Load Distribution

Proper Load Distribution

Maintaining an evenly distributed load is important

  • It’s typical for modern RV’s to have lots of storage space, but not the ability to carry everything you may want to have with you. If your RV is overweight you will have to put it on an instant diet to lose the excess pounds.
  • It’s important to review your precision weight report and depending if you’re overweight on one axle or the whole rig, take appropriate action.
  • If it’s one axle you can redistribute weight from the heavy axle to the lighter one and the same applies from one wheel to the other.
  • Start going through all your cabinets inside the RV as well as the outside storage compartments. Take a mental inventory of what you have stored. Take a hard look at things like clothes, books, iron skillets, canned goods, soda, bottled water, tools, patio stuff, etc. to see if you can live without any of them, or at least reduce the quantity on board.
  • As a rule of thumb, if you haven’t used an item for 6 months or more you may not really need to keep it with you.
  • As you start removing items or relocating them fore and aft or side to side in the RV use a bathroom scale to help you keep track of the weight of items removed and/or relocated.
  • Moving weight from side to side has doubling factor: if you are 200 lbs over on one side you can move 100 lbs from the heavy side to the light side and be even.
  • Another options is to travel with less than a full tank of fuel and/or water (Diesel weighs 7.15 lbs/gallon, gas weighs 6.07 lbs/gallon, water weighs 8.3 lbs/gallon).
  • You can also use your towed car as a storage unit while you are in transit. Think of it as a trailer since there won’t be any passengers in it while traveling. You can probably put as much as a 1000 lbs in it, but be sure the towed car’s tires are properly inflated per the manufacturer’s specifications.  (You may need to adjust your auxiliary toad braking system for the additional weight.)  The reverse holds true if your tow vehicle exceeds its GVWR and your trailer has the capacity available.  Either way it is important not to exceed either vehicle’s GVWR.