Weights and Corners

Weights and corners. Finally. Yes, we have weighed our coach several times over the years but only axle weights. Front and rear, including the tag. Getting the corners weighed is the recommended approach.

This was one of our CAT scale readings:

Steer axle was 14,160 lb. Drive axle was 24,380 lb. Total weight of 38,540 lb.

I took an educated guess and set my tire pressures as follows: 110 PSI on the steer, 90 PSI on the drive and 85 PSI on the tag.

One of our maintenance items at the Newmar factory included adjusting the ride height of the coach. That was an item we added to our list when we arrived here. I’m glad we did because I finally had a qualified recommendation from the manufacturer based on the weight of our fully loaded coach.

Our corner weights:

The coach was weighed with 3/4 tank of fuel, 2/3 fresh water, empty grey tank, 1/3 black tank and no passengers.

Newmar set our tire pressures at 110 PSI for the front axle and 75 PSI for the back six tires, significantly below my inflation levels for the rear tires.

I debated that number with the service technician as I thought the Michelin XRVs — we run 305/70R 22.5 tires — had a minimum inflation of 85 PSI. I was wrong. You can run them at 75 PSI.

I will be interested to see if I can feel a difference in how the coach feels on the road with the ride height adjustments and the change in tire inflation.

I was pleased to see that our corner weights are well balanced left to right.

Front axle: 50.6% left and 49.4% right.
Rear axle: 48.9% left and 51.1% right.
Tag axle: 49.6% left and 50.4% right.

We still have about 5,500 lb of additional carrying capacity with 1,000 lb on the front and 4,500 lb on the back. More stuff for the coach!

Our hitch is rated for 15,000 lb and our toad weighs in at just over 4,000 lb.

I check our tire inflation every time we drive and we have a TPMS that measures temperature and pressure. I had to reprogram the tire pressure limits for the rear six tires given the changes from the factory. With all of the maintenance and work items largely complete, we have a coach that should perform like new.

Tomorrow is our last leg into Canada. 450 miles of driving, roughly 7 hours not including breaks, fuel stops and customs.