Pinnacle height?

[Stan Irvin]

So i read today that our new Pinnacle is suppose to be 13.49 ft tall. My question is does include the height of the AC units?:

[Grumpy]

That's what the spec says.. right from the web site

Exterior Height w/ A/C 13' 6"

[DrSmart]

Keep in mind that you're Pinnacle needs to be level front to back. That would be dependent on truck, hitch and pin box setup. Best to measure and confirm the height yourself if your setup is not level. As Grumpy said, 13'6".

[Joan617]

We are in Bushnell, FL now at the Escapees Park (Sumter Oaks) and will be using their “SmartWeigh” service later this morning. Besides weighing every axle with separate scales both left and right, they will measure height when hooked up to the TV on the level pad.
When we last hand measured height, we were at about 13’6” to the top of the front A/C. Since then I have raised the hitch 1.25” for better rail clearance. I know we are level all around but still nervous about what we might find...

I’ll report back around noon.
Angus

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Joan617

We are in Bushnell, FL now at the Escapees Park (Sumter Oaks) and will be using their “SmartWeigh” service later this morning. Besides weighing every axle with separate scales both left and right, they will measure height when hooked up to the TV on the level pad.
When we last hand measured height, we were at about 13’6” to the top of the front A/C. Since then I have raised the hitch 1.25” for better rail clearance. I know we are level all around but still nervous about what we might find...

I’ll report back around noon.
Angus

Hi Angus, I'm anxious to hear the scale results. I know our units have to way a whole lot more on the kitchen side.

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by AKRUEBBE

Hi Angus, I'm anxious to hear the scale results. I know our units have to way a whole lot more on the kitchen side.

Oh, you betcha, Al. How about 1,300 # heavier on the driver/ kitchen side? No wonder left turns are always so much easier with our rig!


The weighing went well and the good news in that we are well within GW limits throughout the rig, and this was with nearly full fresh water (gray and black tanks empty and three propane tanks full.


Trailer gross was 16,400 out of 16,750 max. Reducing fresh water will of course widen the margin. We were even careful to have full pantry and fridge, having just done shopping. All pets included with Joan riding shotgun. Nothing left behind at the CG site.


Big surprise was Pin weight at 28% of gross trailer. But our fat-bottomed girl truck has plenty of capacity there with literally tons left in CGWR (26.5K out of 44K lbs).


Oh, and Stan Irvin, our height was 13'7", which I mostly expected after raising the hitch recently. But with a dead level truck and trailer, 6+" of bed rail clearance and less than 100# of load difference between front and rear trailer axles, I am not changing anything there now.


So the big news but not unexpected is the lateral delta of 1,300 lbs on the trailer.
RH/ passenger side: 2850 and 2900 front and rear
LH/ Driver side: 3600 and 3450
It's all the appliances and cabinetry of course. I can do a few things like move some heavy things from basement to truck bed where I have capacity, but not 600+ lbs.


Certainly will rotate tires though.


Angus

[Mopar_Earl]

Originally Posted by Joan617

Oh, you betcha, Al. How about 1,300 # heavier on the driver/ kitchen side? No wonder left turns are always so much easier with our rig!


The weighing went well and the good news in that we are well within GW limits throughout the rig, and this was with nearly full fresh water (gray and black tanks empty and three propane tanks full.


Trailer gross was 16,400 out of 16,750 max. Reducing fresh water will of course widen the margin. We were even careful to have full pantry and fridge, having just done shopping. All pets included with Joan riding shotgun. Nothing left behind at the CG site.


Big surprise was Pin weight at 28% of gross trailer. But our fat-bottomed girl truck has plenty of capacity there with literally tons left in CGWR (26.5K out of 44K lbs).


Oh, and Stan Irvin, our height was 13'7", which I mostly expected after raising the hitch recently. But with a dead level truck and trailer, 6+" of bed rail clearance and less than 100# of load difference between front and rear trailer axles, I am not changing anything there now.


So the big news but not unexpected is the lateral delta of 1,300 lbs on the trailer.
RH/ passenger side: 2850 and 2900 front and rear
LH/ Driver side: 3600 and 3450
It's all the appliances and cabinetry of course. I can do a few things like move some heavy things from basement to truck bed where I have capacity, but not 600+ lbs.


Certainly will rotate tires though.


Angus

How are you on the trucks gvwr, you didn't mention that? They only have 3 of those scales and none are remotely near me.


Earl

[Stan Irvin]

Angus,
Thanks, that will give a 6” clearence backing into the barn.
Stan

[DrSmart]

Hi Angus. I'm assuming your axles are 7k. We were at a Jayco seminar this summer. The rep was touting the heavy duty MorRyde shackles and wet bolts. He also mentioned that they went with 4k leaf springs instead of 3500lb that would have matched the 7k axle. Looking at your kitchen side weights, it's sure good they did.

Thanks for all the numbers. Always interesting to see, even if we don't have that unit.

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by Mopar_Earl

How are you on the trucks gvwr, you didn't mention that? They only have 3 of those scales and none are remotely near me.


Earl

12,750 lbs out of 14,000 lbs GVWR


Funny he picked up that our front axle was 50 lbs heavier on the driver's side. I'm 100 lbs more than Joan but it was partly mitigated by more cats and dogs on here side. When she drives, we'll have to adjust the canine and feline distribution matrix.

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by DrSmart

Hi Angus. I'm assuming your axles are 7k. We were at a Jayco seminar this summer. The rep was touting the heavy duty MorRyde shackles and wet bolts. He also mentioned that they went with 4k leaf springs instead of 3500lb that would have matched the 7k axle. Looking at your kitchen side weights, it's sure good they did.

Thanks for all the numbers. Always interesting to see, even if we don't have that unit.

Yes thanks Dave & Ivy, they are 7K axles and I'm glad to hear that bit about the leaf springs. I had always assumed the axles were our weakest link. So I was actually glad that the Pin weight was higher than expected since that is where we have capacity. Still learning.
Angus

[AKRUEBBE]

"Oh, you betcha, Al. How about 1,300 # heavier on the driver/ kitchen side? No wonder left turns are always so much easier with our rig!"

Thanks for the info Angus! I thought the weight on the driver side would be a lot greater. Less than 10% of the total weight is not bad.

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by Mopar_Earl

How are you on the trucks gvwr, you didn't mention that? They only have 3 of those scales and none are remotely near me.


Earl

Earl, I have not checked them out yet but these guys claim they have directories of places to get individual wheel weights for RV's... FifthWheelSt.com


Angus

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by AKRUEBBE

"Oh, you betcha, Al. How about 1,300 # heavier on the driver/ kitchen side? No wonder left turns are always so much easier with our rig!"

Thanks for the info Angus! I thought the weight on the driver side would be a lot greater. Less than 10% of the total weight is not bad.

Put in that context, it doesn't sound as bad but it still surprised me. I will start by transporting the water softener in the truck bed, passenger side instead of the basement drivers' side and do the same with some of my tools. That's really all I've got.


Another thing I've gained is better understanding of cold tire pressure inflation vis 'a vis actual measured loads and the respective Goodyear and Michelin inflation charts for given loads. RV tires are going from 80 to 65 psi cold and Truck will go down a bit too.
Angus

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by Joan617

Put in that context, it doesn't sound as bad but it still surprised me. I will start by transporting the water softener in the truck bed, passenger side instead of the basement drivers' side and do the same with some of my tools. That's really all I've got. Another thing I've gained is better understanding of cold tire pressure inflation vis 'a vis actual measured loads and the respective Goodyear and Michelin inflation charts for given loads. RV tires are going from 80 to 65 psi cold and Truck will go down a bit too.
Angus

65? Curious to see how that works as far as tire temps. Keep us posted. I have mine at 80, but I will slay that they look like they are rolling more on the middle.

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by AKRUEBBE

65? Curious to see how that works as far as tire temps. Keep us posted. I have mine at 80, but I will slay that they look like they are rolling more on the middle.

Great trip to Cedar Key; a mix of interstate and state roads. Tire temps stayed nominal, about 6-10 degrees above ambient at 60-65 mph on state roads. Not much faster on interstates due to post-holiday traffic. We won't see another interstate for a couple of months.
Angus

[Jeffur]

Please review the Goodyear site before recommending tire pressure reduction. From their site, a tire that is 1/3 under inflated is considered a flat tire, also for every 1psi of under-inflation the ability for that tire to carry it’s prescribed weight rating is reduce by 25-30lbs.

[Jeffur]

Legal run height in most states is 13’6”. Please review state codes and bridge heights. Don’t make the mistake I did (pinnacle FLSA) and take off all my ACs including my roof vents.

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by Jeffur

Please review the Goodyear site before recommending tire pressure reduction. From their site, a tire that is 1/3 under inflated is considered a flat tire, also for every 1psi of under-inflation the ability for that tire to carry it’s prescribed weight rating is reduce by 25-30lbs.

Righteo.
Per Goodyear site and Load/Inflation for Endurance ST (E)...
https://www.goodyearrvtires.com/pdfs/rv_inflation.pdf


ST255/85R16 Loan in pounds above 3520 and below 3640 = 65 psi cold

(take the highest load of the 4 tires (3600), then use the next highest load listing- do not interpolate)


...and no, the 7,000# axle is not overloaded; the other tire is loaded at 2,850



The 80# on the sidewall is for a max load of 4080#

[Joan617]

Originally Posted by Jeffur

Legal run height in most states is 13’6”. Please review state codes and bridge heights. Don’t make the mistake I did (pinnacle FLSA) and take off all my ACs including my roof vents.

Ouch. Sorry to hear about your roof.
We run all of our routes through...
RV Trip Wizard
Rand McNally OverDryve RV routing
Rand McNally Commercial Carrier's Atlas
...and then cross-check with Google while en-route.


Our professional trucker buddies tell us not to sweat the extra inch and we run the trips with an assumed height of 14'


We've done enough damage to our rig without even driving it!