On The Road; Motor Home Loading; Carrying Capacity; Determining And Distributing - Fleetwood Bounder 1987 Owner's Manual

. I ' I
ON THE ROAD
MOTOR HOME LOADING
A motor home chassis (springs, wheels, tires, axles,
and frame) is designed to carry a certain maximum
load. This load includes everything; the weight of the
empty motor home itself, your belongings, fuel, fresh
water, waste water and anything else that may be in
or attached to the motor home. The maximum load
for which the motor home is designed is called the
GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATING (GVWR).
Another critical weight factor is the GROSS AXLE
WEIGHT RATING (GAWR). This is the maximum
weight a specific axle is designed to carry and each
axle has its own GAWR. The GAWR's do not
necessarily add up to the GVWR. Be careful, neither
the axle loads nor the vehicle loads must ever exceed
their respective weight ratings.
In addition to knowing the overall weight that can
be safely loaded in or attached to the motor home, you
must know how to distribute the weight so that correct
amounts of weight are placed on the axles. The
allowable carrying capacity of the motor home is found
by weighing the motor home empty, and subtracting
this weight from the GVWR.
CARRYING CAPACITY
During the design and development of our motor
homes, the number and size of storage compartments,
the liquid tank capacities and number of belted seating
positions are maximized for value and convenience.
If the motor home operator fills all liquid tanks to
capacity, fills all storage compartments and cupooards
to maximum volume and 'fills all available seating
positions with passengers, the motor home, will
probably be overloaded. According to National High-
way Traffic Safety Administration figures, an average
vehicle
occupar;i~
weighs 150 pounds, each gallon of
gasQline iNeighssix pOunds (6.0 Ibs.) and each gallon'
of water weighs over eight pounds (8.3Ibs.).
,ThE! oper!!tor is responsible for, analyzing the
conditions in which the motor home will be 'utilized
for each trip. The number of passengers and place-'
ment' of cargo will affect the amount of water and
cargo that you can carry (See Loading Tips). For con"
'venience, the passenger capacity for camping u.se and
the pass'enger capacity for day use are shown on a '
permanent table in the driver's area or adjacent to the
main entry door. The smaller passenger capacity for
camping provides reasonable cargo capacity for trips
taking more than one day. The larger passenger
capacity for day use provides less cargo capacity for
trips or activities not involving overnight stays. It may
be necessary to reduce the amount of water carried
and unload some cargo items normally carried for
camping in order to provide carrying capacity for the
additional day use passengers.
The number of safety belted seating locations may
be greater than the number of passengers permitted
by the label. These extra seating locations, if provided,
are to permit a choice of seats while traveling. It is not
safe to exceed the labeled passenger capacity unless
the axle loadings and total weight are checked against
their ratings on a public scale.
Thoughtful consideration of the weight placed in the
motor home can yield important benefits:
• maximum flexibility in the use of the seating and
liberal storage facilities provided in the motor home;
• operation without unsafe loading;
• improved handling characteristics and ride comfort;
10
• better fuel mileage and reduced tire wear.
NOTE: CARRYING CAPACITIES OF YOUR MOTOR
HOME ARE SPECIFIED ON A LABEL AFFIXED TO
THE INSIDE OF A WARDROBE DOOR. THE LABEL
INCLUDES ALL FACTORY INSTALLED OPTIONS. IF
OTHER EQUIPMENT SUCH AS LEVELING JACKS,
AWNINGS, ROOF PODS, ETC., ARE INSTALLED
AFTER THE MO:rOR HOME LEAVES THE FACTORY,
THE WEIGHT OF THESE ItEMS MUST BE SUB-
TRACTED FROM THE TOTAL OF THE PASSENGER
AND CARGO CARRYING CAPACITIES. IF YOU TOW
A TRAILER, ,THE TONGUE WI;IGHT OF THE
TRAILER ,MUST BE SUBTRACTED FROM. THE
, TOTAL OF THE PASSENGER AND CARGO CARRY-
ING CAPACITIES.
DETERMINING,AND DISTRIBUTING
YOUR MOTOR HOME LOAD .
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and the
Gross Axle' Weight Rating (GAWR) for your motor