Vehicle Loading - Volvo 2009 V50 Owner's Manual

Loading the vehicle
Before loading your vehicle, familiarize yourself
with the following terms for determining your
vehicle's weight ratings, with or without a
trailer, from the vehicle's Federal/Canadian
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS/
CMVSS) label, and the vehicle's tire informa-
tion placard:
Curb weight
The weight of the vehicle including a full tank
of fuel and all standard equipment. It does not
include passengers, cargo, or optional equip-
ment.
Capacity weight
All weight added to the curb weight, including
cargo and optional equipment. When towing,
trailer hitch tongue load is also part of cargo
weight.
NOTE
For trailer towing information, please refer to
the section "Towing a trailer", see
page 160.
Permissible axle weight
The maximum allowable weight that can be
carried by a single axle (front or rear). These
numbers are shown on the Federal/Canadian
1 See "Towing a trailer"
Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS/
CMVSS) label. The total load on each axle must
never exceed its maximum permissible weight.
Gross vehicle weight (GVW)
The vehicle's curb weight + cargo + passen-
gers.
NOTE
•
The location of the various labels in your
vehicle can be found on page 262.
•
A table listing important weight limits for
your vehicle can be found on page
265.
Steps for Determining Correct Load
Limit
(1) Locate the statement "the combined weight
of occupants and cargo should never exceed
XXX pounds" on your vehicle's placard.
(2) Determine the combined weight of the driver
and passengers that will be riding in your vehi-
cle.
(3) Subtract the combined weight of the driver
and passengers from XXX kilograms or XXX
pounds.
07 Wheels and tires

Vehicle loading

(4) The resulting figure equals the available
amount of cargo and luggage load capacity.
For example, if the "XXX" amount equals
1400 lbs. and there will be five 150 lbs. pas-
sengers in your vehicle, the amount of available
cargo and luggage load capacity is 650 lbs.
(1400–750 (5×150) = 650 lbs.)
(5) Determine the combined weight of luggage
and cargo being loaded on the vehicle. That
weight may not safely exceed the available
cargo and luggage load capacity calculated in
Step 4.
(6) If your vehicle will be towing a trailer, load
from your trailer will be transferred to your vehi-
1
cle. Consult this manual to determine how this
reduces the available cargo and luggage load
capacity of your vehicle.
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