Quote:
Originally Posted by mb2011
I have been to a spring and equipment shop.... &etc.
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Most humbly and respectfully... You are quite right, but are barking up the wrong tree!
Did I say anything about a Spring and Equipment Shop? did I say anything about altering stickers or paperwork? Please, set aside your assumptions for a moment? There is more than one way to skin a cat, as they say! (my apologies to cat-lovers)
No, I did
not go to a Spring and Equipment shop... The GVWR is stock and perfectly legal.
However, if you take some simple steps with a stock pick-up, you can do a lot to lower the
curb weight substantially, which of course increases your de-facto
payload by an equal margin. Suppose you towed without a 60 pound tailgate? And put the spare tire and rim somewhere else where it could move weight off your truck and also off the pin? If you are only using the truck for towing, and your family is all grown up like mine, what seats and other equip do you need in the rear of the cab, and how much do they weigh? There are other ways to lower curb weight, as you know, but I didn't want to totally "gut" the truck. I like what I have for a TV and I can restore her to stock condition in just a day or two. (Yes, I replace the spare for motoring around town)
As for the trailer, we both really liked the floor plan and layout above all else, and liked most of the features. There were features that we decided were not to our liking, however. We heat with wood and geothermal at home, and the faux-fireplace failed to impress me. It came out, and as the location is 4.5 feet aft of the zero moment center of mass; anything stored there over the net 42 pound-weight reduction of the fireplace actually decreases pin weight. (flying aircraft taught me a thing or two about weight and balance. Have you ever noticed that there are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there don't seem to be too many pilots around that are both old and bold? I'm 67.)
A lot of our heavy stuff goes in the "empty" cabinet.
We also didn't like the 2 factory rockers much and replaced them with our own Norwegian teak & leather recliners that weight half as much. We use 2 of the dinette chairs in the house and do not travel with them, freeing up space and reducing excess weight in the rear of the trailer and freeing it up for other cargo. The large drawer under the sofa is designed to hold the inflatable air mattress and bedding. We didn't need another bed, and we use the mattress (it ain't all that light) here in the house for unexpected guests. (they are getting better about calling ahead). That space now houses my tool kit and our fishing wader boots, the boat anchors and some other heavy stuff that you don't need to know about.
Off the lot and dry, our rig tipped the scales weighed in at 8563; 9 pounds less than the sticker for some reason, which was a surprise. It now weighs in at about 8377 last time at Beacon and 8384 over at the gravel-pit. (Well, nobody's perfect)
My 2 Honda 2000 generators, my tool kit and trailer jack, our hybrid bikes, our golf bags & equipment, the truck spare and rim (which would be easier to get at if I got a truck flat anyway) are under the rear of the trailerl, our sewer hoses in their 4" light PVC housing and much of our heavy gear travel aft of the trailer axles.
Our baggage compartment is reserved for our outboard motor (47lbs) and our inflatable boat (Achilles LSI 310 is 80 lbs), fresh water hoses, shore power cable, and that's about it.
I will not tell you what our normal travel pin weight is, but it's lower than some would recommend. There have been times when a heavier pin weight would have made me feel a little better in those Nebraska crosswinds, but we stopped, took a break and made a couple of new friends.
Yet we have towed over 10,500 miles and have been inspected and weighed on portable scales once in British Columbia and once in Alberta. (They usually just wave tourists through, but our Missouri plates look at lot like British Columbia plates from any distance, and those guys can be mean, I hear... especially early in the season)
So, like I said, there is more than one way to skin a cat.
About me:
I am an old hay farmer / cattle producer, having operated on both sides of the 49th parallel, and have owned Ford, Chev, GMC, and Dodge trucks from 1/2 ton to a Ford Louisville. I would rather not say what my recent experiences with some of these has been, but I chose Toyota for personal reasons. The tranny and most of the electrical on my previous P/U was glued and duc-taped together in Mexico, and didn't make it past 120,000 easy, retired miles. To each his own and 'nuff said on that score.
The Tundra now churns out about 410HP with her mods and we don't know the exact torque. But we sailed over the Empire Pass west of Denver on I-70 @ 55 mph (about my usual towing road speed, and best MPG speed) without a whimper or a movement in the tranny/rad temp gauges.
We ran the horrendous roller-coaster circuit through Flaming Gorge, and ran up and down the endless and very steep grade east of the Bear Tunnel over the Coquihalla highway in BC. Braking, towing power and acceleration have been excellent on all surfaces from snow and slush to fry-an-egg asphalt and concrete. We get an acceptable 10-11 mpg.
As confession is good for,the soul, there have been a few times when our gross payload has topped our max by a slight margin, like when we used the rig as a moving van, but those have been few and far between. However, at no time have I ever exceeded the max towing capacity.
The Tundra now has about 18K miles on her (her break-in was 2000 miles never above 50mph but at fluctuating speeds... I don't give a rat's ass what anyone says... break them in) and I am not yet ready to say it is the best truck I have owned, but it has exceeded my expectations to date.
I appreciate your 'good luck(s)'. In this game we need a little luck once in awhile. But in life as in raising cattle, growing hay, flying or investing, "luck" and "hope" are extremely poor strategies. By all means live by your numbers, but if you can safely use them to your advantage, do so.
(
now do you see why I suggested a PM?)
Jim & Kathy
Sweet. I would like to do the same.
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