Berkshire 38A newbie question

[Phil57]

It sounds about right. Did you weigh the coach with you and your wife in the rig? What is the steer Axel weight rated at? If it's 10400 as I suspect you are very close to max weight. I also add 5psi as a fudge factor because without a four point weight you don't know if one side is carrying more weight. Also with the extra 5 psi you don't need to add pressure if you have guests on a trip.

[Phil57]

http://www.forestriverinc.com/produc...168&Image=5027

[tnbendr]

Originally Posted by Phil57

It sounds about right. Did you weigh the coach with you and your wife in the rig? What is the steer Axel weight rated at? If it's 10400 as I suspect you are very close to max weight. I also add 5psi as a fudge factor because without a four point weight you don't know if one side is carrying more weight. Also with the extra 5 psi you don't need to add pressure if you have guests on a trip.

Phil, you mentioned steer axle weight rating, are you just referring to the front axle weight rating, or is this something different?

[Phil57]

Yes it's the front Axle can't find a spec on your front axle .

[tnbendr]

Originally Posted by Phil57

Yes it's the front Axle can't find a spec on your front axle .

Front axle is 10,500
Rear axle is 17,500

[Phil57]

That's the way mine came but was upgraded to 12000 lb front axle. Is the weight with passengers?

[tnbendr]

Originally Posted by Phil57

That's the way mine came but was upgraded to 12000 lb front axle. Is the weight with passengers?

Yes, but probably added couple hundred pounds since weighing

[dan-nickie]

Originally Posted by Eustuss

We have weighed and front axle weight is 10,300 rear is 17,420. Divided 10,300 by 2 for the front and came up with 106 psi based on Goodyear chart for that tires with rear 17,420 divided by 4 and came up with 92 psi from chart. Does this sound about right? Thanks!!

Looks like you got it. Good job.
Many of us add about 5 lbs for side to side variance as Phil stated.

But, I wonder where you found your Goodyear chart.
The only ones I have found rounded to 5 lbs like this one.

http://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf

[edgewant]

I'm leary of only doing a front and rear axle weight and setting pressure based on those numbers. The heavy side on the axle sets the tire inflation pressure for the axle. Based on a four corner weight my side to side variation is right at 500 to 600 lbs. I haven't looked at the tire inflation charts to see how much difference that makes but hopefully the 5 psi many are suggesting is sufficient to account for the variation. If not then there's a chance you'll be under-inflated on one or more tires.

[tmmar]

Just make sure that all tires on the same axles are inflated to the same pressure.

[I-RV]

Originally Posted by tnbendr

My front is 10,260 and rear is 17,280 for a total of 27,540. I could not weigh each wheel but feel that I've distributed load pretty even. Are you guys saying that the cargo plus toad weight is gcvw, for the 38A that is 33,000...does that still count if one is not towing (33,000)?

GCVW is the total of the toad (and dolly) and fully loaded motorhome. The 33,000 lbs. limit is because of the Allison 2500 MH transmission. Please note that a full tank of water is one of your largest loads at 833 lbs.

[tmmar]

Originally Posted by I-RV

Please note that a full tank of water is one of your largest loads at 833 lbs.

This is one of the reasons that I never travel with water in my tank. That is a lot of extra weight to be carrying. I usually have a couple of jugs of water to use to 'flush' the toilet in the event someone needs to use it.

[I-RV]

While on the subject of liquid weights; a full tank of diesel weighs approximately 730 lbs.

[gtsum2]

For those with 38a and have weighed, are you running heavy or does it come from the factory very close to both axle ratings? Looking at the 38a and the Newmar Ventana LE 4002 and CCC is a concern for me, as the weight adds up quickly with water, diesel, and misc stuff.

[BamaBob]

Originally Posted by I-RV

While on the subject of liquid weights; a full tank of diesel weighs approximately 730 lbs.

Good Pont Hank - thanks for reminding everyone!

Here are a few weights important to RV'ers:

Diesel - 7.5 pounds per gallon
Water - 8.3 pounds per gallon
DEF - 9.0 pounds per gallon
Black Tank - ~8.8 pounds per gallon
Gasoline - 6.2 pounds per gallon
Propane - 4.25 pounds per gallon