i’m taking notes.

I think the VIEW Diesel is The Bomb. LONG life and if you take care(synthetic oil changes every 10,0000.miles) and other care giving,she will live forever.(So I have read);)

BUT..the Trailer idea is tempting as well…more room, cheaper, and you can leave it to explore…I am now even more conflicted..ARRGH!
I live, vicariously, thru you…harhar!
XOXO LD

Jennifer, you are going to save yourself gobs of money with this knew knowledge. Keep it up!

Damn, Wade. I’m impressed. In your garage?

In 40 years of stubborn tightwad apprenticeship, I never got good enough to dependably keep from spilling the stuff one way or another.

So I always took it to the street.

Okay, okay. The last few years I’ve mellowed out enough to let somebody else have the pleasure. But you can still pick out my house by driving by and looking down at the road in front. Or from half a block away. Okay, maybe even on Google Maps.

Bob, not a mechanic.

http://www.class-c-motorhome-info-made-simple.com/GVWR.html

The real problem from a consumer standpoint is that while you can obtain the GVWR from the manufacturer, you need to know and subtract the ACTUAL CURB WEIGHT for that information to do you any good.

1)the actual weight, curb weight, or unloaded vehicle weight varies from unit to unit according to what options are included.

2)it is in the manufacturer’s interest to minimize the perception of problems in this area.

There is no regularized way of reporting curb weight throughout the industry. Some mfgs. include the weight of liquids and/or passengers, some do not. Some report their methodology, most do not. And with some you’re gonna need a crowbar and a mafia goon to get any info at all.

The only way to KNOW you are not exceeding the GVWR is to ACTUALLY WEIGH THE VEHICLE ON A SCALE
when it is fully loaded as you will use it. It is not practical to do this until after you have bought it. What you CAN do is insist that you be allowed to drive by a public scale and pay the the 5 bucks or so to get it weighed before money changes hands, and then add in an estimate of the weight you will be adding, including gas, propane, fresh water, cargo, and passengers.

Most people underestimate how much this adds up to. But you can make a stab at it, and that’s better than nothing. As a thumb rule, I use a minimum of 1000 lb. for one person and baggage (clothes, pots, pans, tools, etc). Unless you are carrying lots of books, collect rocks, or need to keep the onboard hot tub filled. In that case you are pretty much on your own.

Even if you are well within limits overall, you can STILL screw up the distribution and get too much weight on one side or one corner. That will blow out tires, wear brakes, and screw up handling. Sometimes units come from the factory misbalanced, depending on placement of slides and water tanks. Sometimes they are sort of balanced empty but not when tanks are filled. Sometimes you can fix this by packing and repacking your stuff, sometimes not. To do this properly, you need to pack everything and then weigh each corner. Public scales can give you front to back weights, but for the corners you will need portable scales. Sometimes you can get this done at RV rallies, but of course by that point you are well beyond the point of purchase.

The idea is to do what you can. You are never going to get it perfect. But you can avoid buying a unit that is overweight sitting empty, or even with full tanks. Manufacturers that make a point to advertise their carrying capacity are likely prospects. Those who hide this information are doing so for a reason.

Bob