Elkmont Weight - too good to be true?

[ThePair]

Originally Posted by mjlaupp

Bill,
Like you, I did not want to get involved in the Toyota magic load calculations. I am still waiting for a real world, documented proof that in the Toyota world there is no relation between Curb weight, GVWR and GCWR.

I only have access to my numbers:
GCWR 8700
Curb wt as delivered 4495
Tow rating 3500

This means that even if I'm towing at full capacity, I still have 700 lbs for passengers and cargo. That was the only point I was making; the way Toyota lists its numbers allows for *some* weight in the vehicle (in my case 700 lbs) without taking anything away from the towing capacity. This is not true for all manufacturers, some of whom start to lose capacity as soon as more than the driver get in the vehicle. If Toyota listed the tow rating like Honda, for example, I'd have a 4200 lb tow rating (not accounting for other factors, obviously!)

That's why I said to look at his own numbers before making any assumptions about what he may or may not be able to carry/tow.

[mjlaupp]

Originally Posted by ThePair

I only have access to my numbers:
GCWR 8700
Curb wt as delivered 4495
Tow rating 3500

You are saying that an actual GCWR exists in print for your vehicle? Could you please provide the missing numbers for the following and where you found each of the numbers?

GCWR 8700
GVWR
GAWR Front
GAWR Rear
Curb wt as delivered 4495
Tow rating 3500

Perhaps if the rest of us could see this data, it make it less magic and more real world.
Thx

[ThePair]

Originally Posted by mjlaupp

You are saying that an actual GCWR exists in print for your vehicle? Could you please provide the missing numbers for the following and where you found each of the numbers?

GCWR 8700
GVWR
GAWR Front
GAWR Rear
Curb wt as delivered 4495
Tow rating 3500

Perhaps if the rest of us could see this data, it make it less magic and more real world.
Thx

Those were in the owners manual aside from the curb weight (see below). These numbers are from the sticker on the doorframe:

Cargo Capacity 1185
GVWR 5690
GAWR 2845 for both front and rear.

The curb wt was from a website, seems slightly off as 5690-1185=4505, minor difference of 20 lbs. All the other numbers are directly from the van or the owners manual.

[cochise]

WOW......The world is finally awakening. Back in 2009 we went to Texas RV from Arizona to purchase our Elkmont. We had been reassured, repeatedly by a Mr. Schultz there, that we would have no problem towing the Elkmont with our Hyundai Santa Fe, which had a towing capacity of 3500 lb with 350 on the tongue. We soon found out that they were downright lying to us. And I still have the documentation to prove it. We went and bought a nice used Chevy Silverado with a tow capacity of 5000 lb. That went well for the year we owned the Elkmont, although the gas mileage was only around 10-11 mpg. So when we finally after way too many problems were able to settle out of the Elkmont, we purchased a Lance trailer, almost the same size, but with a better layout than what we had in the Elkmont. Today I know that we might as well have taken TM up on their offer of a new and better Elkmont, (probably the 26) since we have had our share of problems with the Lance further complicated by the fact that the nearest dealer is more than 150 milaes away, and they told us after having had the Lance for repairs for 6 weeks that they don’t want to do warranty work on trailer they have not sold themselves. Since the Silverado (6 cyl) gave us low mpg, we looked at a bigger truck, and were fortunate to find a 07 Ford F150 with only 10K on it, but with a 5.4 V8, and a capacity of 9000 lb. We are getting better mileage, about 12-14 mpg towing at 55-60 mph, so that is better.

I now know that the travel trailer industry basically is “fraternizing very liberally with the truth” in presenting their products. I also think that TM has at least recently tried to make an effort to be more truthful all around, but that is only one manufacturer. Most lie about the weight by using terms that are hard to understand for the average person. The quality is nothing to write home about, although the manufacturers of the individual items going into the production of a trailer are doing their best to deliver a good product. The companies putting it all together are the ones to blame cutting corners here and there.

But I also found that a travel trailer’s dront, rear and sides makes for a fantastic billboard. So if you see one rolling down the highway with wording on it expressing the owners feeling about the brand, it may be me.

Google "SAE J2807", and you'll find info about a new towing standard/protocol that apparently Toyota has already started using. Maybe some of the Toyota "magic" is related? (I can't claim to have looked at the standard in any detail).

And shouldn't these posts be moved to a new thread elsewhere, Bill?