Weighing your airstream and TV

[JSBERRY]

Getting ready for a 3 month trip in our 30 International and wanted to get some weight numbers on all my axils and TV.
Does anyone know of service around Austin area?

[Acheron2010]

https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/

[ROBERT CROSS]

Most of the Interstate truck stops will have scales.
I had to do a new baseline re-weigh as my loading had changed for a cross-country trip last Season. (no roof-top boat or fishing gear).
I was able to do it in four runs.
TV alone.
TV & AS no WD.
TV & AS max WD
TV & AS adj WD, done with a LEVEL rig.

Bob
🇺🇸

[Al and Missy]

There is probably a CAT scale near you, but if not, call your local moving companies. I weighed my trailer at one and the results were very close to the CAT scale weights. The moving company scale is a single platform so I had to weight TV front, TV both, and then TT, and got TV rear by subtracting TV front from TV both.

Another consideration is Escapees RV Club. They can give you a weight on each wheel so you can see left to right balance. The closest one to you is in Livingston, TX. They also go to rallies.

Al

[DaveP]

Bob,

Did you have a trip load in your trailer and TV when you weighted it or were those dry weights?

Thanks, Dave

[ROBERT CROSS]

I was fully loaded for a cross-country. Full lp & FW. Food for 3 wks. 2000i Honda. 150lbs of adult beverage. 7gal of home bottled coffee water.
Still heavy, but no extra tents, 8hp O/B. Boat on the roof etc.

Bob
🇺🇸

[MacCoroner]

Like you I want to know that my weights are within safe parameters, I just bought a device called the Haul Gauge which is going to tell me all the weights of my TV, tongue and trailer weight. I just got it and haven't done anything but basic setup. As soon as I have tested it fully I'll post my review here.

The web site is www.haulgauge.com

I figure that if it works it will pay for itself quickly since scale rates here in the Dallas area are almost $12 per pass.

Cheers,

Jim

[aswell]

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

Another consideration is Escapees RV Club. They can give you a weight on each wheel so you can see left to right balance. The closest one to you is in Livingston, TX. They also go to rallies.

Al

Also highly recommend the Escapees Smart Weigh service. Depending which direction you are headed Livingston may be a little out of the way, but it's an easy afternoon drive from Austin.

https://www.escapees.com/education/smartweigh/

Due to the scales measuring each wheel independently, we were able to catch some imbalance side-to-side, and also see that the front axle of our triple axle 34' was carrying significantly more weight than the rear axle, despite appearing level. They also caught a couple of older tires mixed in newer ones, due to reading the date codes, which the previous owners installed and we missed.

As a result we replaced all tires with 12-ply Hercules H901, which are totally overkill but safe, adjusted the weight distribution in the trailer, and were able to safely add a little more weight to the bed of the tow vehicle. The last 5k miles might not have been so trouble free had we not done so.

Worth a trip, if you can spare the time...

[SewStream]

A timely post @JSBERRY - we just got off the Escapees SmartWeigh scales in Bushnell, FL a few hours ago!

Since we travel in our Globetrotter full-time, we wanted to make sure that we have our weight distributed properly. Lesson(s) learned - we had a heavier tongue weight than what we would’ve thought. But, DOH! [emoji44] We had about 300lbs extra on the tongue because we didn’t dump our grey/black tanks before we weighed.

I would highly recommend SmartWeigh through Escapees if you are close enough to the one in Texas. The feedback we received from John, our “weighmaster”, was invaluable as we move forward with our travels. For us, it was his report and recommendations that were worth the detour we took to Bushnell to get weighed as opposed to just getting on the CAT scales.

[ROBERT CROSS]

POI...so your street side is too heavy, what do you do?

Bob
🇺🇸

[SewStream]

[emoji848] Hmmm...Unload the case of beer in the fridge? J/K - [emoji23]

[DaveP]

Thanks Bob. One last question. Was the fresh water tank full? We have similar trailers. That is why I am curious.

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by DaveP

Thanks Bob. One last question. Was the fresh water tank full? We have similar trailers. That is why I am curious.

Yes...I prefer to keep the tank useable on the road.
The Classic seems to handle better with the weight between the axles.

Bob
🇺🇸

[JSBERRY]

thank you all for your suggestions. i will check out the Escapees Livingston site.
So yesterday I found a scale about 10 miles from house at a scrap metal facility. I only weighed my TV which is a 2017 F150 Lariat with bumper deer guard and hard bed cover. Loaded my TV up with all my stuff for a long upcoming trip, grill,generator, 2 propane tanks,tools,chairs, golf clubs, dog, wife, etc. weighed in at
6600lbs. the GVWR limit on door is 7000lbs. since I'm pulling a 30 ft. International at 8000 lbs once I hitch up and add tongue weight of 800lbs my GVWR weight limit will be exceeded!
Soulution? Going to buy a F250 diesel today After reading many blogs on towing with a F150 and my rig I knew I had the power for towing but have been worried on weight. The F250 will be a little over kill on towing capacity but the extra loading capacity and weight of truck will provide much piece of mind especially on the steep mountain roads im heading for.
thanks again for all your help .

[ROBERT CROSS]

Originally Posted by SewStream

[emoji848] Hmmm...Unload the case of beer in the fridge? J/K - [emoji23]

Blasphemy...WWWD?

Bob
🇺🇸

[jaybauman]

Originally Posted by JSBERRY

Soulution? Going to buy a F250 diesel today

If you're purchasing a new one, be sure to follow manufacturer's recommendations for break-in period before towing....

[Bubba L]

We called the nearest Loves yesterday and they had the sectional scales. Pulled up and weighed. Cost $11.00. Like Bob said, gave us the ticket with TV and trailer weights broken out. Good luck

[RivaHaven]

Checked in with Escapees in Florida for a SmartWeigh. Totally recommend it! I wrote an article about it and set up a spreadsheet to calculate all the critical issues. See http://www.db26.net/airstream/201904-smartweigh.htm
Hope that’s useful...

[Tireman9]

Originally Posted by aswell

Also highly recommend the Escapees Smart Weigh service. Depending which direction you are headed Livingston may be a little out of the way, but it's an easy afternoon drive from Austin.

https://www.escapees.com/education/smartweigh/

Due to the scales measuring each wheel independently, we were able to catch some imbalance side-to-side, and also see that the front axle of our triple axle 34' was carrying significantly more weight than the rear axle, despite appearing level. They also caught a couple of older tires mixed in newer ones, due to reading the date codes, which the previous owners installed and we missed.

As a result we replaced all tires with 12-ply Hercules H901, which are totally overkill but safe, adjusted the weight distribution in the trailer, and were able to safely add a little more weight to the bed of the tow vehicle. The last 5k miles might not have been so trouble free had we not done so.

Worth a trip, if you can spare the time...

Don't forget it's the air pressure not the tire construction that is supporting the load. SO moving from LR-D > LR-E or LRE> LR-F will only give extra Reserve Load if you also increase the inflation.

[Ky76Argosy]

Most recycling centers that takes more than just aluminum cans has a scales too.