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Hit the CAT scale for the first time today and weighed in at 10,840# minus my weight so just over 11k! That was with no fresh water and black tank at 3/4 and grey tank at 1/4 and full tank of diesel and some small tools in the truck, 3x 12v vehicle batteries plus 2x propane tanks 3/4 full and 3-4 gallons of fuel in the diesel heater tank. Rear tire capacity is just over 8k and I'm just over rear axle max, but under front axle max although I may not have positioned the truck in the right spot on the scale so I'll hit the scale again completely dry and positioned better if need be!
Also I'm going to start reducing weight any way I can like removing the rear leather bench seat, removing the jacks, swapping the lead acids for 1x lithium phosphate, removing cupboard doors and replacing with netting.....stuff like that. Hopefully I can get the weight down closer to 10k with only some tools and food on board.
This is approximately where I lined up the truck with the space between the 2 scale pads:
With a long bed camper on a short bed truck it's going to be tough moving that weight forward, not to mention the center of gravity.
Good luck.
Yeah a long bed would be ideal, but the camper is designed for 6.75 beds as well with most of the weight being up front.
This model camper is an 810 and just at the brink of being a true long bed model like the 10+ footers. My F250 is identical to its equivalent F350 so it CAN handle the weight, but still I'd like to get as close to the 10k gvwr as possible.
Would you say I lined it up properly on the scale or was I off a bit?
Weight reduction in this area moves the weight balance towards the front axle.
Weight loss forward of the rear axle moves weight to the rear axle. Any extra batteries should be placed off the frame under the front cab area, loading proportionally to the front axle. The rear axle is the pivot of a seesaw.
Weight reduction in this area moves the weight balance towards the front axle.
Weight loss forward of the rear axle moves weight to the rear axle. Any extra batteries should be placed off the frame under the front cab area, loading proportionally to the front axle. The rear axle is the pivot of a seesaw.
When I remove the 3x lead acids the replacement lithium will be placed inside the camper in a cubby very close to the cab of the box so that will take 150lbs or so off the rear, 80lbs or so with the jacks removed so that's something at least.
I figure between the black and gray tanks plus diesel heat fuel there was roughly 30-40 gallons or 250-350lbs at the very rear when I hit the scale so next time I weigh the rig those tanks will be empty and with my upcoming modifications I'd assume the weight will shift more to the front. I'll also keep travel gear in the passenger seat and cab area so that should help too.
I might not get down to 10k total weight, but I sure can reduce the weight on the rear axle!
I have a similar tc and truck, please post what and how you reduce the weight
Remove bench seat(300lbs), remove cupboard doors, remove 5 gallon diesel tank from back camper compartment and run the line to the trucks tank, remove jacks, remove trailer hitch.....stuff like that. I'm always solo so I could even remove the passenger seat as well, but only as a last ditch effort lol and I could even remove the compartment box thing on the back of the camper. It's solid wood so probably 80lbs give or take.
Curious why you’re going to all this trouble and expense. Do the Canadian authorities pull random people over to weigh their campers? It seems like no mater what you do that shell plus your consumables will put you over.
Curious why you’re going to all this trouble and expense. Do the Canadian authorities pull random people over to weigh their campers? It seems like no mater what you do that shell plus your consumables will put you over.
No they don't and you have a fair point, but I'm still going to reduce weight to some degree just so I'm not crazy heavy when loaded up. I know the Visteon axle is rated for somewhere between 7500-9500lbs and my rear tires can handle over 8000lbs between the two so I'm not overly concerned. So much for adding on a folding rear deck though lol
Next time I hit the scale I want to be as centred as possible so which color line would you fellas go with OR should I run a tape measure from centre of the wheels and mark the half way point and line that up with gap between the two scale platforms?
Might be interesting to weigh each axle. The front is heavier of course but it will give you a baseline.
The camper ain't coming off anytime soon so right now I'm just focusing on shedding some lbs and reducing rear axle weight. Any comment about where to line up the truck when on the scale? Also do I line up in the same spot when loaded and unloaded?
I'm pretty sure those multiple pad Cat scales aren't that precise.
As long as the front tires are on the steer axle pad and the rear tires are on the drive axle pad the numbers will probably be close enough.
I believe they also have a free reweigh option as long as you do it within 24 hours, so you could reposition it on the scale and see if the numbers change.
If your rear tires are rated at 8000 lbs. I probably wouldn't bother with weight reduction, just try to move some to the front for better centerr of gravity.
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