TrailManor Owner's Forum - View Single Post

RockyMtnRay · 04-18-2004, 08:41 PM

[quote author=armistjb link=board=22;threadid=1852;start=msg13142#msg1314 2 date=1082334710]
Ray:

Thanks for your speedy reply. As I mentioned I am pretty new to this but the options that immediately come to mind are: awning, air condtioning, spare tire, jacks, propane??.

I am open to suggestions as to what others I might need or want.

At the moment, we are only two regular sized people though at some point we might include a small grandchild or two. As to luggage and other supplies I guess we would have to really count the pounds and decide what is needed vs what would be nice to have.

John
[/quote]
The TM awning runs around 75 lbs; the roof AC should be about 150 installed; spare tire with carrier is about 70 lbs; jacks are around 40 total (installed); and propane (with OPD) is a bit over 8 gallons X 6 lbs/gal or roughly 50 lbs. That all adds up to around 325 (rounding up for a bit of a fudge factor). And don't forget any water you have on board...at 8 lbs per gallon, the stuff adds up very fast. For instance, filling the toilet to the charge level (3 gallons), hot water heater (6 gallons) and fresh water tank (20 gallons) adds about 230 lbs. And we're still not including clothes, food (especially beverages...water again), and sundries like a microwave, lawn chair, etc.; etc. As TC notes above, his 2619 (factory dry weight of 2673) somehow acquired about another 800 or so lbs by the time he got it ready for the road...and his experience is pretty typical.

And when it comes to people weights, the official (FAA) "regular size" is (IIRC) 165 lbs for adult men and about 120 lbs for adult women. The reality is most folk who are old enough to have grandchildren are a lot heftier...around 225 (or more) for guys and probably 170 to 190 for gals. Add in luggage and general stuff (grill, cooler, various toys, etc.) and you'd better be assuming around 600 to 700 lbs for the two of you and a grand kid or two with "necessary" luggage and "camping stuff". Minivans have lots of storage space...the tendancy...which is extremely hard to fight...is to bring extra stuff along "just in case".

Bottom line is your Venture is gonna be huffing and puffing on level ground and truly groaning if you head into mountainous areas. The first place all this extra strain likely will show up will be in transmission problems of some kind...and automatic transmissions cost a bundle to fix.

04-18-2004, 08:41 PM	#5
RockyMtnRay TrailManor Master Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Colorado Springs, CO Posts: 816	Re:Weight of options, etc [quote author=armistjb link=board=22;threadid=1852;start=msg13142#msg1314 2 date=1082334710] Ray: Thanks for your speedy reply. As I mentioned I am pretty new to this but the options that immediately come to mind are: awning, air condtioning, spare tire, jacks, propane??. I am open to suggestions as to what others I might need or want. At the moment, we are only two regular sized people though at some point we might include a small grandchild or two. As to luggage and other supplies I guess we would have to really count the pounds and decide what is needed vs what would be nice to have. John [/quote] The TM awning runs around 75 lbs; the roof AC should be about 150 installed; spare tire with carrier is about 70 lbs; jacks are around 40 total (installed); and propane (with OPD) is a bit over 8 gallons X 6 lbs/gal or roughly 50 lbs. That all adds up to around 325 (rounding up for a bit of a fudge factor). And don't forget any water you have on board...at 8 lbs per gallon, the stuff adds up very fast. For instance, filling the toilet to the charge level (3 gallons), hot water heater (6 gallons) and fresh water tank (20 gallons) adds about 230 lbs. And we're still not including clothes, food (especially beverages...water again), and sundries like a microwave, lawn chair, etc.; etc. As TC notes above, his 2619 (factory dry weight of 2673) somehow acquired about another 800 or so lbs by the time he got it ready for the road...and his experience is pretty typical. And when it comes to people weights, the official (FAA) "regular size" is (IIRC) 165 lbs for adult men and about 120 lbs for adult women. The reality is most folk who are old enough to have grandchildren are a lot heftier...around 225 (or more) for guys and probably 170 to 190 for gals. Add in luggage and general stuff (grill, cooler, various toys, etc.) and you'd better be assuming around 600 to 700 lbs for the two of you and a grand kid or two with "necessary" luggage and "camping stuff". Minivans have lots of storage space...the tendancy...which is extremely hard to fight...is to bring extra stuff along "just in case". Bottom line is your Venture is gonna be huffing and puffing on level ground and truly groaning if you head into mountainous areas. The first place all this extra strain likely will show up will be in transmission problems of some kind...and automatic transmissions cost a bundle to fix.