The weight/mass of each option

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by noblets

I asked about that when we got our 17A. I was told "It's a calculated weight."

Which confirms that ETI does keep a list of option weights, and adds them up to calculate the shipping weight.
It makes sense to me to let customers do the same thing, conveniently.

[gbaglo]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

Which confirms that ETI does keep a list of option weights, and adds them up to calculate the shipping weight.
It makes sense to me to let customers do the same thing, conveniently.

Not if it results in complaints and arguments, he said, contrarily.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

Not if it results in complaints and arguments, he said, contrarily.

Valid point, but that's why disclaimers exist. Manufactures - including ETI - publish all sorts of specifications and the when the product doesn't exactly meet them, they point to the appropriate disclaimer.

If ETI changes supplier of an appliance, I think it's far more likely that someone will complain or argue about getting a completely different model and brand than the fact that it is one kilogram heavier than expected.

[wjwoods01@gmail.com]

They could put , estimated weight of item at time of publication and still provide the info while covering themselves.

[azjack]

I'm not going to weigh all of the items we put in the trailer, bottles of wine are heavy as I know when I carry three at a time to the trailer. So I make sure my tow vehicle can drag whatever I attach to the unit. I also check the size of the brakes, tires, etc. so I feel safe going up or down the steepest hills I might find in Colorado or any where else. My Dodges with the Hemi has done very well and when they drop 4 cylinders the gas mileage has been good.
AZjack (at 7000' and 57*)

[Vermilye]

I'd rather not depend on the manufacturer's "Calculated Weight" or what ever they do. I take my trailer to the nearest CAT scale and weigh both the trailer & truck after packing for a long trip.

[Chamberman]

In some cases the weight of the option is offset to some degree by another factor. This was already touched on in the case of the dual 6v battery option which is offset by replacing the single 12V.

Other cases I see where the option weight is offset somehow.

1) The oven option. For installation a large section of countertop and front cabinet is cut out as well as removal of the front cabinet door. I would think that this is at least 10lbs of wood removed in order to install the oven.

2) The microwave option. The cabinet door is removed for this installation.

3) Table mounts. If the base trailer weight assumes a standard two leg mount then the optional mounts only add the difference.



In addition the reinforced wall weights are going to vary dramatically due to the size and shape of those walls. Just giving an arbitrary 25# per wall weight, while probably a good rule of thumb, is not going to be fully accurate.

[noblets]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

I'd rather not depend on the manufacturer's "Calculated Weight" or what ever they do. I take my trailer to the nearest CAT scale and weigh both the trailer & truck after packing for a long trip.

The first thing I did when I took delivery of our trailer in Sumas was to go to a nearby public scale and weigh it. (Propane full, fresh water empty, trailer empty.) The actual weight was several hundred pounds higher than what ETI said.

[Small but Sweet]

Originally Posted by noblets

The first thing I did when I took delivery of our trailer in Sumas was to go to a nearby public scale and weigh it. (Propane full, fresh water empty, trailer empty.) The actual weight was several hundred pounds higher than what ETI said.

Higher than the stated Shipping Weight? That’s interesting.

I haven’t weighed ours totally empty. I know that with all our camping gear, bedding, clothes, full propane, and the Anderson WDH but empty tanks we are 500 lb above shipping weight. Presume that when we go up in trailer size we may bring more Stuff, but on the other hand that’s controllable so we don’t have to. We do frequent short (2-4 nights) trips instead of long ones, due to work and cats that stay home.

[Brian B-P]

Obviously the weight as manufactured (whether it is calculated or measured) doesn't provide the as-loaded weight. The operator must either add known weights of contents to the known empty trailer weight, or weigh the loaded trailer.

Providing option weights would not replace weighing the loaded trailer before a trip; it is for planning, so the empty trailer weight can be anticipated.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by noblets

The first thing I did when I took delivery of our trailer in Sumas was to go to a nearby public scale and weigh it. (Propane full, fresh water empty, trailer empty.) The actual weight was several hundred pounds higher than what ETI said.

The dry weight should be without propane, and perhaps without propane cylinders, but the shipping weight should include them if they are included.

This sort of error was a common problem in moulded fiberglass trailers, and probably travel trailers in general, although my old Boler is only a few percent off of the advertised empty weight. It's disappointing that a recent Escape would be this far off.

The error can result from production methods being inconsistent, so an actual trailer has a different amount (usually more) of some materials than it is supposed to, such as extra glass and resin in the shell, wires and pipes that are too long, etc. Other than a too-thin shell, it's hard to err on the light side without actually missing components.

The discrepancy can also result from poor record keeping, where the published base weight is wrong because it is for an earlier or otherwise different version of the trailer; since trailers usually get heavier with changes (as stuff customers want is added) an outdated weight is likely too low. When Escape changed bodystyle in 2016, the new design was heavier than the old one (mostly due to the vertical sides making the floor and roof wider), but they continued to publish the old weight for a long time... so lots of people got trailers which would have been substantially heavier than expected.

In some brands, the published empty weight is simply a lie, always low to make the trailer more marketable. I assume that's not going on in an Escape.

[gbaglo]

One must not confuse "dry weight" with "empty weight" or "shipping weight".
Dry weight is base trailer with no propane, batteries, liquids or options. Dry weight is dry weight.

[RangerMan]

What many have posted? Go to a Cat scale!

They are generally conceded to be accurate. I weight my truck loaded for travel the day before I take off. The next day I weight both TV and trailer. Only one way north from home so I pass the same Love's place

My TV is close to it's limit alone. I have a 75gal aux fuel tank and numerous aftermarket items, such as large steel bumpers and two tool boxes containing stuff I simply can't do without. The TV limit is exceeded by about 100 lb with full fuel tanks when connected to trailer but quickly returns to limit as fuel burns.

'Lil Sister' weighs 4350 when hitched. (I always wanted a sister)

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by gbaglo

One must not confuse "dry weight" with "empty weight" or "shipping weight".
Dry weight is base trailer with no propane, batteries, liquids or options. Dry weight is dry weight.

Not quite - "dry weight" is literally the weight of the trailer, without liquids; the term implies nothing about options. Since manufacturers only publish weights for the base version (which is what this while discussion is about), the published dry weight is a dry base weight.

Dry or with liquids
Base or with optional equipment
Empty or with cargo
... these factors all matter. The published weight is base, dry, and without cargo. The shipping weight is with options, dry or with just propane, and without cargo. The operating weight is with options, with owner modifications, probably wet, and with some cargo.

[noblets]

Originally Posted by noblets

The first thing I did when I took delivery of our trailer in Sumas was to go to a nearby public scale and weigh it. (Propane full, fresh water empty, trailer empty.) The actual weight was several hundred pounds higher than what ETI said.

Took me a while to dig out all of my documentation. Here are the numbers:
1970 lbs. Dry weight listed on ETI 17A sales brochure. No build list additions, no propane, water.
2455 lbs. Shipping weight listed on ETI "Certificate of Origin", dated Jan. 3, 2018. We had ordered with full propane tanks. I assume this weight included that. Major build list weight adds: solar panel, dual 6 volt batteries, 4 c.f. fridge (very happy we got the bigger), electric tongue jack, front storage bin.
2760 lbs. Gross weight on public scale in Sumas. Feb. 13, 2018, date of delivery. Fresh water empty, Propane full as noted above.
A little over 300 lbs heavier than shipping weight.
I haven't weighed the trailer on our way out of town, so I'm not sure what our gross weight is. I'm guessing 3000-3500 lbs

[Small but Sweet]

We're at the point now of making a build sheet - delivery still quite far off. I'm happy to say that with judicious choices of options, we are looking like about a 3700 lb shipping weight for the 21C. Would be lower without spray foam insulation but that's worth it to us. Our typical personal goods load is about 500 lb (including 60-lb Andersen WDH). Escape still doesn't have available any way for us to see and compare item weights, but of course one could reconfigure several times to close in on an ideal weight/options package.

Some weight-saving personal choices:
No reinforced walls
No AC (personal preference)
Single Lithium battery
Framed windows
One solar panel

[Sean2a]

I got a sneak peak of the new design your trailer tool and it does take into account the weight of all of the options. Current version I saw makes it so you have to add an option then skip to the summary of your order to see how much weight is added. I'm sure, the weight will be placed right in the option selection when the final version is ready because, why not? But it's still a work in progress.

I'm thinking at this point prospective owners in the 3-6 month configuration stage are also getting to see/ use the "beta" version of the tool. While it still has some kinks in terms of publishing the correct options/information for that model, I can definitely see where it would already be useful in conjunction with conversations with a configuration specialist. I wonder if any buyers in the configuration stage can confirm this?

[Doug2000]

I solved the weight problem. We ordered our 19 on a diet. Really the only thing we got was the AC. We solved the weight problem by trading the 4Runner in for a Tundra, now I can tow 2 trailers.