulled the Big Sky over 2,400 miles to Oregon with all the above weights and the truck did great, even over the mountains. With the modifications I've done and the Mor/Ryde hitch you don't even know its back there. I have the downhill grade breaking w/towhaul mode and Prodigy brake controller and never once had a problem stopping. I had to slam on the breaks quite a few times and it stopped fine. I always leave myself plenty of room to stop.
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Old 07-13-2007, 09:44 AM   #11
Bill and Lisa
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Hey traveltunes,
If you got rid of that antenna array on the back of your rig in your pictures you would probably come back within limits!!
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Old 07-13-2007, 10:15 AM   #12
traveltunes
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Bill and Lisa:
Yeah but I would lose all those over the sea channels I'm picking up.LOL
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Old 07-13-2007, 03:40 PM   #13
firetrucker
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Not the weight police, but a comment on the physics of the situation. The truck is a system with a lot of parts that determine the weight ratings. You've overloaded it both vertically (suspension) and horizontally (drive train and brakes). It may last forever, but it may show significant wear long before you expect it. Check for that wear by doing maintenance more often and more thoroughly than recommended. Keep safe!

Bob
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Old 07-13-2007, 04:20 PM   #14
exav8tr
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I was told to pay particular attention to the wear on the brakes and have them checked more often. Wouldn't hurt to check bearings more often also.

Phil
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Old 07-15-2007, 01:14 PM   #15
mallardjusted
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traveltunes,

re: "When I compared the 1 ton SRW same year, make and model it only had a payload difference of 261 lbs. a bigger gas tank, and a higher rated rear axle, and the same max transmisson trailer weight of 12,000 lbs. everything else was the same. The truth is unless you have a dually or bigger, most of the SRW trucks pulling a similar rig to ours, are overloaded."

I'm surprised the Chevy 2500 vs 3500 had only that difference in payload??? On my 2005 Ford CC ps the difference between F-250 and F-350 is around 1400 lbs (my 350, after options is 3552lbs). I believe the new ones are similar.

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Old 07-15-2007, 02:06 PM   #16
Cat320
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by mallardjusted

traveltunes,

re: "When I compared the 1 ton SRW same year, make and model it only had a payload difference of 261 lbs. a bigger gas tank, and a higher rated rear axle, and the same max transmisson trailer weight of 12,000 lbs. everything else was the same. The truth is unless you have a dually or bigger, most of the SRW trucks pulling a similar rig to ours, are overloaded."

I'm surprised the Chevy 2500 vs 3500 had only that difference in payload??? On my 2005 Ford CC ps the difference between F-250 and F-350 is around 1400 lbs (my 350, after options is 3552lbs). I believe the new ones are similar.

The problem with the GM SRW one ton is that they only add 700 lbs to the GVWR (9900 compared to 9200) and the SRW is not offered in a short bed. So, when you consider the extra weight of a one ton plus the extra weight of the LB...you lose about half that 700 lbs.
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Old 07-15-2007, 05:06 PM   #17
David and Jo-Anna
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Traveltunes and Rldriver--I'm just getting back on line aftr being out of air card range the last several days. Thought I'd toss in my Big Sky weight numbers from my recent weigh-in to give you some comparisons. These weights are with about 1/3 tank of fresh water, combo washer/dryer, 2d AC, dual pane windows, quad slide toppers and close to our planned load of personal cargo (including groceries) as full-timers:

Trailer axles --11,740#; pin weight --2,790# Total 14,530#

Traveltunes--Just how heavy is your Onan generator?

Dick--Is your 12,500# with or without your personal cargo? And please remind me whether you went with the dual pane windows.

Wish I'd weighed my rig before loading it up to see it's true dry weight, but then I had my gear in it before Camping World finally put in the 2d AC and washer/dryer in the correct rig. LOL!!!!
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Old 07-15-2007, 06:38 PM   #18
rldriver
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Quote:
quote:[i]

Dick--Is your 12,500# with or without your personal cargo? And please remind me whether you went with the dual pane windows.

Wish I'd weighed my rig before loading it up to see it's true dry weight, but then I had my gear in it before Camping World finally put in the 2d AC and washer/dryer in the correct rig. LOL!!!!
David, the 12,500 was a gross dry weight on the way home from the dealer with 3/4 tank of fresh water, dual pane windows and slide toppers. This also was very close to the dry weight listed on the inside of the kitchen cupboard. I will be getting a fully loaded weight in about 45 days as we sold our home in 10 days and am now getting ready to sell what the kids don't take and loading up the Big Sky for the next part of our lives. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have any problems with the buyer and closing. Jackie will retire at the end of April so I guess we will be called "work campers" for this fall and winter. We have a spot reserved at a local RV park (Oasis) so will move there after Labor day and get settled in for a long cold winter.
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Old 07-15-2007, 08:00 PM   #19
judyuk
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Dick and Jackie,
Congratulations! That was quick. Hope everything goes well. We're in the "do we really this in the 5'er stage?" but since we don't have it yet, it's hard to know.
Judy
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Old 07-16-2007, 01:18 AM   #20
David and Jo-Anna
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Dick--

Glad to hear you sold your house so quickly--been hearing some horror stories on people trying to sell their houses in this market. Wishing you the best of luck on the closing and other final details.

And thanks for your weight info, even though it leaves me a little perplexed. Sounds like the 12,595# UVW figure they give for the Big Sky is on the high side. If you weighed in at 12,500# with 375# of water, and presumably 60# of propane, that suggests the dry weight of the Big Sky is closer to 12,150# with dual pane windows and slide toppers--which has to put it well below 12,000# without those options. Guess that means I have more personal cargo in out Big Sky than I thought since we weighed in at 14,530# with only about 1/3 of a tank of fresh water.

Guess I'll have to tell Jo-Anna that we have our full load of cargo and she can't buy anything more even if there is still some storage space in the overhead cupboards and the basement areas. LOL!!!!
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