Question 4 corner weights

[stang37]

I'm not a full timer either and I guess I don't carry enough heavy stuff to shift. I move 150# from the compartment just in front of our TV to the compartment under the copilot seat. Understand that's not a large compartment. 26D x 48L x 18H. I also move the Blackstone grill, propane cylinder, metal lawn chairs, 8' aluminum ladder, extension poles and a lot of misc stuff to the center compartment where the sliding tray is located in an effort to center as much weight as possible in the basement. I have my tool box, tire covers, air hose and sewage stuff in the compartment behind the tag on the drivers side. If we get to HOOTS this year I will 4 corner weight again with stuff relocated just to see the difference. Running out of options based on what we carry when traveling. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[sheridany]

Here is the response I got from Newmar.

Erica asked me to read through your email and offer any suggestions I might have concerning the weight difference in your front axle. I hope to ease your fears as there is a lot of misinformation on the internet that can drive a person crazy. For starters, Newmar has probably the best balanced RV’s on the market. The numbers you gave are not that concerning to me as, the rule of thumb for front axle difference is 1,500 lbs. between the two, and you’re well within that tolerance. With the numbers you’ve given, there should be no concern for flipping a coach due to a blowout. You would certainly want to up the tire pressure on the side that is heavier but other than that, I wouldn’t be that concerned. I have seen brand new coaches from other manufactures with up to 5,000lbs. heavier on one complete side. If you’re still concerned, I would suggest taking the coach to different Freightliner shop to have them look into the issue.

 

[sheridany]

This is my last post on this topic unless something comes up that is earth shattering relevant, I promise.

In the quest to get more intelligence, I reached out to Tireman9 on the other forum who is a well known author on tire safety and retired engineer from a major tire manufacturer. Here is his reply.

You may have miss-understood the side to side weight comments.


It is suggested that people get "4 corner" weights rather than just axle weights, as it is known that some coaches are unbalanced side to side.
We do this because if you only get axle weights and simply divide by 2 and assume your side to side weights are even, you could end up with an overloaded or underinflated tire IF the sides are not close to even.
Not sure where the 500# figure comes from other than looking at the load increments in the tables for each 5 psi. You will see that with some large tires the load capacity can increase by a few hundred pounds with an increase of 5 psi.


I do not remember ever seeing a "should" not be more than 500# different statement



You have confirmed that your coach is not balanced side to side and it appears you have made a good effort to get more balanced but have not been able to because of the design / layout of your coach.


With that in mind, and knowing the load on the "heavy end", you need to consult the Load/Inflation tables and use the heavy end weight to learn your MINIMUM inflation for all the tires on that axle. I still recommend you add 10% to the table inflation number as long as you do not exceed the max inflation rating for the wheels. This 10% helps avoid TPM low-pressure warnings due to an occasional drop in Ambient air temperature


I trust you have confirmed with your RV Mfg that the wheels are capable of supporting the heavy end load.
I hope this clarifies what you need to do and answers the "Why" we suggest you get the weights on each end of each axle.