WEIGHING, LOADING, AND TOWING
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THOR MOTOR COACH | MADE TO FIT
Reading A: Front
Reading B: Total Coach
Reading C: Back
Thick Black Lines in the illustrations above represent a vehicle weighing
scale.
Weighing Your Motorhome
When loading cargo, be sure weight is distributed evenly to
prevent overloading front to back and side to side. Heavy
items should be placed low and as close to the axle positions
as possible. Too much weight loaded on one side or the
other may overload tires and cause handling issues.
Periodically weigh the motorhome at a public vehicle scale to
determine axle loads. Certied public or commercial vehicle
scales can be found at moving and storage lots, farm suppliers
with grain elevators, gravel pits, recycling companies, and
large commercial truck stops.
To weigh the motorhome correctly, measure the fully loaded
vehicle axle by axle and wheel position by wheel position. Allow
adequate time, since the entire weighing process can take around
30 minutes. ere may be a small fee for each weight reading
taken, but the expense is a worthwhile investment toward the
safe operation of your motorhome.
The motorhome must be weighed fully loaded, which
includes passengers, food, clothing, fuel, water, propane,
supplies, etc. Any towed vehicle (car/pickup, boat, or trailer)
or items loaded on brackets on the back of the motorhome
should also be included in the weighing process.
e following procedure is suggested when using a long
platform scale, although any method recommended by the
scale operator that correctly determines weight value is
acceptable. During all measurements, it is important to keep
the vehicle as level as possible.
1. Pull onto the scale so that only the front axle is on the
platform with the end of the scale midway between the
front and rear axles and record the weight (Reading A).
2. Pull forward until the full unit is on the scale and record
the weight (Reading B).
3. Pull forward so that only the rear axle is on the scale
and record the weight (Reading C).
4. To determine the weight of individual wheel positions,
repeat the previous three steps, but this time, use only
one side of the motorhome on the scale. Record the
weight readings.
5. To calculate the wheel position weight for the opposite side
of the motorhome, subtract these weight readings from
weight readings A, B, and C recorded in steps 1, 2, and 3.
Other factors to consider:
• e motorhome must remain as level as possible on the
scale, even though an axle or side is not physically on the
scale. To obtain the side-to-side weight measurements,
there must be enough space on either side of the scale
to allow the motorhome to be partially o the scale.
• For improved accuracy, Thor Motor Coach recom-
mends using a segmented 4-pad scale, when possible,
to determine individual wheel weight measurements.
e corner weight measurements should not exceed half
of the respective Gross Axle Weight Rating (GAWR)
or the maximum load rating for the tire or set of dual
tires at the rear, whichever is less.
• Individual wheel position weight measurements must
not exceed the maximum tire load capacity. e max-
imum load rating for the tire can be found embossed
on the tire’s sidewall.
• If any of the corner weight measurements exceed half of
the listed GAWR or tire ratings, redistribute or remove a
portion of the cargo until the weight is within the proper
limits for all four corners of the vehicle.
• Periodically check and adjust cargo weight to obtain
optimum mileage from tires and to optimize vehicle
handling. Inate ties as recommended on the Federal
Weight Label axed to your motorhome.
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