Weighing In At?

[DCKiefer]

I finally did what you are suppose to do about understanding the weight of your trailer. I put her on the scale and here is what I found.

 

Let me first define the following number. I wasn't headed out on a trip, so this reading does not include a full tank of water, the entire system is drained. It does include the things we leave in the trailer, like pots and pans, bathroom and toilet supplies, some storage containers, a few tools, leveling blocks, chairs, bedding and blankets, one very light table, small portable solar panel, sewer hose, etc. I also had one full tank of propane and one that is half full. Our Oliver pretty much came with all the major features you could order, like double pained windows, likely heavy. The big exception is no King Dome nor a microwave. I have added some small things like a water filter, TV antenna, some extra lights. So no big extras that weigh in heavy, like a generator or a hot tub.

 

On last note, I weighted the tow vehile by itself first, then returned with the trailer, so these numbers are calculations from the different axle readings. I am pretty good in math so I am confident these are accurate calculations.

 

And in this corner weighing in at 3700 lbs. trailer number 28. I clearly see the reason for the axle upgrade. Tongue weight came in at 440 lbs. The tongue on my trailer is not extended, as you know we can do.

 

Adding a full tank of water and a full hot water heater, 37 gallons total (using 9 lbs. per gallon), brings us up to 4033 lbs.

 

I then weighed the food, clothing, books, camers and miscallaneous items. Total weight trip ready calculates out to 4178 lbs. Unless you are collecting rocks like Lucy in the "The Long, Long Trailer', the 5200 lb axle should be plenty.

 

The tow vehicle in my case is a 2008 Toyota FJ Cruiser 4X4 with maximum trailer weight of 5000lbs and total vehilce tow rating of 9500lbs. I added the weight of one passenger and the additional gear we carry in the vehicle. The total trip ready vehicle(with full tank of gas) and trailer comes out to 9200 lbs. You can subtract about 120 lbs from this since I do have a winch on the front of the vehicle. Getting close to the total for the FJ, but well within a managable margin. If we take canoes or bikes, I use my Tacoma with total of 11100 lbs.

 

I hope this is helpful.

[mountainborn]

Great detailed report ! We just got back home from Hohenwald where our Ollie got the axle upgrade. We headed home into the teeth of a Winter storm that buffeted us around a bit on the interstate highway at speed. The Mississippi river bridge is quite high and exposed to the wind that was blowing and with the ice that was present we were worried some. We wiggled about a little on the bridge but felt that the new axle had improved handling under those conditions. Though the new axle sits some higher, we were impressed with the stability of the new axle with the aluminum wheels and eight ply tires.

[DCKiefer]

I agree the stability is fantastic. This past summer we took our Oliver out to the beach with a hurricane brewing in the Gulf. We were driving in 15 to 25 mph winds and the trailer handled great.

[tumbleweed]

A 2nd thank you for the weight posting!!! Very helpful info. Your FJ is deceiving in it's tow capacity, sharp looking and powerful.