Just had the Barth weighed. My tag says the GVW is 20000. I weighed the coach with full fuel, propane and water tanks. I also had the dog and my grand daughter in there. The front axel totalled 6520. The rear was 13460. If I did the math correctly I can add another 20 pounds of food and I'll be at the max weight. Note: This weight also includes chairs and stuff I normally carry, like my screen porch. Do I have to leave my wife home when I drive cross country?

Rick

You say water "tanks" full? Wouldn't it be more normal to start a trip with black and gray tanks empty and fresh water full in order to have the capacity to carry the wife?

Steve
Barth Wannabee

Hey Steve,

The fresh water tank is full; the others are empty. Sorry for the confusion.

Rick

I don't really know anything about this but that has never stopped me from speaking out before so I will not view my lack of knowledge as an obstacle now.

When I chatted with the guys in California at the Highway Patrol truck scales they told me that a vehicle under 26,000 is not considered a truck by California. So here in the people’s democratic-republic ( Love using those words together, as the first invalidates the second but I digress) we can drive over the 55 limit for trucks and are not required to stop at the scales.

Now I wonder if there is something magic about 20000 pounds. Maybe this is the number the chassis builder used to sake past some laws.

So in my view:
1) If the coach drives well.
a. Does not sway
b. Tracks when the wind blows
c. And last and most importantly, stops.
2) If you can get in and out of your driveway loaded.

Then by all means take your wife with you and have a great time. The days of leaving our wives home are long over. If you run into any of my buddies from the hills of Pakistan tell them I have some bad news, they are fighting a losing battle.


I would take a bit to learn about the breaks on your chassis, on my p30 chassis a little work was in order.

Happy trails.

Tim and Lana

I'm actually kidding about not taking my wife. I do want to drive and arrive safely though. I did have the coach completely checked over including the brakes which are fine after the rear brake job.

Rick

Oh yes, the wife comment was fun; I read it as a bit of happy humor.

Please know I don't really have any "buddies" in the hills of Pakistan. That was a bit of humor as well, sorry if it fell flat. But I do send Greg Mortenson a few bucks now and again.

I am glad to hear you had the breaks inspected. On my P30 chassis I tested things out on a long 7% grade and did find the breaks more than a bit warm when we reached the bottom. Some people have suggested break fluid that holds up at high tempature and if you search for breaks on this site there are lots of good ideas.

All the best

Please, please, please, gear down & slow down on those long grades, & take it easy on the brakes. Most motor homes of whatever breed are loaded to the point where brakes are marginal.

I came down a mountain years ago with a half-ton Chev towing a 31' trailer. I was using the trailer brakes manually to slow down when things got too fast. The brakes faded just as we hit a long straight stretch at the bottom. if that hill had two more curves than it did, we'd have been in the deep do-do.

My usual downhill technique in the MH was gear down & start slow at the top. Let the speed build, then slow down hard, get off the brakes, so they could cool while the speed built up again. Never suffered fade, never smelled brakes burning that way. Took a little longer to get home that way, but we always made it.

There are a couple of things you can do for the drive train; I "overload" my rear axle 300-500 lbs. over GVW (although the front axle is 600 under).

First, I discovered my rear springs appear to be about the same as the 30' - at least there are the same number of leaves.

Secondly, I replaced the differential cover with one from Mag-Hytec, which being cast aluminum, offers better heat dissipation and 2 qts. more capacity - and I increased the level by the recommended 1/2" to ensure the rear bearings stay happy.

And of course, I inflate the tires to the recommended for the load.

I installed an external high-capacity oil cooler, with a fan.

Olroy is absolutely on-target about mountain gearing down (I found I can run a 5-mile 7% downgrade in 2nd, and maybe use the service brakes once) and braking (especially with drum brakes); my Breakaway has vented disks all around, but I still use that technique.

quote:

Originally posted by olroy:

My usual downhill technique in the MH was gear down & start slow at the top. Let the speed build, then slow down hard, get off the brakes, so they could cool while the speed built up again. Never suffered fade, never smelled brakes burning that way.

That's how I do it, too. I have, however, smelled hot brakes, but that was on a road I will never do again.

Rick
To be clear. We are talking about a 33' Breakaway powered by the 5.9 Cummins on a Spartan leafspring chassis with 22.5" wheels. Correct?
Would going to larger tires, the largest possible on your wheels, and increased pressure give you more carrying capacity?
What kind of brakes are on your chassis? Hydralic? Same as a 30' Breakaway just with bigger disc or drum?
Don

I have disk brakes on all four wheels. I also have a pac brake which I use frequently. I've never smelled the brakes on this coach but on my first coach, the brakes used to heat up a lot. I'm really surprised that my Breakaway is so close to GVW. I figured Barth would have planned things so I had some storage capacity. I am planning to lighten things up and have the coach reweighed before I leave. Thanks,

Rick

If you have 22.5 tires you are OK with that weight, if you have 19.5 you are not! The rear would be at or slightly over the limit of 19.5 duals.

Some 30' Breakaways had the Dana 80 rear axle which is rated lower then the Eaton 15040 rear that I have. I think all Breakaways that were longer then 30' had the heavier rear end and used 22.5 tires.

I've alway been told that GVWR was an important number. Axles, bearings, chassis, brakes, all are designed to take so much weight. If you exceed their design limitations, you are gambling that there is an adequate safety margin built into things. I prefer to shift things around to not overload either axle. I'm pretty sure 1%/2% wouldn't hurt but I just don't do it. What Rusty has done certainly helps on overheating. And the driving techniques others have mentioned are spot on. You've identified one of the problems with many motor homes, including some Barths. By the time you put water, fuel and people in them, they are close to the GVWR and don't have much leeway for all your "stuff".

Perhaps one way to solve the overload problem is to carry a trailer which could house your heavy gear. The trailer's axle's now take the extra load. You add a slight bit of tongue weight, but it is almost insignificant. Should you really have an issue, put a water tank in the trailer and transfer it only when at destination.

Another advantage with trailering is the trailer brakes, if electric, can help stabilize a rig if operated properly. Although not for the uninitiated, manually activating the electric trailer brakes on a steep downhill grade has helped me maintain a proper speed without overusing the coach brakes. BTW, this is usually done in conjunction with the coach brakes. I think of my trailer as almost a Sea Anchor at times.
Corey

Luckily the Gillig chassis on our coach is rated with a very comfortable margin for extra weight. I recently weighed our coach full of fuel, full of propane, full of fresh water, most of the things we keep in the coach (there was no food in the cabinets) and the black and gray tanks empty. Me in the coach. The coach also seems to be balanced very well. I don't know what the ideal front and rear weights should be for handling but if tire load is considered there is almost equal weight on all six tires. We have almost 4,000 pound additional capacity. The only additional factors would be Donna's and Hank's weight. I was assured that was not a problem and to not even go there.

-------------------GVWR-----------Actual Weight----Difference
Front Axle---------10,410----------8,580------------1,830
Rear Axle----------19,230---------17,080------------2,150

Total--------------29,640---------25,660------------3,980

Nick