When my wife and I started our twice-a-year cross-country trips 12 years ago, we looked like Steinbeck's Joad family escaping the Oklahoma dust bowl in the 1930s. We had
everything with us - bikes, kayaks, tools, my antique anvil collection - and we weighed like it. As the years went on, we got smarter, gradually reducing the amount of stuff we carried. This year, we thought we reached an all-time low weight, and we were pretty proud of ourselves, until we stopped at a CAT scale on I-84 in Ontario, Oregon. The results were almost identical to the readings three years ago.
- Tow vehicle front axle 2700 pounds
- Tow vehicle rear axle 3760 pounds
- Trailer axle 3340 pounds
- Total 9800 pounds
Conditions for this weighing were:
- WDH springbars snapped up
- One full, one empty propane tank
- Water heater full (6 gallons)
- No other water
I wish I had weighed again with the springbars disconnected and the tongue jack down. I imagine that the actual weight of the trailer would have been at least 15% higher than the axle weight shown on the scale. In other words, at least 3900 pounds. Once again, it suggests to me that a 3500-pound-rated vehicle is pretty iffy proposition, especially if you load up the tow vehicle with stuff in the wayback (which generally reduces the tow rating pound-for-pound).
And once again, I am exceeding the rear axle weight rating (GVWR-R) of my Explorer. Not good. And considering that the Explorer is a reasonably sturdy vehicle, it makes me even more nervous about smaller vehicles.
Conclusion: We really thought we were doing better. But this shows that good intentions are not enough. "Packing light" is subjective, and simply convincing yourself that you are doing it isn't reliable. A few bucks for a scale reading is an investment well made.
Bill