41',43' LXi Gross Axle Weight Ratings

[cmillsap]

(06-04-2013 19:56)encantotom Wrote:  i just weighed my 2002 newell so i thought i would share my data with you guys for fun.

tom

after we filled with fuel today we unhooked the car and weighed the coach.

we weighed with empty waste tank, full water tank and full fuel tank and darlene and i at our seats.

attached is the picture of the scale readout. it is a little confusing to me as it is lower than i expected.

my vin plate shows gross weight of 55,000 pounds with 12k at tag, 18k at steer and 25k at drive.

corresponding tire pressures on the vin plates for 215/88r22.5 lrl are

100psi at tag, 110psi at drive and 140 psi at steer

i have changed the steer to 365/70r22.5 lrl and have been running 115psi.

my scale readings were 9940lbs tag, 17500 steer and 23360 drive

for a total of 50,800

the michelin chart show that the tire pressures could be wayyy lower than what i am running. it was a cat certified scale.

tom

Tom,

I know so little about a Newell and why the weight that the steer axle carries is 17,500#s. Are the water and fuel tanks forward enough to cause the steer axle to carry so much weight? I do know that heavy A/C units are located in the front bays on some Newells. Comparatively speaking, that’s about 2000#s more (on average) than the heavy LXi carries on its steer axle.

I ask this because it appears that your tag axle is not carrying its fair share of the overall load.

On my former LXi, the tag was carrying 9500#s on a 13,200# rated axle. I was able to increase the tag axle loading to 11,200#s without overloading the steer axle which afterwards carried 14,000#s on a 14,600# rated axle. Man! What a difference it made in improving the drive ability of that bus. Loading the tag with its fair share of the weight caused the bus to become so much more stable.

I doubt that it is possible to reduce your steer axle loading as many Newell owners are just choosing to go to bigger steer tires for more comfort and safety. But if it were possible for you to reduce some of the loading on the steer axle by better weight distribution or carrying less fuel and water; the tag pressure could be increased to carry more of the load and I'd bet it would provide a better and more stable ride.

Chuck