Weight of Our Oliver Elite II

[bradbev]

During our recent 3 month 10,000 mile trip to the North East, we stopped in Raphine Virginia at the Pilot Travel Store and weighted our rig.  The procedure is to weight the total rig (3 zones), steer axle, drive axle, and trailer axle.  Then weigh again with the rig disconnected so the trailer axle zone is the trailer disconnected and the axles and front jack are all on the 3rd zone.  Then, you will have almost all the information you could ask for, including the tongue weight using a little math.  FYI, my cost was $11.00 for the first weigh session, the $2.00 for the second.

 

There was an discrepancy of 40 pounds between the two sessions, which is probably within the tolerances of the scales.

 

Session One:

 

Steer Axle          4,520

 

Drive Axle          5,180

 

Trailer Axles     5,880

 

Gross Weight  15,580

 

Session Two - Trailer disconnected:

 

Steer Axle          4,800

 

Drive Axle          4,260

 

Trailer Axles      6,560

 

Gross Weight    15,620

 

So, bottom line, total trailer weight loaded is about 6,560, the tongue weight is about 680 lbs, and the axle weight is about 5,880.  The easy way to calculate the tongue weight is the subtract the two different trailer axle weights.  You can also examine how much weight is added to the rear tires of the tow and subtract the amount reduced on the front axle of the tow.  (That calculates to 640 lbs, but remember the difference is weights due to tolerances.  So a safe guess is about 660 lbs if we split the differences.

 

This is fully loaded E2 with 4 flooded golf cart batteries, solar, extended twin beds, Honda generator in the basket, etc.  Fresh water tank full, black and grey empty.  So the tongue weight is about 10% of the total trailer weight.  The rig tows beautifully with no sway without any equalizing or sway controls.  The tow vehicle is a Dodge Ram 3500 diesel with the bed loaded.

 

Brad - Santa Fe, NM

 

 

[John E Davies]

Thanks for posting. I have not weighed my trailer yet but intend to, sooner or later.

 

However I do have a 1000 pound hydraulic tongue scale and recorded similar numbers to yours, with much better accuracy, I am sure.

 

720 pounds with three full jerry cans on the cargo tray. (2 steel gas, 1 plastic water)

 

600 pounds with jerry cans empty.

 

This is for a II loaded for travel with full fresh tank only, no generator or other extra heavy cargo.

 

I do encourage owners towing with light duty vehicles to buy and use a tongue scale, this stuff is worth knowing. Those with HD trucks should not bother unless you tow other heavy trailers.

 

Caution: a tongue scale does not include the weight of your hitch coupler, be sure to weigh that separately and add it to the scale value! A big WD hitch with steel bars is darned heavy! ... But some of that weight is carried by the front axle.

 

Truck scales are not especially precise, they are good enough for commercial rigs weighing 20 tons....

 

Also, the type and number of batteries you have will have almost no effect on tongue weight since they are directly between the axles. Stuff loaded on the back bumper or tongue will, in a huge way.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[bradbev]

I agree John.  Oilver knew what they were doing when they positioned the batteries right over the axles.

[rideandfly]

Brad, Thanks for posting weights.  Agree, like how Oliver balanced the Ollie.

 

Hope you don't mind me posting our rig weights, too!

 

We will carry up to 150 additional pounds of gear in the Tundra and 20 to 30 additional pounds of gear in the Ollie when heading out on a camping trip:

 

Here's results for our Ollie E2/Tundra rig without water in tanks and Tundra with two souls on board over 1/2 tank of fuel (38 gallon fuel tank):

 

Steer Axle: 3340 Pounds

 

Drive Axle: 3200 Pounds

 

Trailer Axles: 4480 Pounds

 

Gross Weight: 11,020 Pounds

 

 

 

 

Tundra with two souls on board with 20 additional pounds of gear and 72 additional pounds of gas compared to Tundra's weight with Ollie. Tundra was about 6088 pounds when weighed with Ollie on previous day:

 

Steer Axle: 3560 Pounds

 

Drive Axle: 2620 Pounds

 

Gross Weight: 6180 Pounds

 

 

 

 

Ollie weight 4932 pounds

 

Tundra weight 6088 pounds

 

Backed into tongue weight of 452 pounds from above weights, plan to order a tongue scale next.

 

 

 

 

[Bikerabbi]

Thanks,  for doing this and posting.   Very helpful for the rest of us for various reasons. 

[SeaDawg]

This is an excellent thread on "how to weigh."

Do note that @rideandfly purposely put his Ollie on a severe diet, and you won't find many (or possibly any other) e2s under 5000 pounds, loaded for camping. His trailer weighs just a bit more than my elite 1, and I thought we were minimalists. 😀 (Hat tip to @rideandfly)

Most e2s will likely weigh in north of 6,000 pounds, or more, loaded for camping. 

Many discussions on this on the forum,  over the years. Here's one.

 

[rideandfly]

Weighed the rig last year with a newer tow vehicle. 

[Boudicca908]

I'm looking forward to weighing my rig for the first time -- thanks for all the info about this. I'm curious how I'm doing, after having a spreadsheet prior to hitting the road (and then having to buy tools and extra equipment, LOL). 

[rideandfly]

10 minutes ago, Boudicca908 said:

I'm looking forward to weighing my rig for the first time -- thanks for all the info about this. I'm curious how I'm doing, after having a spreadsheet prior to hitting the road (and then having to buy tools and extra equipment, LOL). 

We keep a PEX repair kit with extra pipe, inner & outer pre-packed wheel bearings & seal,  and small tool box for mechanical/electrical repairs on the road. Used to carry some things we did not need, so that stuff now stays at home. 

[Bikerabbi]

My expected vehicle (2016 Volks Touareg diesel) is rated to tow 7700 lbs.  Will it be happy towing the Elite 2 at 6500 lbs?

Thanks,

Gabriel

[topgun2]

2 hours ago, Bikerabbi said:

Will it be happy towing the Elite 2 at 6500 lbs?

Perhaps a better question would be - Will YOU be happy?

[SeaDawg]

The old school rule is 80 per cent of tow capacity. That would put you around 6100 pounds. Keep your trailer weight down, and especially, watch the tongue weight and balance. And, tow vehicle weight capacity. 

There are many more factors. Your towing experience,  is one,,and probably foremost. 

 

[Steve Morris]

There have been at least two Tuareg TDi owners here. @donthompson who moved onto a different trailer, and a fairly active current member, who I can't recall right now. Hopefully, they will chime in.

The vast majority of members here use pickup trucks, and recommend 3/4 or 1 ton models. But there are several large SUV owners who have happily towed many thousands of miles with them. A shorter wheelbase makes an SUV easier to maneuver in tight spots, but also makes it less stable on the road. But remember, it isn't just towing weight, but the vehicle's load capacity that comes into play, too. Occupants, tongue weight, and junk all add up quickly. My towing weight is 2000 pounds less than a V8 Tundra, but my load capacity is actually more than some models. Even more so since I took out the rear seats.

[SeaDawg]

@Sully are still on a long road trip in Canada with their Audi q7 and Elite2

A search on Touareg brought up 4 pages of posts. 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/search/?&q=Touareg&search_and_or=or

[Sully]

On 8/13/2023 at 11:53 AM, SeaDawg said:

@Sully are still on a long road trip in Canada with their Audi q7 and Elite2

A search on Touareg brought up 4 pages of posts. 

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/search/?&q=Touareg&search_and_or=or

We are on our way home with about 9k miles so far pulling our Elite2 with a Q7.  We get 14 to 15 mpg on highways and 11 to 12 in the mountains.  The power is sufficient as is the braking.  The Oliver tows really nicely but that is probably true for any vehicle.  The biggest downside is a lack of storage for what doesn’t fit in the trailer.  Feel free to reach out if you have specific questions.  We do have air shocks so there is no sag, with normal shocks the sag may be a little more than you want.  Audi/VW state in their manuals not to use a load balancer.

[MAX Burner]

On 8/14/2023 at 4:48 PM, Sully said:

 We do have air shocks so there is no sag, with normal shocks the sag may be a little more than you want.

Just curious @Sully:  What type/mfg. of airbags and how much PSI gives you the level ride configuration?

[rich.dev]

On 8/12/2023 at 6:02 PM, Bikerabbi said:

 

My expected vehicle (2016 Volks Touareg diesel) is rated to tow 7700 lbs.  Will it be happy towing the Elite 2 at 6500 lbs?

 

We also have a 2016 VW Touareg diesel, one of the best VHs we’ve ever owned and it’s a wonderful very capable tow vehicle. We towed a 2016 AS 26U with twin beds for almost 3 years, it towed like a champ (and stopping), only issue is cargo capacity, at 1180lb you have to watch what you pack. We now own a 2023 LEII and fully packed weighs approx. 6000lb with a tongue weight of 610lb. No issues so towing it or stopping. Fuel consumption towing our Ollie from Hohenwald to Guelph ON (Canada) was just shy of 16mpg. The Touareg is a great towing vehicle AND daily driver. Again, the limiting factor is payload/cargo capacity.

[Sully]

On 8/18/2023 at 11:35 AM, MAX Burner said:

Just curious @Sully:  What type/mfg. of airbags and how much PSI gives you the level ride configuration?

They airbags are original equipment they automatically inflate / deflate to keep the car level.  They also allow you to change the height of the car, I use the higher off road setting to get the recommended ball height.

[John E Davies]

41 minutes ago, Sully said:

They airbags are original equipment they automatically inflate / deflate to keep the car level.  They also allow you to change the height of the car, I use the higher off road setting to get the recommended ball height.

The  offroad raised setting is for, well, offroad, low speed use ONLY. It shouldn’t be used for normal driving, especially for towing a max load. It raises the body all the way up, so that the suspension basically has very little downward travel left. The handling will suffer and the suspension will top out whenever a wheel drops down into a deep hole. It is not safe at any kind of highway speed because the steering geometry is altered. Plus it wears the axle joints excessively…

“Lift / Offroad - On select models such as the fully equipped Q7, an Offroad mode lifts the adaptive air suspension to its maximum height for additional ground clearance. This mode is intended for the most uneven terrain at low speeds.”

https://www.audiwestmont.com/research/audi-drive-select.htm

If this is incorrect, please explain how you are able to do this while towing. It would be better to have a raised ball mount to get the 24” that you need for an LE2. If that won’t clear you need an aftermarket suspension lift, here is one:

“For vehicles with air suspension only

The Eurowise 3+ inch lift kit for the 7L VW Touareg, 955/957 Porsche Cayenne, and 4L Audi Q7 is a combination of their spacer lift and 1" subframe drop. 

Machined from 6061 aluminum solid block, these lift kits will never wear out or fail. In addition, a 1" subframe drop kit with hardware is included to correct your axle geometry. When set on auto mode your vehicle will be roughly 3" taller over stock. In extra/off-road mode would be over 4 inches of additional lift!”

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-eurowise-parts/eurowise-lift-kit-3-inch-air-suspension-with-sway-bar-end-links/ewor9014-sbl~euw/

John Davies

Spokane WA

[DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI]

On 8/19/2023 at 10:06 AM, rich.dev said:

We also have a 2016 VW Touareg diesel, one of the best VHs we’ve ever owned and it’s a wonderful very capable tow vehicle. We towed a 2016 AS 26U with twin beds for almost 3 years, it towed like a champ (and stopping), only issue is cargo capacity, at 1180lb you have to watch what you pack. We now own a 2023 LEII and fully packed weighs approx. 6000lb with a tongue weight of 610lb. No issues so towing it or stopping. Fuel consumption towing our Ollie from Hohenwald to Guelph ON (Canada) was just shy of 16mpg. The Touareg is a great towing vehicle AND daily driver. Again, the limiting factor is payload/cargo capacity.

Like Rich.Dev we tow with a VW Touareg TDI. We have logged 10,000+ miles including mountains in North Carolina, Tennessee, and rally in Alabama. March and April were spent in southwest with drive out from Michigan to New Mexico and Arizona (Flagstaff area). Trip included Flagstaff to Sedona stretch which is 18 miles of 6% grade. Same experience as Rich, Touareg tows competently and brakes well. We also are limited with cargo capacity, so we stay mindful of that limit. I will say the road conditions in Flagstaff were horrendous with huge chunks of road missing on I-40 and I-17. Upon return home rear camber was off and I had to replace tires and have alignment done. I am planning a future upgrade to a 3/4 ton+ pickup truck for more flexibility. Happy travels!