Weight Creep

 I have covered the importance of knowing your actual RV weight, as that has a direct impact on your tire loading which affects your tire life.

The idea of "4 Corner Weight" is that you get on scales that can measure the load on each end of each axle because very few RVs have an exact 50/50 end to end load split for every axle.

 Now I know that finding a location that can measure each tire position is not easy. Large RV gatherings such as FMCA Conventions and Escapees meet-ups sometimes have vendors offering that service. HERE is some information from another tire engineer on where and how individual weights can be measured. Others have learned that their state scales as in Oregon and I believe Washington state are left "on" and they can many times get the weight of each  end of each axle on the scale so they can calculate the actual loading.

This is my RV on a scale in Oregon. The red circle is the weight sign.

Some folks have contacted their state police and found them more than willing to provide the service. HERE is a work sheet you can use when you get the scale readings..

One other consideration for every RV owner, even those that have not yet learned their corner weights. This is WEIGHT CREEP. This slow increase in overall weight occurs as we travel and add small items to our RV. This might be another tool or book or nick-knack. Individually they only may be a pound or two but over time the total weight can become significant.

Now, I am not saying you have to search out a company to re-do your 4-corner weights every year but you can get a handle on your weight creep with a quick visit to a regular truck scale where you can learn your individual axle weight. With that new information you can compare the total for each individual axle of your 4-corner weight with the new truck scale weight. Hopefully you will not see any significant weight gain that would require you to get new corner weights BUT you will at least know the facts and know if the extra "stuff" is adding up to a significant weight gain which suggests that you put the RV on a "diet".

 ##RVT967