Trailer Weights...What are They Really?

[Pete Dumbleton]

The NADA weights are nearly worthless for this -- They will be dimly based on the manufacturer's published dry weight for some model with an unknown mix of options. Frederick's field weights, of trailers loaded for the road, are much more useful.

Published dry weights are useful for initial planning but soon become nothing but a paper exercise, esp in the world of fiberglass trailers where the numbers have been consistently lower than the real world.

I strongly advise installing a receiver hitch on the truck -- The factory bumper hitch is just not up to the task.

You also want to be sure that the tow capacity for your truck is from the owner's manual for YOUR truck with all the details taken into consideration, like rear end ratios, engine, transmission, tow package, etc.

[Lainey]

I was wondering if the person with the 1989 Bigfoot 17.5 could please post their weight?

We just bought a 1986 Bigfoot. The NADA guestimated the weight at 1850, which is about the same as our Apache Popup was, but it has significantly more storage space! I am trying to pack it with light things (for example plastic plates instead of china ones, light fleecy blankets instead of the heavier, furry types, etc.) but I am still worried about the weight. While our Dodge Dakota has a towing capacity of about 3300 lbs., we have a bumper hitch which is rated at 2000 lbs. (according to the guy my husband bought it from, which I can't look up anywhere on the Internet). I am a little worried that even the base weight of our trailer could be over the 2000 lbs., never mind the gear!

That was my trailer. The trailer was fully loaded for camping, although I don't think I travel with that much excess 'stuff'. There were 2- 20lb propane tanks mostly full and the battery on the tongue. Empty tanks, no fresh water. The tongue weight might be a little high, but with water I think it would level off closer to 10%.

Trailer: 2980 lbs.
Tongue weight: 380 lbs.

BTW - I tow with an '05 Nissan frontier Crew Cab 4x4 with a 6100lb towing capacity with a Class III hitch.

I strongly advise installing a receiver hitch on the truck -- The factory bumper hitch is just not up to the task. You also want to be sure that the tow capacity for your truck is from the owner's manual for YOUR truck with all the details taken into consideration, like rear end ratios, engine, transmission, tow package, etc.

Ditto what Pete said.

[E. Graham]

Ed, I weighed our loaded Casita 17' Spirit Deluxe this afternoon: total weight of the trailer (axle and tongue, combined) is 2770.

We were carrying 2 full propane tanks and all our gear except the books, clothes, and fresh food that I took out after our last weekend away. I would expect that those items would add up to an additional 50 pounds at most. So our total weight when we're using the Casita is 2820, give or take 20 lbs.

Trailer experts recommend that for towing safety (braking in particular) one not exceed 75% of the tow vehicle's maximum tow rating. For a car rated to tow 3500 lbs. maximum, that 75% is only 2625 lbs, about 200 lbs. less that we weigh.

And we don't have a television, or microwave, or electrical appliances; we don't carry tools apart from a screwdriver, and we have a very limited supply of cooking and eating gear. We've replaced the particleboard table tops with plywood, and carry canned goods and wine in our car. It's hard to imagine what could be eliminated from the 17' SD to reduce the functional weight by 200 lbs.

HOWEVER... we are always looking for ways to reduce what we weigh! Suggestions are welcome.

Elisabeth

[Patrick M.]

Elisabeth, my suggestion is to forget worrying about the 200#. If Toyota automotive engineers say your car will tow 3,500# safely, it will. I believe many use the 75% rule of thumb to apply to an empty trailer, with the 25% reserved for gear. But there are some who use the 75% rule because, I guess, they don't trust the engineers! Some people wear belts and suspenders too! (Actually, elevation can impact towing capacity so there's some method to the rule!)

[E. Graham]

Elisabeth, my suggestion is to forget worrying about the 200#. If Toyota automotive engineers say your car will tow 3,500# safely, it will. I believe many use the 75% rule of thumb to apply to an empty trailer, with the 25% reserved for gear. But there are some who use the 75% rule because, I guess, they don't trust the engineers! Some people wear belts and suspenders too! (Actually, elevation can impact towing capacity so there's some method to the rule!)

Patrick, thank you but we've miscommunicated! It's not my tow vehicle I was referring to --- it's Ed Felker's friends (earlier post in the thread: Wow! What is it with those Casita 17s -- do they have swimming pools in them now? Over 3000lbs and 440 lbs on the tongue? You gotta be -- well -- kidding me. How can something so compact be so gargatuan on the scales? Is this really typical? A friend of mine was considering a 17' Custom Deluxe with a 08 RAV4 V6 with 3500 lb tow capacity. ). I was responding to clarify that 17' SD Casitas don't all weigh over 3200 pounds.

We can tow 5000 pounds with our 4Runner but we try to reduce weight because we're so much more nimble that way, and we save a lot on gas.

[Frederick L. Simson]

I was recently asked what my Fiber Stream weighed. I did not weigh it at Bandon.

What seems like a LONG time ago, I weighed it at a 70' Truck Scale here in San Diego, and came up with:
2620 LBS total
200 LBS on the tongue
2420 LBS on the axles

This was before I added the 5000 btu Air Conditioner that rides in a box on the floor all the way up front most of the time when it's not in the front window. It was also before I added the Solar Panels that ride in a Guitar Case, or the 2nd group 27 Battery. I have 2 ceramic pots; each with an awning anchor embedded in plaster-of-paris. I've also started towing with the fresh water tank partly full. I figured it was a little heavier...

So I weighed the Fiber Stream with the wheel weighers at the shop, just like I did with the others at the weigh-in at Bandon.


TRAILER AXLE WEIGHT 2760 LBS
TRAILER HITCH WEIGHT 500 LBS
TOTAL TRAILER WEIGHT 3260 LBS

I was surprised.

[Carol Christensen]

Wow! What is it with those Casita 17s -- do they have swimming pools in them now? Over 3000lbs and 440 lbs on the tongue? You gotta be -- well -- kidding me. How can something so compact be so gargatuan on the scales? Is this really typical? A friend of mine was considering a 17' Custom Deluxe with a 08 RAV4 V6 with 3500 lb tow capacity.

Well, it probably cannot be considered typical but our 17' Liberty has a tongue wt of 440 lbs. Quite a surprise considering that our previous 17' Liberty (same options) had a tongue wt of 340 lbs. We travel pretty light and the trailer weight (hitched) does not exceed 3,000 lbs. While some people have suggested that it may just be Liberty model that has the heavy tongue, I don't agree. Especially since I've seen Frederick's list contains only 1 Liberty, the rest were Spirits. We tow with a 4 Runner rated for 5,000.

In the last few years the Casita brochure has listed the 17' deluxe with an approximate tongue wt of 365 lbs, which should alert those with a capacity of 3,500 lbs that this may be a problem for them.

[Lainey]

I was surprised.

Wow, that IS quite a difference. Amazing how things can add up!

[Ken J]

Just weighed my 13' Perris Pacer yesterday - 1110 total and 950 on the axle - thats pretty empty - no water, full propane tank and battery.

Ken J.

[Tim D.]

When we bought our 1986 17' Bigfoot in June we weighed at a truck scale--right at 3,000 pounds. I cannot remember the tongue weight. At the time we had a 12v battery on the tongue and two 6v batteries going for a ride inside. The tanks were mostly empty and we had little gear. This seemed heavy to us--perhaps the trailer was retaining water. Since then we flooded the countertop and discovered that the drain holes in the body do indeed work. We're not sure why this trailer is so heavy. It does have an air conditioner and a heavy-duty steel channel bumper. BTW, today we dropped by a local dealer and saw a couple of brand-new versions of our trailer. 3700+ pounds dry weight!

[Pete Dumbleton]

I've never been in a BigFeets, but I suspect that the good stuf like double-glazed windows add pounds. They are apparently very well made and quality stuf often weighs more.

[Frederick L. Simson]

I hate to be coy, But I wish to protect the privacy of the individuals who used my service.

Each person's trailer is going to be different, even a group of the same make and model trailer will have widely varying weights. The group of Casitas I weighed bear this out, no two were the same weight even though most were the same model.

I've been asked to share what some of those individual weights are. I find That to be an ethical slippery slope. Here is what someone who I will weigh in future has said to me:

I would like to know what I have. Not to publish, just for my information.

This is the attitude I assumed each of the participants in Oregon held. I do not want to betray any single person's trust. I felt that averaging a "large" population of similar trailers would give generic statistical data that could be broadcast without individual harm, as I did with the group of 17' Casitas. (They were the only trailers I weighed more than one example of.)

I have found that weighing trailers is like answering the question, "Does this dress make me look fat?"

[Joe MacDonald]

i think you look fine in that dress Fredrick

[Roger H]

I was wondering if the person with the 1989 Bigfoot 17.5 could please post their weight?

We just bought a 1986 Bigfoot. The NADA guestimated the weight at 1850, which is about the same as our Apache Popup was, but it has significantly more storage space! I am trying to pack it with light things (for example plastic plates instead of china ones, light fleecy blankets instead of the heavier, furry types, etc.) but I am still worried about the weight. While our Dodge Dakota has a towing capacity of about 3300 lbs., we have a bumper hitch which is rated at 2000 lbs. (according to the guy my husband bought it from, which I can't look up anywhere on the Internet). I am a little worried that even the base weight of our trailer could be over the 2000 lbs., never mind the gear!

Bigfoot is interesting. First, the 1980s trailers were the 15B17 series and are 17' long rather than 17.5 as the current 25B175 series trailers. The 25B175 series have a GVWR of 4300 lbs. They began production in '05. The earlier 15B17 trailers since 2000 (or so) have some options not necessarily available in the '80s models such as the winter package which adds several hundred pounds. IIRC, the '04 15B17CB I had came with an "as equipped" weight of about 2800 lbs and a GVWR of 3500 lbs.

A/C adds a couple of hundred pounds, and a water heater adds some eighty pounds (full) by itself. Weight in your tanks is the most significant single load you can easily control. As an example, my 25B25RQ has three 40 gallon tanks. At approximately 8 lbs/gallon, that's a LOT of weight potential if the tanks are full.

It's a safe bet that the base weight of your early Bigfoot is over 2000 lbs. Only a scale can tell you for sure!

Don't risk using a bumper hitch. Have a good quality frame-mounted receiver hitch installed.

Roger

[Rick B]

When we bought our 1986 17' Bigfoot in June we weighed at a truck scale--right at 3,000 pounds. I cannot remember the tongue weight. At the time we had a 12v battery on the tongue and two 6v batteries going for a ride inside. The tanks were mostly empty and we had little gear. This seemed heavy to us--perhaps the trailer was retaining water. Since then we flooded the countertop and discovered that the drain holes in the body do indeed work. We're not sure why this trailer is so heavy. It does have an air conditioner and a heavy-duty steel channel bumper. BTW, today we dropped by a local dealer and saw a couple of brand-new versions of our trailer. 3700+ pounds dry weight!

++++++++++++

My '96 Bigfoot 17 was close to 3500 lbs in camping mode (gear, pots and pans, bedding, towels, a bit of water etc). I had 3 12-volt batteries (one on tongue and two inside the front compartment). I was a bit concerned about the 3500 lb rated axle, and before I traded it, had to get the axle re-aligned. My 25 foot model is about 6300 lbs in camping mode, so they are not light

[Lainey]

Rick, any suggestions on how to lighten my Bigfoot up? Pushing 3000lbs is not anywhere near what I consider light. Being an '80's model it does not have a winter package and the windows are single glazed.

[Roger H]

Lainey,

Short of ripping out appliances and not carrying anything in the trailer, I doubt you can make it any lighter if your tanks are empty.

What's the problem with dragging 3,000 lbs around? Scamp 16s hit that, and Casita 17s are typically over that by a bunch.

/s/ NOT Rick.

[Rick B]

Rick, any suggestions on how to lighten my Bigfoot up? Pushing 3000lbs is not anywhere near what I consider light. Being an '80's model it does not have a winter package and the windows are single glazed.

Lainey:

I agree with Roger's post. I did not have the winter package either.

[Frederick L. Simson]

i think you look fine in that dress Fredrick

[Lainey]

Thanks Roger & Rick, thought it was worth asking, but was the response I expected. I guess it's not that bad, I just keep thinking how great it would be to pull around something in the 1500# range. The truck wouldn't even care at that weight.
I'll tell my trailer weight here, but no way am I posting my mileage from the trip to OR.

Now I'm getting a complex - Do I look fat in this trailer?