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SECTION 4
TRAVELING WITH YOUR MOTOR HOME
Loading: Load your vehicle completely as if
you were going on a long trip, with everything
you would carry, including food, clothing, bed-
ding, lawn chairs, etc., a full fuel tank, full LP
tank, and maybe a partial tank of fresh water -
but empty holding tanks.
Finding a Scale: In urban areas, the most
common places to find a public access scale are
commercial truck stops. In rural areas, most
grain storage elevators have scales available. If
you don't know of a truck scale in your area,
look in the Yellow Pages for entries such as
Grain Elevators, Scales-Public, Truck Stops,
Weigh Stations, etc. If you cannot locate a scale
in your area, call your state DOT and ask for rec-
ommendations. Most scales charge a nominal
fee for weighing a vehicle.
Weighing: There is typically a scale opera-
tor to direct you but the basic routine is to take
three separate weights - front axle, whole vehi-
cle, and rear axle. You will first drive only your
front wheels on to the scale pad, then drive
ahead so that the whole vehicle is on the scale,
then finally pull off until just the rear wheels are
on the pad.
Front GAWR (Front Axle Only)
GVWR (Both Front and Rear Axles)
4-2
Rear GAWR (Rear Axle Only)
You will receive a weight 'ticket' that states
your current Front Gross Axle Weight, Rear
Gross Axle Weight and Gross Vehicle Weight.
You can compare these weights to the weight
ratings listed on your Vehicle Certification
Label to use as a guideline for future loading
limits and weight distribution.
The gross weight of the vehicle should not
exceed the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(GVWR) specified on the Vehicle Certification
Label on the rear inner jamb of the drivers door.
(see page 0-4). The front and rear axle weight
also should not exceed the corresponding Axle
Weight Rating specified on the Vehicle Certifi-
cation Label.
To determine the weight on either the front
or rear axle, drive that axle only onto the scale.
Neither axle weight should exceed the corre-
sponding maximum axle weight rating specified
on the certification label.
Corner Weighing (Side-to-Side)
Weighing each corner of the coach sepa-
rately (single LF/RF front wheels or LR/RR rear
dual sets) is an accurate method to determine
how to distribute your cargo to avoid overload-
ing, especially on tires.
To determine the weight distribution on each
tire or dual set, you will need to find a scale
capable weighing side-to-side, or all four 'cor-
ners' of the vehicle, separately. A truck scale
may be used if the ground is level with the scale
surface and the scale has clearance to drive one
side of the coach onto the scale as shown below.
Drive the coach on the level area next to the
scale and straddle the scale so that only one side
of the coach will be on the scale pad. Pull only
the front wheel onto the pad as shown.
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