Update on weights

In a previous post titled Understanding Weights, I commented about how much cargo we'd be able to carry based on the GVWR of our Dutch Star 4369 and several other factors.

In its printed brochure for the 2016 DS4369 (and all of their 43' models), Newmar shows the GVWR to be 44,600 pounds.   However, when you add up the weight that all axles can support - from the same brochure - you get 47,000 pounds.  Now I have long understood that adding up all of the GAWR's to get the GVWR isn't necessarily accurate in all cases, but it should be pretty close.  In this case, it's quite a difference:  2,400 pounds to be exact.

Since the GVWR in the brochure is 44,600 and the UVW is 39,000 (Vehicle can carry a total of 44.6 and its unloaded weight is 39), that left a total of 5600 pounds of Net Carrying Capacity (NCC).  When calculating OCCC (Occupant and Cargo Carrying Capacity), it seemed to me that a lot of 4369's were coming in around 3300 pounds, which meant that I only had 3300 pounds to use for fresh water, people, and cargo.  My estimate was that I may have about 1000 pounds to spare.  Not much.

Recently, Newmar changed the 2016 Dutch Star specifications on their web site to show that ALL 43' models have a GVCR of 47000 pounds.  Several people in irv2 forums said that the number looks correct, since the axle ratings (front to back) of 17K, 20K and 10K pounds were inline with those specified in Freightliner documents.   As they changed the GVCR, the NCC changed accordingly.  It's now shown as 8000 pounds.

The bottom line is that it now looks like we have a comfortable margin for cargo:  2400 more pounds than I had anticipated.  At this time, people are wondering if the actual stickers in the coaches will reflect the new numbers.  Is the web site correct?   Still waiting to hear more about this.

[Update on 11/10/15]  Despite the possibility of having an additional 2400 pounds, there's a lot of talk in the forums about Newmar's 43' DSDP's being almost overweight on the front axle when they're driven out of the factory.  By the time you add a full tank of fuel, folks are saying that corner weights (which can tell you how much weight is on the front axle) show that it is pushing the 17,000 pound limit (GAWR-Front).   I'm not overly concerned, but this is certainly something to watch.