Well, time is passing and passing quite quickly!!!!! :>)
It won't be long now and we'll be on our way to Elkhart Indiana to pick up our new home!!!
There will be quite a few adjustments in our life style as a result of moving into a home on wheels and one that is about 1,350 sq ft LESS than the home we lived in.
One thing with RVs, depending on the size of them and the type of chassis - they can only carry a certain amount of WEIGHT and WEIGHT can be the enemy to the RV-er!!
Our RV is certified to carry no more than 14,500 pounds IN TOTAL.
That is further broken down by a certain # of pounds for the front axle and the rear axle.
Our RV as two wheels on the front and 4 wheels on the rear.
An overloaded RV can cause the axles to break as well as a dangerous situation if a sudden stop is needed.
Soooooooooo weight will be something that we watch very carefully.
When the completed RV rolls out the door in its finished state, it is weighed and that weight is recorded as well as all the components that made up that weight.
We have the RV it self and then the "ADD-ONS"
Our RV has a:
55 gal. fuel tank - gas weighs 6.1 lbs per gal - full tank = 336 lbs
42 lb propane tank
40 gal. fresh water tank - water weighs 8.4 lbs per gal
36 gal grey water tank - grey water weighs 8.4 lbs per gal
27 gal. black water tank - black water I'll assume weighs 8.4 lbs per gal
Soooooo I'll let you do the calculations - However we would never travel with more than:
1/4 tank of fresh water
1/4 tank of grey water
1/4 tank of black water
The experts say to figure 150 pounds per passenger so that's another 300 pounds - 2 people
(Glad I lost some weight!!!!)
I'll save you the trouble - when calculated out, all of the above represents about 850 pounds.
Now we need to load the rest of the STUFF into the RV
Clothes
Cooking utensils
Food ( refrigerators are small in RVs - 3 days food max)
glasses, cups, plates, silverware
laptops
printer
etc - etc - etc the list goes on on
So as you can see, weight can accumulate very easily and when loading all this STUFF into the RV weight distribution is a key factor. The goal is to get the weight distributed according to the front and rear axle loads as well as side to side.
At best it is a challenge as well as a PITA guessing game.
There is hope however - one can get their fully loaded RV weighed at a weigh station to see if the total allowed weight is OVER or UNDER as well as the side to side weights.
This costs about $75 - $100 to get done.
This is best done at a private weigh in station as if you do it at a State weigh in station on the highway and you are OVER WEIGHT - they will make you unload STUFF and will not let you proceed until you meet the requirements!!! :>(
Lots to think about THEN added to this is ----- with the enormous weight of RVs, one needs to consider the STOPPING DISTANCE which is sooooooooooo much longer than with a car - I mean like it could take 10 times of a longer distance to stop quickly!!!
HOLY CRAP 10 TIMES LONGER!!!!!
I'm a diet A&W root beer JUNKIE!!!!! I've had to limit myself to 5 of those big tall bottles a week! It is a habit I know but hard to break!! Have you ever weighed those bottles???? They weigh a lot - more weight than I want to add to the RV - soooooo I've stopped buying diet A&W root beer - in the long run it will be better for me health wise but I have to tell you I'm at the point I would KILL FOR AN A&W!!!!
It's only been 4 days!!!!
Well ---- I'm stating to get a headache so I'll stop for now - needless to say a lot to learn and a lot to understand and a lot to do and a lot to lot to lot to lot to lot to lot to lot
YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JR :>)
