How much does your van weigh?

[EMrider]

The max weight issue has been a concern of mine for some time, and I've also upgraded the tires and ball joints on the van.

Bottom line is that there is no such thing as an SMB 4x4 that is not very close to, or over, Ford's max GVWR once gear and passengers are factored in.

Because of this, I've concluded that specific driving habits are necessary to pad the safety margin as much as possible.
R

[vlamgat]

The tire size that daveb posted is not indicative of the load capability. So the question is anyone running greater than E series load rating as in F or G in order to accommodate these over gross loads

[daveb]

I might be wrong, (the van weigh slip is in Fresno at this time) but my tires weights are not over 3,300 lbs per tire (a D rated tire) and I run E rated tires that list at 3750 Lbs which is way above my safety limit @ 11,000 lbs. I will check to see if there is more information on the Owners site as this has been hashed over several times there.

[vlamgat]

Originally Posted by daveb

I might be wrong, (the van weigh slip is in Fresno at this time) but my tires weights are not over 3,300 lbs per tire (a D rated tire) and I run E rated tires that list at 3750 Lbs which is way above my safety limit @ 11,000 lbs. I will check to see if there is more information on the Owners site as this has been hashed over several times there.

That's the right answer! I could not tell from your original post whether you were running D or E or just ST tires. But either D or E will work at this vehicle's GW. Of course if you want to go over that then there are other issues besides tires, such as brakes, springs, shocks, etc although I am sure the chassis can take 1-2K over the GW without a problem. I run a CGVW or 19900 of which 9000 is the van. So far no problems but the trailer brakes suck. Looking at a disc upgrade but its a lot of work.

[daveb]

2006 EB/50 6.0 PSD E-PH Sportsmobile 4X4 conversion.

Marine vinyl.
Carpet overlay.
Leather seats. Electric driver bucket seat.
Large refrigerator, empty.
Large water tank ¾ full.
Hydronic, Airtronic, and Starcool.
Porta crapper.
Gray water tank with a bit in it.
Two 4-D lifeline house batteries.
3-60 W Solara solar panels. A forth portable spare panel under lower bed.
Xantrex 2000 PS inverter.
Microwave.
Awning.
Yakima tracks and 2 cross bars (load warrior removed).
Heavy duty trailer hitch.
Aluminess bunper front with warn winch and super pull rope (no steel cable). 2 snatch blocks and 2 ton jack, Hella fog lamps, and Hella 4000 lights.

Aluminess bumper rear. Extra heavy duty rear box with 2-Jerry cans water, and 2 with diesel. Heavy duty Pull Pal. Five ton 2 stage Bottle Jack. Hella back up lights.

Trojan Ladder.
46 Gallon fuel tank was as full as I could get it.
Extreme air compressor.
285 75-16 on American Eagle(?) aluminum wheels and spare on rear bumper.

Dynatrac full float rear axle.
Extra large transmission pan.
Tow package.
ARB lockers on the front axle.
Rear air bags.
The recovery kit, 50 foot of extra cable, and tools add up to about 30lbs.
My standard clothing and camping junk such as pots, pans, and full pantry is about 75 pounds.

Additional equipment is around 50 lbs.
My lard ass was out of vehicle.

Total = 11,080
F axle = 4,320
R axle = 6,760
LF = 2,340
RF = 1,980
LR = 3,340
RR = 3,360

[2much8ntenough]

Originally Posted by daveb

Total = 11,080
F axle = 4,320
R axle = 6,760
LF = 2,340
RF = 1,980
LR = 3,340
RR = 3,360

Dave,

How did you get your van, each axle and tire weighed?

Thanks,

Sean

[daveb]

We have a few public scales in the area (many towns have them) and the one I used was at a diesel truck repair/dealership. Cost me 7 bucks. There was some discussion on how to weigh it but the weight master assured me all I had to do was to get the total vehicle on the scale, then each axle and finally each tire resting on the scale pad. You notice they don't add up correctly. This is common and what the CHP would also get. CHP would make you stay in the vehicle.
Dave.

[geoffff]

I finally got the chance to weigh my van! I was driving by Lakeview in southern OR, and happened upon a tiny unattended (but operational) scale by the side of the road.

My pretty basic 4x4 RB50 was packed to the gills with gear for a camping trip, including an extra 15 gallons of water and four heavy bikes hanging way back off the rear hitch rack, but it still came in under 10,000 lbs. (I was curious about the empty weight, but not enough to unpack the whole van right there on the side of the road.) The scale seemed to be showing values with an accuracy of +/- 50 lbs.

• Front (L,R): 2100 1950
  Rear (L,R): 2800 2650
  
  Front: 4050 lbs
  Rear: 5450 lbs
  
  Left: 4900 lbs
  Right: 4600 lbs
  
  Total: 9500 lbs

(Oh, and for some reason I stayed in the van, so subtract about 150 lbs from the left side.)

-- Geoff

[SMBDAD]

In researching past threads for info I came across this discussion. I went out to look and examine my ratings. One thing I found is that nothing changed in the Front Gvwr. You would think that something would change going from stock rating from ford to the straight axle 4x4. What is the GVWR of the DANA 60 axle?

[deminimis]

Just to chime in. Full tank at the time (36 gallons -before I made the mod), 16-ish gal water, no gear and only me, my Sporty came it in approx 10k pounds. Modifed EB49 plan. Dual starter and single 4D batts. Two spares.