side to side balance?

[ststefan]

Yes, it is better to have a little more weight on the drivers side. Definitely better than having more weight on the passenger side. Cornering at posted speeds also helps not tipping.

[charlsara]

[emoji597]

[Patricia D.]

Thanks Jon for getting the discussion back on track and for the summary. Maybe this is not an issue that many people think about. It has been raised on the modifications thread usually when there is a redesign done by an owner but with no specific suggestions made.
I just wanted to get a better understanding.
At this point, if my fresh water container and portapotti are full (will these every occur at the same time ) and I have a full cooler, I will be about 120 lbs heavier on the driver's side. But, as I have suggested, I could put water over the wheel on the other side to reduce that. But do I really need to bother?

[jeroen]

Originally Posted by Buggeee

I've added a chest freezer

I'm really curious about this. Do you go hunting or fishing with your camper, or why do you have a chest freezer?

[k0wtz]

I read that too but it skipped over my head. I am thinking big-time hunter hauling like a moose maybe?

bob

[Alex Adams]

Jeroen and Bob, a lot of boondockers take a chest freezer and modify it to run using a reefer control board. They draw very little battery power or so I have read. It is a trick used by people living off the grid as well. I learned about it researching solar for my trailer.

[Buggeee]

Originally Posted by jeroen

I'm really curious about this. Do you go hunting or fishing with your camper, or why do you have a chest freezer?

Bob slays me... no moose Bob, I wouldn't know what to do with one!

I fish... sometimes catch too.

(Edit: Hey there Alex, Right on Dude)

I boondock electric with a battery bank, running a chest freezer on a refrigerator thermostat. Super insulated and the cold stays in when you open the lid. Saw preppers doing it for their refrigeration in off grid solar systems.

I'll be happy to discuss on my build thread so as to not hijack this one.

So to carry my own weight (like that?) I found this out there, which is just stating the common sense but not giving us the numerical guidelines we are hungry for -

Achieve Balance: Make sure you know total gross weights and how the weight is distributed. You should get a measure of the weight distributed on each wheel position, or axle end, of the fully loaded vehicle. This is very important.
Even if your total vehicle weight is within specified limits, you could be out of balance and overloaded for an axle/axle end. Proper distribution of vehicle weight is critical to braking, handling and the life of components such as axles, springs, bearings and tires.

And then I found this, which offers un-sourced numbers but it's front and back, not right to left (still good stuff to deposit here) -

How To Load An RV Trailer
Loading your RV trailer properly will prevent a situation where the tail is wagging the dog. That is something that can ruin your vacation permanently!

Proper loading of a trailer will have about 10% of the total weight of the trailer as tongue weight. That means that if your trailer’s total loaded weight is 5,000 lbs, the weight at the hitch will be at least 500 lbs.

How you stow your gear can greatly affect the tongue weight of your RV trailer. As an example, if you fill the under-the-bed storage space in your rear bedroom trailer with books, tools, or even canned goods, what you are really doing is counter-balancing the manufacturer’s designed tongue weight, creating a tail-heavy situation.

And here is a link to what seems to be an excellent discussion of weight distribution, with lots of explanation and lots of formulas... But all on front to back and not one single consideration for right to left -

Controlling Sway Causes of poor tow

The fore and aft of the axle and the hitch weight issues seem to be of great concern due to sway and pushing the steering of the tow vehicle. Calculations and percentages abound on that issue it seems.

But narry a bit on right left balance other than comments of axle spring and tire load requirements. Maybe it's as simple as that?

[k0wtz]

buggee maybe 2 elks then!!! we live on i70 you would be surprised what we see skating down the highway. I wouldn't want any of them after setting for that long in a carcass form. I also see guys carrying freezers!


bob

[Kai in Seattle]

So, back to the original topic:

Since professional truck drivers think it matters to be slightly heavier on the left (opposite the door) side, it makes some sense to pay attention. Since trailers more often tip toward the right (under certain conditions), you'd want to counterbalance that.

So, perhaps on a 2,000 pound trailer, you'd want no more than 200 pounds heavier on the left side, then??

We're right at that point when empty...don't know that the way we load is going to help. Worth some serious thought.

I can see that!

Ours is more than 10% heavier on the left.
Hmmm.





BEST
Kai

[Alex Adams]

I'm also at that Hmm! moment Kai. I have 120 lbs of battery bank I want to put on the curbside but the only large weights on the street side would be 50 lbs for the reefer and 25 lbs of stabilizing jacks. If I put the battery bank on the street side then I have no major counterweight on the curbside! I can't split the battery bank since I would have to run a multiple foot length of very thick wire.

[Kai in Seattle]

Alex, I hear you! We have a closet on the street side, our ice chest, and our dry food bin...on the curb side only our jugs of water and the microwave. The trailer was weighed dry...now I feel we "must" load up and get it weighed full, and do more planning. Once we load all our clothing in the closet, the weight ratio is going to shift by many pounds. Maybe we need a shelf in the front "Putin" after all (our porta-potty niche/rod closet).

No, I hear you about not splitting your battery bank...have you had it weighed dry? I was surprised our dry weight was already as different from side to side as it was. Nearly 200 pounds dry. Though that closet was originally for a 3-way fridge and a water tank was on that side...but there was a range/oven/furnace on the street side once. Holding tanks were "loose" and we don't use them now.

BEST
Kai

[Alex Adams]

Hopefully weighing it this weekend. I've only had it since mid-August. One of the two batteries and reefer are not in it yet along with a few other things. I was waiting until I had the different weights before I finalize what and where things go.

[Jon in AZ]

Dumb question... or maybe not... Where would I go to get a separate weight for each wheel?

[Alex Adams]

Go to a place with truck scales. Put one wheel of the trailer on the scale. Then do the other. I plan to do that, put the TV and trailer and then just the trailer. It will cost me about $45. I will do the tongue at home.

[WaltP]

If you have a local gravel dealer, they may let you use their scales for free or a minimal charge.

Walt

[Jon in AZ]

Thanks! I didn't realize you could do one wheel at a time. The place near me can only do axle by axle.

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Dumb question... or maybe not... Where would I go to get a separate weight for each wheel?

Definitely not a dumb question. Every time I saw a new post in this thread, I came close to asking the same question.

The truck scales (CAT) that I have been to are designed for one way traffic, and as I recall have guardrails or some other barrier on both sides that effectively prevents side vs side weighing. I local dump station is the same way. I understand that the famous "Trailer Weights in the Real World" data was obtained using portable scales that could have been used to record the weight under each wheel but I have not heard of anyone other than State Police routinely using them.

Except perhaps the Escapees SmartWeigh program. They apparently uses such a scales but you would need to be near one of their weigh stations and rallies where they perform the service.

I did use a tongue scales with 2,000 lb gauge under the frame near the wheels to get an idea of my side-to-side weighting, but it was not easy nor very accurate I think. The type that goes under the wheel would be preferable.

[Borrego Dave]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

Dumb question... or maybe not... Where would I go to get a separate weight for each wheel?

The CHP here set up close to asphalt & concrete plants and pull trucks over for inspection and axle weights with the portable scales. I never got stopped . No idea but maybe a call to the AHP to see if they have a newbie inspector looking for a little scale practice might work out for you. All they can say is no .

[k0wtz]

For what it is worth I don't worry about side to side. Ever seen a semi trailer overturn? I have one scarey thing to watch he was empty by the way!

What caused this? Since I was behind him on a country blacktop I can attest to the fact he was driving too fast for the road. Excessive speeds can cause many problems in my driving days I saw some crazy things. This guys wife called me trying to blame the truck line for his own stupidity when I told her he was driving to fast the phone was slammed down on me!

My best advice hold down on speeds no matter what you are. Remember your tires are rated for 65 put big loads on or in your trailer your speed ratings is going to drop!

bob

[k0wtz]

I used to unload grocery trucks filled to the brim. The drivers would come I never heard a comment how it was loaded. They dropped the trailer and we would unload it most times it was a jumbled mess due to stuffing the truck.


This was a 150m trip from the warehouse to the store by the way!!


bob