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Odds are, your RV is packing too much weight!

Issue 233 of RV Travel. Learn about RV camping, RV travel, RV news and much more. This newsletter is funded through sales at RVbookstore.com, the World's Largest RV Bookstore specializing in books and DVDs about RVs and the RV lifestyle.

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I am writing to you on Thursday, July 13 from Moscow, Idaho. Moscow is next door to Pullman, Wash., each nudging its state border. Moscow is home to the University of Idaho, and Pullman to Washington State University. It's said that if you stand high atop a dorm at Washington State you can see all the way to Moscow, making this the only place in the world where it's possible to actually see from Washington to Moscow. A radio station in Moscow is called "Radio Free Moscow." I am sad to report that Moscow's Spuknik Cafe ceased to exist a few years after the Berlin Wall came tumblin' down.

Great name for a road, wouldn't you say?

I am participating in the annual Life On Wheels Conference, held on the campus of the University of Idaho. 

Today's highlight for me was attending a class by Larry Lister of The RV Safety Education Foundation. The title: RV Weight Safety. I do not have space to report much about the class, but I can tell you this: There is a better-than-even chance that you are traveling with an RV that exceeds its maximum weight in some capacity. It may be too heavy over one axle. You may have an inadequate tow vehicle or hitch. Or maybe you are carrying too much stuff, making your rolling home the automotive counterpart of a sumo wrestler.

Larry said the average full-time RVer packs along about 3,000 pounds of stuff in his or her RV. A vacationing family may pack along about 1,500 pounds. Many RVs, alas, are capable of holding far less than what these RVers typically pack along, and even less when the fresh water and other tanks are filled. Manufacturers figure 153 pounds per person when determining how much weight a particular RV can hold and still be safe to drive. Manufacturers apparently believe we are a nation of little people. They should wander over to the cotton candy booth at the next county fair to test their hypothesis.

Larry said he and his wife once bought a long gas motorhome and then discovered that it was overloaded the minute they stepped aboard. This was before Larry became aware that there is more to an RV than a pretty face.

He said there are some new RVs sold today that virtually exceed their maximum weight limits when they leave the factory. These vehicles become ticking time bombs when loaded with basic items like pots and pans, a TV, and plump little Boots the traveling feline. Oh, I forgot: add a 40-gallon supply of fresh water to one of these wimpy RVs and you and your rig are crusin' for a bruisin.'

So here's the deal: Get your RV weighed. It's best to learn the weight over each axle, both right and left sides. One side may weigh in fine, but the other may be seriously overloaded. I asked Larry, "Where should we go to have our RVs weighed?" He said people could get them weighed at seminars his company sponsors. But he was hard pressed to name other locations, which is crummy news for the 99 percent of RVers who don't want to drive 1,000 miles to see Larry and his traveling scales. A member of the audience suggested that the state highway patrol or Department of Transportation might offer comprehensive weighing service. Some RV dealers, too, may have the proper equipment.

Thankfully, there are more convenient places where you can learn the total weight of an RV as well as the weight that each axle supports. This is a good first step to determining if you're okay or need to start bailing out things like your six-month supply of canned tuna fish. 

Finally, RVers who are pulling trailers or fifth wheels need to be aware of not only the weight of their rigs, but also if their tow vehicle is rated to pull it. Think your 3/4 ton truck is adequate? Maybe not. And RVers should determine if their towing apparatus is adequate.

According to Larry, of all the RVs his company has weighed the last decade, 61 percent exceeded their weight capacities in some way. Ultimately, such an overload will cause needless repair bills and usually the early demise of the RV itself.

How much weight your RV can handle is posted somewhere in the rig, often inside a clothes closet or medicine cabinet. 

Quick Question. Which of these liquids is the heaviest: diesel, gas, propane or water? Learn the weight of each below Hint: one is twice as heavy as another. After learning the answer, get out your pocket calculator to determine how much weight you are carrying with all these tanks full.

Gas prices going up or down? According to most RVtravel.com readers, the price of fuel won't get any easier on the pocketbook in the months ahead. More than two-thirds of the more than 1,650 readers who answered our survey last week believe that gas prices will be up in two months, not down. 

Help offset high gas prices by saving money on camping fees. Visit FreeCampgrounds.com to learn about more than 1,150 places where you can stay for free or less than $10.

Did you miss last week's RV Travel newsletter? Read it here.