First Mini-Trip

[ykcamom]

We finally took our new Jayflight out for a spin.

We are pulling with our F150 and it did a great job. Mind you, the trailer was empty, but still, we barely knew it was there! We did have to raise the hitch assembly a notch as it was dipping a bit, which you'll see in the picture below. But otherwise, all was great.

We drove it around for a while, took it up and down some hills, etc.

We also took it to a weigh station and these are the numbers:

Weigh Group 1 -- 1610 KGS or 3527 lbs
Weigh Group 2 -- 1780 KGS or 3924 lbs
Weigh Group 3 -- 2370 KGS or 5225 lbs

Vehicle Weight -- 5760 KGS or 12,968 lbs

I am pretty sure that Group 3 is the trailer weight and "Vehicle Weight" is the gross combined weight of the truck and the trailer. But the first two, I'm a bit confused. I think the first is the truck only, and the second is the truck and payload of the hitch weight?

The fellow at the weigh station said we should also get our vehicle registration updated to reflect the combined gross vehicle capacity of the truck and not just the truck's weight. He said this is because we could get a ticket for being considered "overweight" otherwise. I've never heard of this before! What do others do?

[Threebutchers]

Very nice combo.....looks sharp!

[ykcamom]

Bumping this post up because I'm hoping someone can explain those three weights I posted before? Again, the trailer was pretty much empty when this was weighed.

We are taking a trip to Alaska in a couple of weeks and we plan to weigh it all again then, when it's full (but without water)

[Sundancer330]

Here is a breakdown from CAT scales.

Truck & Trailer

When weighing your truck and trailer it must be completely on the scale and it is best if you position the steer axle (front wheels) of the truck on platform 1, and the drive axle or rear axle of the truck on platform 2. The trailer will normally show up on platform 3.

[Chrislorl]

Do not change your vehicle registration. You are not driving a commercial vehicle and that has nothing to do with you being "Overweight". As long as you are within your vehicles capacity you are fine. You have no reason to be stopped by DOT unless you are using a vehicle with commercial markings and it does not look like you are.

[Murff]

Your rig should be fine! Your Gross Combined Weight Rating appears to be about 17,100 pounds. A 2010 F150 has a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating of 6450 to 8200 pounds, depending on options, engine, etc. You are probably closer to the 8200 pounds with your optional equipment. That would mean you trailer could weigh 8900 pounds.

Have a great trip!

Murff

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by ykcamom

Bumping this post up because I'm hoping someone can explain those three weights I posted before? Again, the trailer was pretty much empty when this was weighed.

We are taking a trip to Alaska in a couple of weeks and we plan to weigh it all again then, when it's full (but without water)

It looks to me like Weight Group 1 is the truck's steer axle, Weight Group 2 is the truck's rear axle and Weight Group 3 is the trailer axles.

There are a couple of "sticky" threads at the top of the Towing & Tow Vehicle section that might help out - one is RV & Vehicle Weight Terms/Definitions and the other is How to weigh your TV/TT. Getting a base line of just your truck with driver and full fuel only will help you understand the axle loading once the trailer is hitched up as well as how effective your weight distribution set up is.

Good luck - it's a nice looking rig and the Alaska trip sounds like fun!

[tylersdad]

I'm a little concerned. We have a 2014 F-150 with the 3.5L EcoBoost and 3.31 rear drive. The brochure says our GCWR is 14,900. Our trailer is 5150, so very close to the one the OP has. Does this mean I'll be within 2200 pounds of my GCWR without anything in the TT?

The brochure also says we have a max towing capacity of 9400 lbs. I'm confused. We have the 7100 lb payload package.

[tylersdad]

Ford website says our truck is 5296 curb weight. We have an XLT, so maybe that's the difference in weight?

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by tylersdad

I'm a little concerned. We have a 2014 F-150 with the 3.5L EcoBoost and 3.31 rear drive. The brochure says our GCWR is 14,900. Our trailer is 5150, so very close to the one the OP has. Does this mean I'll be within 2200 pounds of my GCWR without anything in the TT?

The brochure also says we have a max towing capacity of 9400 lbs. I'm confused. We have the 7100 lb payload package.

Originally Posted by tylersdad

Ford website says our truck is 5296 curb weight. We have an XLT, so maybe that's the difference in weight?

Take a look at these sticky threads and see if they help:

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...ions-3872.html

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...ting-3866.html

You want to look at the weights that are specific for your truck - when you open the drivers door you should find two different labels. One will be the tire loading sticker - look for the sentence "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed" - this is the payload capacity for your specific truck as delivered. The other label will list the GVWR and GAWR Front/Rear axle values for your specific truck.

The trailer will also have these same labels - usually on the front left side. If you post the values from these labels for both the truck and the trailer then folks will be able to provide better feedback.

[tylersdad]

Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1649 lbs
GAWR Front: 3450
GAWR Rear: 3850

We haven't taken delivery of the trailer yet, but I snapped a picture of one that weighs 100 lbs more than ours will.

Trailer:

Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1248
GAWR Front: 3000
GAWR Rear: 3000

[ttavasc]

Originally Posted by tylersdad

Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1649 lbs
GAWR Front: 3450
GAWR Rear: 3850

We haven't taken delivery of the trailer yet, but I snapped a picture of one that weighs 100 lbs more than ours will.

Trailer:

Combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed: 1248
GAWR Front: 3000
GAWR Rear: 3000

That's a pretty decent payload rating. Jayco lists the GVWR of the 23MRB as 6500. You can use 13% of the trailer GVWR as a good estimate of tongue weight, 15% if you are more conservative. That would give you a range of 850-975lbs of tongue weight. That leaves close to half the payload for WDH weight, all passengers and cargo you will put in the truck. You'll want to make sure you have a good weight distributing hitch, ideally one with integrated sway control - here is a link to another "sticky" thread that can help out with that:

http://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f3...wdhs-3873.html

[tylersdad]

Thank you so much! This is our first RV and there's so much uncertainty--especially since we haven't taken delivery yet. We did purchase an Equal-I-zer WDH with 4-point sway control.

Really can't wait to finally get the thing home!