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Old 01-19-2019, 05:43 PM   #1
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Cargo Carrying Capacity

Our trailer is 30' long total. It has a dry weight of 5,091 lbs (I have often seen this called shipping weight, factory weight, or unloaded vehicle weight). My understanding is that this means an empty trailer (no gear or upgrades or water in tanks or fuel). Not sure if it includes batteries.

It also has a Cargo Carrying Capacity (CCC) of 1,509 lbs. I presume the CCC includes water, LP gas, supplies, gear, equipment, and any upgrades you've added to the trailer while it lumbers down the road.

Nearly every RV manufacturer adds the dry weight with the CCC to yield the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), which the manufacturer says should not be exceeded in order to be safe driving given the tires, wheels, axles, frame, chassis, etc.

My question: I know we do not have people in the trailer when pulling. But once set up at camp, we might now have 4-5 people sitting in the trailer, adding another 700 lbs or so in the trailer. Am I to assume that I do NOT count people in the CCC, and should not worry about the people in the trailer once parked and set up?
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Old 01-19-2019, 09:41 PM   #2
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My understanding and my opinion is the weight figures are for going down the road, not parked. In my case, when parked, I have six leveling jacks extended making all those weight figures moot.
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Old 01-19-2019, 10:46 PM   #3
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The CGVW (combined gross vehicle weight) is only for when you are towing on a road. Besides the legal requirement and road safety knowing it allows you to correctly match your tow vehicle and trailer since the tow vehicle also has that rating as well as a maximum towing capacity.
BTW, the dry weight doesn't include anything including your batteries and propane tanks as well as any propane in them.
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Old 01-19-2019, 11:03 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Wanderer View Post
The CGVW (combined gross vehicle weight) is only for when you are towing on a road. Besides the legal requirement and road safety knowing it allows you to correctly match your tow vehicle and trailer since the tow vehicle also has that rating as well as a maximum towing capacity.
BTW, the dry weight doesn't include anything including your batteries and propane tanks as well as any propane in them.



Are you any relation to Gordie?
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Old 01-20-2019, 01:36 AM   #5
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Are you any relation to Gordie?
I am Gordie...
Seriously though, I was named after him.
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Old 01-23-2019, 11:45 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by Wanderer View Post
The CGVW (combined gross vehicle weight) is only for when you are towing on a road. Besides the legal requirement and road safety knowing it allows you to correctly match your tow vehicle and trailer since the tow vehicle also has that rating as well as a maximum towing capacity.
BTW, the dry weight doesn't include anything including your batteries and propane tanks as well as any propane in them.



This is a gray area and one should always check with the manufacturer on this. The stabilizing jacks are not meant to carry weight, just stabilize, so the full weight is still resting on the suspension. Lifting the chassis with the jacks can cause twisting of the frame and cause other damage to sidewalls and roof.





In any case it is never a good idea to travel at the limit of the trailer, bad for the tires, bad for the frame, and bad for the suspension.



It is always a good idea to take a new trailer to the scales to find out exactly what it weighs and subtract that from the GVWR to know how much cargo capacity it truly has.
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Old 01-23-2019, 11:53 PM   #7
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Thanks acdii. I agree. The cargo in our trailer does not even come close to the CCC. But once we park and put people in, it is likely we are OVER the CCC.

We do NOT use our stabilizing jacks to raise the trailer. As you said, just to stabilize and therefore the load continues on the suspension/wheels. But again, we would be over the CCC when parked and using the trailer. I was just curious how that all works. This particular trailer sleeps 6 adults and 2 kids (8 total). That is a lot of weight, and if it needed to be included in the CCC, then we would have nearly 0 left for any equipment, batteries, LP gas, etc....etc...

That is why I asked about the definition of CCC.
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Old 01-24-2019, 12:49 AM   #8
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Thanks acdii. I agree. The cargo in our trailer does not even come close to the CCC. But once we park and put people in, it is likely we are OVER the CCC.

We do NOT use our stabilizing jacks to raise the trailer. As you said, just to stabilize and therefore the load continues on the suspension/wheels. But again, we would be over the CCC when parked and using the trailer. I was just curious how that all works. This particular trailer sleeps 6 adults and 2 kids (8 total). That is a lot of weight, and if it needed to be included in the CCC, then we would have nearly 0 left for any equipment, batteries, LP gas, etc....etc...

That is why I asked about the definition of CCC.

If you believe the trailer may be over GVWR when camping and have scissors jacks, it would be a good idea to install JT Strongarm stabilizers. They help to lock the jacks in place to reduce sway motion sideways and front to back. Even if not at or over, they help keep the trailer still. Well worth it to me. I have a set, but haven't installed them yet as I am undecided if I want to stay with the current trailer or upgrade to one with a little more room.
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