On The Road; Motor Home Loading; Carrying Capacity - Fleetwood Pace Arrow 1988 User Manual

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 ex-
ceed 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 sub-
tracting 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.
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If the motor home operator fills all liquid tanks to
capacity, fills all storage compartments and cupboards
to maximum volume and fills all available seating posi-
tions with passengers, the motor home will probably
be overloaded. According to National Highway Traf-
fic Safety Administration figures, an average vehicle
occupant weighs 150 pounds, each gallon of gasoline
weights six pounds (6.0 Ibs.) and each gallon of water
weights over eight pounds (8.3 Ibs.).
"":!>The operator is responsible for analyzing the con-
ditions in which the motor home will be utilized for
each trip. The number of passengers and placement
of cargo will affect the amount of water and cargo
that you can carry (See Loading Tips). For conve-
nience, the passenger capacity for camping use and
the passenger capacity for day use are shown on a
permanent label 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 acitivites 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.
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The number of safety belted seating locations may
be greater than the number of passengers permitted
by the label. These extra seating locations, if provid-
ed, 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 check-
ed against their ratings on a public scale.
Thoughtful consideration of the weight placed in
the motor home can yield important benefits:
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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;
better fuel mileage and reduced tire wear .
NOTE: CARRYING CAPACITIES OF YOUR
MOTOR HOME ARE SPECIFIED ON A LABEL AF-
FIXED TO THE INSIDE OF A WARDROBE DOOR.
THE LABEL INCLUDES ALL FACTORY INSTALL-
ED
OPTIONS. IF OTHER EQUIPMENT SUCH AS
LEVELING JACKS, AWNINGS, ROOF PODS,
ETC., ARE INSTALLED AFTER THE MOTOR
HOME LEAVES THE FACTORY, THE WEIGHT OF
THESE ITEMS MUST BE SUBTRACTED FROM
THE TOTAL OF THE PASSENGER AND CARGO
CARRYING CAPACITIES. IF YOU TOW A
TRAILER, THE TONGUE WEIGHT OF THE
TRAILER MUST BE SUBTRACTED FROM THE
TOTAL OF THE PASSENGER AND CARGO CAR-
RYING CAPACITIES.
DETERMINING AND DISTRIBUTING
YOUR MOTOR HOME LOAD
The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) and the
Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR) for your motor
home are shown on the certification tag posted on
the driver's door or in the driver's compartment.
Remember, these ratings are for a fully loaded vehi-
cle. You must compare the GVWR to the loaded
weight of your motor home. If the loaded weight of
your motor home exceeds the GVWR, the motor home
is overloaded and you'll have to remove items to bring
the weight down to or below the GVWR. If the load-
ed axle weight on any axle exceeds the GAWR, the
axle is overloaded and you'll have to redistribute cargo
to bring the weight down to or below the GAWR.
Weighing Your Loaded Motor Home
1. Drive the front wheels onto the scale platform
and take a reading. This is the front Gross Axle
Weight. (Reading 1).