On The Road; Motor Home Loading; Carrying Capacity - Fleetwood 1994 Flair Diesel Owner's Manual Supplement

MOTOR HOME LOADING
Your motor home chassis is designed to carry a certain
maximum load. This load includes everything; the weight
of the motor home itself, all occumpants and their belong-
ings, 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). Modifications to your motor home, i.e., chang-
ing tires or spring load capacities, will not in any way
increase this rating or the axle ratings.
Another critical weight factor is the GROSS AXLE
WEIGHT RATING (GAWR). This is the maximum weight
a specific axle is designed to carry. Each axle has its own
GAWR. The GAWR's do not necessarily add up to the
GVWR.
The GVWR and the GAWR for your motor home are
shown on the Federal certi!ication tag located on the left
interior sidewall of the driver compartment.
Other important weight factors are the TRAILER HITCH
RATING and the GROSS COMBINED WEIGHT RAT-
ING (GCWR). The trailer hitch rating is the maxiumum
load the hitch and motor home structure is designed to
accomodate. Changes to the hitch will not increase this
rating. The GCWR is the maximum weight of the loaded
motor home and the loaded towed vehicle. These ratings
are shown on the wardrobe door tag.
WARNING·
DO NOT EXCEED THE RATED LOAD OFTHE
MOTOR HOME, OR THE RATED LOAD OF
ANY AXLE. EXCEEDING THE GVWR, GAWR
OR GCWR OF YOUR MOTOR HOME WILL
REDUCE YOUR WARRANTY PROTECTION,
CAN CAUSE UNDESIRABLE HANDLING
CHARACTERISTICS AND MAY CREATE A
SAFETY HAZARD.
In addition to knowing the overall weight that can be
safely loaded 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.
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ON THE ROAD
Carrying Capacity
During the design and development of Fleetwood motor
homes, the number and size of storage compartments,
the liquid tank capacities and number of belted seating
positions are optimized for value and convenience. If you
fill all liquid tanks to capacity, fill all storage compart-
ments and cupboards to maximum volume and fill all
available seating positions with passengers, the motor
home will be overloaded.
Y
You are responsible for analyzing the conditions under
which the motor home will be used for each trip. The
number of passengers and pli\cement of cargo will affect
the amount of water and cargo that you can carry (see
"Loading Tips").
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 motorhome leaves the factory,
the weight of these items must be subtracted
from the total of the passenger and cargo carry-
ing capacities.
Weighing Your Loaded Motor Home
Refer to your local telephone directory to find a public
weigh station. The following weighing procedures will
help you determine whether your loaded motor home
. (complete with cargo, fluids, passengers, driver and
towed vehicle) is within GAWR, GVWR and GCWR
limits. When you arrive at a weigh station, the attendant
will guide you thrqugh the correct positioning of the motor
home on the scales.
1. Center the front wheels on the scale and take a
reading. This is the front Gross Axle Weight (Reading 1).
I