2019 Sport 16 - Weight and Carrying Capacity

[SilverHouseDreams]

Originally Posted by Airabel

We have a 2017 16' Sport and the weak link for us isn't the load capacity of the trailer but the capacity of the load dist. / sway hitch. The dealer recommended the lightest hitch possible which was an Equalizer with a 400 lb max. tounge weight. A tounge weight of less than 400 lb. requires traveling no fresh water in the tank.

AFAIK that only means that the hitch is designed to transfer a max of 400lbs, not that the hitch will fail with more than 400#. Not sure how this is an issue, as a 3500# trailer with a greater than 400# tongue weight is just as likely to be overloading the axle too.

[twbucksr]

We just took our first trip with our 2018 27FBQ FC and weighed prior to departure.

The rated base weight (full LP and Batteries) for our Airstream is 5868 lbs.

Then we added 39 gallons of fresh water (325 lbs.), 2 Honda 2000 converted to propane Generators (100 lbs.), Clothes, food, hoses, chords, etc. to the Airstream.

Total trailer weight on the axles, loaded for the trip, weighed on the scale the day of departure was 6280 lbs.

Total tongue weight, loaded for the trip, weighed on the scale the day of departure was 1120 lbs.

Based on our weight of 7400 lbs., the engineers at Airstream are spot on with a GVWR of 7600 lbs.

Total weight of our 2018 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT Crew Cab 6.2L with Max Tow Package loaded with tools, grill, chairs, coolers, golf clubs, full tank of gas and unhitched to our Airstream was 6340 lbs.

All weights are safely within the limits of both.

My point of my post on this thread is to encourage you to spend some time at the scales prior to your first/next trip to determine what and where things need to ride that keeps all within the weight limits of your Tow Vehicle and Airstream. Know your numbers! DON’T GUESS or ASSUME! Adjust your WD hitch to match the configuration.

Then safety take off and enjoy!

[Airabel]

Originally Posted by edscam

Our new 2019 Sport 16 arrived, and I went to look at it today. I took photos to review when I got home, and I have some concerns about the weights and carrying capacity. The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating on the sticker is 3,500 pounds and matches expectations. However, the manufactured weight is 3,072 pounds, and the carrying capacity is only 428 pounds. This is well below the advertised base weight of 2,860 pounds and carrying capacity of 640 pounds. Has anyone else seen similar numbers? If this is correct, I've lost over 200 pounds of carrying capacity!

I should also note that I added a factory installed solar panel but I can’t believe it weighs that much.

Edscam,
I checked the placard on our 2017, 16' Sport yesterday and our numbers are a little different than yours: trailer weight is 3029 lb. and maximum cargo weight is 471 lb. So factory must weigh each new trailer to come up with the axle GVWR of 3500 lb. That surprised me a little.