Reducing Trailer Weight
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Printed Date: 02 May 2024 at 6:04am
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Topic: Reducing Trailer Weight
Posted By: Jeepinator
Subject: Reducing Trailer Weight
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2019 at 12:16pm
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It’s time for our Pod to lose some weight. She clocked in at 4,080 lbs at her first Weight Watchers meeting! I weighed trailer and TV with WDH tensioned (9,460) then TV only (5,380) with WDH in receiver. The label on the trailer says “Dry Weight 2,929”. Does anyone know if this includes everything it shipped with such as the awning, spare tire, power jack etc? This is everything I’ve identified thus far but I’m 450 lbs short minus WDH tension. WDH Tension ?? 2nd Battery 50 WDH Brack 30 Water, Fresh 80 Clam 40 Battery Box 20 Chairs 36 Crates 120 Food 50 Cooking. 40 Tools 50 Wood blocks 20 Wood Sign 20 Grill 40 Crock pot 15 Waffle Iron 5 Dewalt Fan 7 Clothing & Bedding 50 Hookup Gear 30 I only had 10 gals of water and the WDH rods and brackets.
------------- 2018 Jeep Wrangler Willys 2017 179 |
Replies:
Posted By: EchoGale
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2019 at 12:19pm
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The short answer seems to be 'no." but there's a good thread on this right below labeled "dry weight." ------------- Julie |
Posted By: Happy Tripping
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2019 at 8:35pm
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I'm not an expert but here's my 2 cents. State parks and rv campgrounds have water and toilets so you don't have to use your trailer's. You might try the backpacker's axiom - 'When in doubt, leave it out' (50 pounds of tools?,40 pound grill? crock pot and waffle iron?). That doesn't mean you can't go out and tow, BUT ... 1. Stay away from the Appalachians - Flatlands are your friend. 2. Expect shorter vehicle life because it is having to work awfully hard. 3. Go slow |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2019 at 8:50pm
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Quite sure that the weight does not include anything for batteries or propane tank(s). Ours is only 2400 lbs but came w/o AC, microwave or entertainment system so that probably adds up to 150 lbs, but on the other hand I added that back by adding 2 20# propane tanks and 2 12 volt group size 24 batteries; we normally boondock. This is on a 2011 177.
------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: Jeepinator
Date Posted: 13 Jul 2019 at 8:56pm
Agreed! We have to jettison some gear. ------------- 2018 Jeep Wrangler Willys 2017 179 |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2019 at 5:12am
The 4080 should be correct for the trailer, wdh tension notwithstanding, because you first weighed the entire rig and then subtracted the TV by itself. IOW, the wdh doesn't change the total weight, only shifts some weight back and forth between the axles. If you want to know what's included and not included in FR's empty weight sticker take a look at the 2017 brochure here. https://forestriverinc.com/brochures/2017/2017rpodbrochure.pdf - https://forestriverinc.com/brochures/2017/2017rpodbrochure.pdf This lists the standard empty weight of the base trailers and on the second to last page it lists the weights of each of the factory options. Note that battery weight and specs are not included, so you need to add both batteries to your list. A single full propane cylinder is supposed to be included now,. Also, the 50 lbs of water we are all dragging around in our water heaters is not included in the dry weight, and there is probably another gallon or two in the plumbing, plus some remaining water in the gray and black tanks. I tried to reconcile the actual loaded weight of my 2015 179 (3740) and couldn't do it either, by about 250-300 lbs. I highly suspect that FR's empty weights are optimistic but the only way to prove that would be to empty everything back out to as delivered configuration and reweigh it and I'm too lazy to do that  If you can do so conveniently I'd also recommend running your rig through the scales again with the wdh not tensioned, this time getting a weight on the tow vehicle only (trailer axle off the scale). Then you can subtract your first 5380 lb TV weight from this second tow vehicle + trailer weight to get your tongue weight. That might be more a limiting factor for your Jeep than the total trailer weight is. As to how much weight is on the rear axle with the wdh, the simplest way would be to just weigh the trailer axle by itself (TV off the scale) with the wdh tensioned. Note though that if the scale and roadway where the TV is when you do that aren't completely level with each other there will be a little variation as the wdh will be doing its job trying to accommodate the high or low spot under the TV rear axle. Should be a small variation though. Short of that you can work backward to estimate the rear axle loading using this calculator. By working backward I mean that you can input your rig dimesions and weights and then adjust the tension of the hitch in the calculator until the load on the TV front axle is the same with the trailer and wdh as it is for the TV without the trailer, just like the adjustment instructions for the wdh say to set it. It's a bit of a PITA but doable. FWIW, my trailer axle came out at about 120 lbs additional from the wdh but YMMV. https://www.ajdesigner.com/apptrailertow/weightdistributionhitch.php - https://www.ajdesigner.com/apptrailertow/weightdistributionhitch.php Oh, and last thing, I just gotta ask, what's in the 120lb crates and where do you keep them  ?------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: crankster78
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2019 at 7:37am
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Greetings: I've found that due to the time it takes for the water to get hot in the water heater, the amount of time that you have to run the facet to get hot water, It's easier to just heat up a large pot of water with what you need on the stove. I'm going to turn off and drain the water heater to save some weight. Most of the time I stay at State parks with showers, and when I dry camp, I take sponge baths. I use a plastic dish pan to wash dishes in. It works for me and I use less water. I travel by myself, so this works for me. Crankster78 ------------- Crankster 78 R-179 2015 |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2019 at 8:17am
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Interesting idea. What I've done to extend boondocking time is to install an additional thermostat for the water heater, set to 105-106 degrees (the perfect shower temp for us). That way we don't waste water fiddling with the shower temp. We wash dishes once a day having wiped the dirty dishes as well as possible immediately after use. We use water heated on the stove with a little soap in one of the pots we need to clean anyway. Only takes a few seconds to get the little water we need warm. Then we rinse using the sink hot water tap. By the time we're done rinsing the water is coming out warm so we take our navy style showers. We are only using maybe a gallon or gallon and a half or so each showering and another gallon rinsing dishes so never run out of warm water. My wife and I can go a week that way on 30 gal and still take daily showers, and by myself I can go over two weeks. We do bring bottled water in a couple of 2.5 gal plastic containers for drinking and food prep so that extends the dwell time a day or two. As we're camping in primitive campgrounds or dispersed camping 90% of the time I always travel with my fresh water tank filled, and I do have dual GC2 batteries. I keep the trailer weight down by keeping everything else as simple and light as possible. I agree that for folks camping in developed campgrounds with water most of the time that its better to travel with a near empty fresh water tank, and if there's also a dump station you don't have to be that focused on water savings. I suppose to save weight you could also rig up a water heater drain that doesn't require pulling out the anode and then fill that and the fresh tank when you get to the campground. ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: mjlrpod
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2019 at 11:13am
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If we are going to talk water conservation here, i'll try to add something. I find that in a one week stay, i can stay just over 1/3 full. I think dishes is the big culprit. I do like I used to do when I tented. I fill a 7 gallon aqua-tainer with water and dish liquid. I first wipe EVERYTHING with wet ones wipeys until they look clean. Then i quickly wash them under the dishwash container (which is directly over a 5 gallon pail I dump responsibly) and lastly either a super quick rinse in the sink, or I walk to the water hook up and rinse it there. Very little water goes into the grey tanks from dishes, and NO grease or food particles. We only use bottle water as well, so no waste water goes into sinks. In a week, we will both shower twice in the camper, and sponge bath in between. If you shower at home before leaving, you never really go more than 2 days without showering. So 4 showers and a little of the rinsing are a third / third and a half of the tank. ------------- 2017.5 Rp-172 2020 R-pod 195 2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl I'll be rpodding |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2019 at 11:30am
I like your dishwashing protocol. I'd try the shower every other day thing too but my wife would make me sleep outside ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: podwerkz
Date Posted: 14 Jul 2019 at 2:16pm
Bodies?  ------------- r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten! |
Posted By: Jeepinator
Date Posted: 15 Jul 2019 at 9:56pm
[Oh, and last thing, I just gotta ask, what's in the 120lb crates and where do you keep them  ?]Ha! 120 lbs total and that was a very rough estimate. I keep the crates under the slider when traveling and outside at the site. 4 gals drinking water (empty for trip home) Small solar light Collapsible wash bucket One-burner propane stove with two bottles of propane Coleman camp-stove toaster Rope/bungees Hammock 2 collapsible trash/recycling baskets Clothes pins Rain & fleece jackets Flip flops & water shoes Tarp Stove grate and propane hose for Road Trip grill Hatchet/hammer Sven folding saw American flag mount (modified shower suction cup handle) 2.5 gal collapsible water container 2 Foam kneeling cushions (for picnic table) Rain cover for the crates Wag bag 4 trash bags to cover removed Jeep Doors We are moving to a Blackstone grill so the Coleman Road Trip and accessories will be gone. We are also breaking up the gear for boon-docking or hookups so we only bring what we need. ------------- 2018 Jeep Wrangler Willys 2017 179 |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2019 at 6:24pm
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Glad to hear its not bodies ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 16 Jul 2019 at 10:24pm
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Could have been gold bars... ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: kansasfrogs
Date Posted: 27 Jul 2019 at 11:04am
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I wondered too, what dry weight meant, so asked FR. They said it was just the camper, no propane, or battery and of course no water. Not what the dealer told me...but I have since weighed if loaded and we're fine. ------------- FROGGY |