neotim Posted June 12, 2016 I just got back from towing our RV from Tulsa, OK to the Black Hills of SD and back. Total mileage was right about 2000, 95% of it towing our 2016 Salem Hemisphere 29BH. The dry weight is stickered at 6,000 lbs, but I suspect that it is more like 6,300 lbs because an identical 29BH on the lot and the manufacturer states 6,300. We have a '15 NVP SL with tow package, and we had two adults and 5 kids plus bicycles for all of us. On the way back I stopped at a weigh station and got these results:3560 for front axle of van5180 for rear axle of van6460 for both axles of travel trailer.Total weight is 15,200 lbs We have a weight distribution hitch. How can I estimate the actual weight of the RV with these numbers? I'm guessing that about 500 lbs of the rear van axle weight is tongue weight, so I think the RV is probably 7,000 lbs or so. The van also had a full tank of gas when weighed. All seats were installed except half of the last row. The beast (as we call the van) towed pretty well. We had a slight to moderate headwind most of the way and got between 6.5 and 8.5 mpg. Our speed was usually between 65 and 70 mph. We had plenty of power, but the tranny had to go in third quite often, and then it would not want to shift to 4th until way later than I wanted it to. For instance it would shift to 3rd gear going up a hill and race to over 4k rpms, but then it wouldn't want to shift back up to 4th until the bottom of the next hill... it was somewhat frustrating! Interestingly it would only hold 3rd gear when I wasn't using cruise control. With cruise control on it shifted much better. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ASD Dad Posted June 14, 2016 You cant estimate the weight with one trip on the scales, you need 3 passes (the extra passes should only be $5 or so if using CAT scales). One pass - all gear and hooked up like going campingOne pass - camper hooked up but WD bars DISCONNECTEDOne pass - Van by itself Do all 3 and you'll have proper scale weights for van axles, how much weight was removed with tongue and then transferred back with the WD setup, tongue weight and camper weight. Here is a short link to read more - http://rvbasics.com/techtips/weighing-your-rv.html 1 wollip reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
