Too Heavy

[RVNoobie]

Are there Class B's out there that are just too damn heavy? Is that something that needs consideration before purchasing? I see some that are made of really high quality materials, but weighty stuff (e.g., solid wood), and I'm thinking here of Regency and Coachhouse, probably some others too. But is it possible that the resulting product is too heavy for the chassis/engine, as a practical matter, when things are loaded? I suppose I could leave my wife behind, but no way does the dog get left behind. Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question.

[Ron J. Moore]

Welcome aboard. Your question is definitely not stupid. I am sure there will be some solid info provided by some knowledgeable people on here who know about weights of the various Models, and can make recommendations. I have a Roadtrek 210P, and it is heavy and the cargo carrying weight is low - compared to many others. I knew that going in, we use ours for touring and short trips, along with a few overnighters. Ron

[jrobe]

Just the water weights alone are surprising when you add them up. The 36 gallon water tank on the Roadtrek 210 would be 300 lbs of water. If black and grey tanks were also full, it would be 570 lbs of water not counting the weight of the propane tank.

[BBQ]

Originally Posted by jrobe

Just the water weights alone are surprising when you add them up. The 36 gallon water tank on the Roadtrek 210 would be 300 lbs of water. If black and grey tanks were also full, it would be 570 lbs of water not counting the weight of the propane tank.

Usually the fresh water get "transferred" over to the black and gray tanks.
They are never both full at the same time.

[Phoebe3]

Most of the newer Class Bs have a weight tag somewhere on them, often in the door jamb. It lists the vehicle weight, as equipped, but empty, and the maximum weight the vehicle will carry. The difference between those is the amount you can add in terms of gear, water and passengers.

Some Bs are already close to the max before adding your "stuff" and others have quite a bit of leeway.

[gklugie]

Class B RV-s are by and large built on cargo/work van chassis. Made for heavy work. Hauling materials. Pulling stuff. Like Phoebe says... check your own capacities though. These things are built to carry loads. Several exceptions that I can think of include Rialtas ( they seem to break/bend rear axles ),and pre-1979 Toyota Rvs (they had axle/bearing problems. ) I think they are technically class C rigs, but you get the idea.

[InterBlog]

The older ones built on T1N Sprinter 2500s can come close to GVWR, yes. That is exactly why some manufacturers switched to 3500s with the 2007 model year, which was the first production year for the NCV3 Sprinter.

My Airstream Interstate is in the former category. It has a GVWR of 8,550 pounds. We've weighed it at the CAT Scale at about 8,200 pounds loaded for a typical trip. Loaded for a longer trip, we are approaching (but not exceeding) GVWR.

And it's important to remember that PEOPLE need to be included in that weight measurement. Our Interstate carries only my husband and I, just two people, and neither of us is overweight. Put a whole family in there including some heavier members? It could be a problem, yes.

[Boxster1971]

Originally Posted by RVNoobie

Are there Class B's out there that are just too damn heavy? Is that something that needs consideration before purchasing? I see some that are made of really high quality materials, but weighty stuff (e.g., solid wood), and I'm thinking here of Regency and Coachhouse, probably some others too. But is it possible that the resulting product is too heavy for the chassis/engine, as a practical matter, when things are loaded? I suppose I could leave my wife behind, but no way does the dog get left behind. [emoji4] Sorry in advance if this is a stupid question.

Not a stupid question at all. Many RVs and B-vans are overweight with just two people and normal gear for travel. I recall one worst case was the early Winnebago ERA built on the Sprinter 2500 Extended 170" WB. At the time I was in the market for a Sprinter B-van and even sent a letter to Winnebago criticizing this overweight product. Fortunately Winnebago changed the ERA to a 3500 Sprinter which has the capacity to handle the RV conversion and still have a decent carrying capacity.

- - Mike
2012 Sprinter 3500 Extended converted B-Van by Airstream

[Davydd]

Initially Airstream and Winnebago and other manufacturers came out with 2500 NC3V extended body Sprinter models in chassis year 2007. I think they are to be avoided. However I saw an extended body 2500 Airstream in 2012 going up the Alaska Highway with a hitch cargo carrier.

[InterBlog]

Originally Posted by Davydd

Initially Airstream and Winnebago and other manufacturers came out with 2500 NC3V extended body Sprinter models in chassis year 2007. ....

If you see such a beast, I'd like pics. To my knowledge, Airstream never did that, not even one time. It was all 3500s from 2007 onwards.