1995 BMC 37 Major Overweight Problem

[Neil & Pat]

Hi Lee, thanks for writing. I am very sorry to hear of your (coaches)
“weight” problem but you are far from alone. First, so you will know who is
talking to you; I am a 32 year active RVer, 15 year Bluebird owner and a 36
year tire engineer who upon retirement volunteered nearly 4 years with the
RVSEF the group that weighed your coach at the FMCA rally. Since that time
I have written a comprehensive book on RV safety with a strong emphasis on
the weight issues because they are not only prevalent but the cause of most
of the problems and concerns that we face as RVers.

When you were weighed you were given your vehicle’s weights written on a
fairly long detailed pamphlet, which listed step-by-step the initial steps
to take to get safe and legal. That is a very good start (I actually wrote
that document several years ago) and I am pleased that you have already
followed many of the recommendations in your effort to help alleviate the
problem. Your problem appears to go beyond what can be easily accomplished
yet there is more that can be done. When making any changes please keep
track of all weigh removed from your coach; in addition you need to make a
“rough” determination as to where that weight was located i.e. the weight
that you removed was located behind the rear axle? Between the axles or
forward on the coach. That will help you to determine which axle overload
was reduced by your effort and by approximately how much. In your case the
overload in the rear is worse that the front so shifting weight will also
aid in minimizing the problem at all locations. You did not state the
actual weight differential from side-to-side so the magnitude of your
overloads may actually be worst than stated if the side-to-side differential
is high (note this is not the case with most BBs without a slide). In any
case the basic steps are to immediately eliminate all controllable weight
i.e. dump the black water totally, dump fresh water to no more than ¼ tank
(for emergencies) and get rid of personal goods aggressively (promise to
always travel in this configuration in the future). You indicate that you
are full-timers yet your total weight most likely does not exceed 2000#. I
have found through our work at the RVSEF that the average full-timer carries
in excess of #3000, in all likelihood your do as well. Note that it may be
necessary to even limit yourself to less than a full tank of fuel (drastic
but very important.) You did not indicate but it is almost a certainty that
you tow something, if that vehicle is on a trailer or dolly there is weight
carried by the RV that can be eliminated. After all of this is fully
addressed, there is still something significant that you can and should do
that is when you are driving you are “not towing a car but a trailer”; you
can legally and properly carry as much as #800-1000 in the car because at
that time (driving) your car is empty (no passengers) thus it has excess
capacity before it reached it’s GVWR, inconvenient yes but very important.
Don’t forget that you will also require brakes on your toad; No responsible
RVer will tow without them.

One final consideration is that your driving habits can be altered to give
you greater margins for your tires thereby offsetting some of the overload
consequences. Slowing down to 55mph is the law in many states for good
solid reasons. Note that for a tire rated at 65mph (most large RV tires)
the max load rating is appropriate for speeds from 51-65 however, slowing to
50 will actually increase the tires load carrying capacity by approximately
8% (this info is all contained in the Tire & Rim Association manual); this
can’t be carried to an extreme but you get the idea our tires gain
capability with every mph we slow down.

The real issue here is that the coach you purchased as “spec’ed” by the
original owner and operated by you does not have the payload capacity to
meet your expectations as a full time RVer. That point could be debated all
day without resolving the issue but the bottom line is that the owner has
the ultimate responsibility to live within the vehicle’s limitations (your
are legally liable). If new, it is often possible to twist the
manufacturers arm to help resolve the problem but in a 10+ year old coach
there is virtually no recourse available to the owner. This is one of few
times that reengineering the vehicle may be necessary to assure your safety
but this will not rectify the legal issues. Note, that only the original
manufacturer can change the data plate limitations that were originally
applied to the vehicle and they have virtually no incentive to do so. In
your situation, larger or higher capacity tires make sense. However, there
are several considerations that must be satisfied if this is attempted i.e.
you may not have adequate wheels (size or pressure rating), there may not be
adequate tire spacing or wheel well clearance, higher tire pressures will be
required, the turning angle limits may have to be reset and the vehicles
computer and/or speedometer may be adversely affected and reset. Even after
all that work & expense to make the vehicle safe to drive you will still be
illegal if you exceed the posted GVRW of the coach. In the absolute extreme
if you wish to be totally safe and legal while maintaining your present
lifestyle it may be necessary to change motorhomes for one with a greater
(adequate) CCC (cargo carrying capacity).

With all of the above stated, I must add that I have personally weighed many
many BBs of all models. My observations are that the single axle units (SP
and BMC) were somewhat limited in CCC and the PT versions were generally OK
with the front axle a little high on many 40s while the 36s/38s are well
balanced, the FCs are heavy on the front but generally legal without
question. Note, I drive a PT-36 and have determined that it is virtually
impossible to overload it either front or rear as the coach has close to a
10,000# CCC.

I suspect that your will receive other comments and that this e-mail will
receive it own share of questions as well as possible debate but I can
assure you that all the above comes from solid facts and observations. If
you require additional consultation, please feel free to contact me directly
or thru the forum, as other readers will no doubt benefit from this
discussion.

Best of Luck,

Neil
Author, "The RVer's Ultimate Survival Guide"
http://www.rvsafetyinfo.com
author@...

-----Original Message-----
From: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
[mailto:WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com]On Behalf Of Lee Davis
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 1:16 PM
To: WanderlodgeForum@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [WanderlodgeForum] 1995 BMC 37 Major Overweight Problem

* We bought a 95 BMC 37 about 4 months ago (we RV full time). This
is
the first motor home we have owned and we excited about getting a
Bluebird. I recently had it weighed (each front wheel separately and
duals separately on the back) with full fresh water and fuel at a
Family Motor Coach Rally and found I was 3000 total lbs overweight.
About 700 lbs. on the front, and 2300 lbs. on the back) GVWR is
31,000lbs ( I don't have a tag axle) and we were over 34,000 lbs.
That worried me since although we have a fair amount of stuff, we
don't have enough to be that overweight. I have since raised the tire
pressure (Michelin's) to the maximum 110 lbs, (still overloaded
according to the Michelin book) but less than with the recommended by
Bluebird of 100 lbs. on the front and 90 lbs. on the rear duals
printed on the Aqua Hot. I also carry now very little freshwater
which eliminates 700 lbs. or so. We are also trying to eliminate
everything else that's very heavy, but there is no way we'll get rid
of another 2000 lbs. I don't have Joey beds, I don't have more than
50 lbs. of tools, I have some books, but nothing like we'll need to
jettison. (I think 2000 lbs is close to more stuff than we have!)

I read in one of the forum notes about a rear axle recall that helps
with the weight problem, but when I contacted Bluebird, (Bill Coleman,
been there since before 1995 and says he has been involved in all
recalls) they deny there ever was a rear axle recall on this model.
They say Ridewell (sp?) redid some tag axles but nothing to do with
single rear axles. Blue bird say they have no info on the cargo
capacity of this model or the original initial weight with all factory
installed stuff, full fresh water and fuel, but no other cargo. (I
wish I'd weighed it before putting in our stuff, but we were moving
the stuff from a trailer and just didn't think about it.

Has anyone else noticed a weight problem with this model? If so, what
did they do about it? I'm pretty concerned about the safety situation
I am in now. I bought the Bluebird because everyone said they were
built like tanks and were supersafe, but now I feel I am sort of
running on the edge of a potential major problem (like a front tire
blowout going down a mountain or something else).

.




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