$7200 does seem a bit out of line for what comes with it. For a few months I
have been haunting the various RV newsgroups and forums asking about Four
Wheel campers. Admiration for their strength and lightness seems near
universal.. Of those who have used them none regret the buy.
They are "Spartan" to say the least but that does not bother us. Back in my
younger days I was a Civil War redactor ("C" Co. 6th Va. Vol. "Woodis
Rifles") (If you have a strong magnifier you can see me in"Gettysburg"; I'm
one of the dead guys.). Most of the battles were multi-day affairs and, when
not on the battlefield, the time was spent in what was known as "Primitive
Family Camping". Authenticity rules were relaxed enough to allow
accommodations for families who came along but were otherwise "authentic" in
that nothing was allowed that was not commonly available in the 1860's. Like
most other rules these were neither strictly observed nor enforced and as
long as the modern stuff (coolers, Coleman lanterns and stoves, etc.) was
kept out of sight and hearing everyone pretended it was not there. Still,
even with the stuff we pretended not to have the "Primitive Camping" was
primitive indeed. The accommodations of even the tiny "Falcon" are palatial
in comparison and are entirely suitable with no added comfort options. The
only thing we intend to add are the four corner jacks for a total of about
35 extra pounds.
Your weight breakdown is pretty good but, again thinking of our "primitive
camping" expierence, that 12 gallons of water goes way byond necessity To
gain a little extra storage
that 12 gallon tank will likely be replaced with a smaller one, collapsible
containers being available should the need arise to carry more.
About that 140 for gas. I was under the impression that rated (advertised)
payload was GVWR minus CURB WEIGHT, that is the weight of the vehicle
unloaded but with all fluids (gas, oil, coolant, etc). Advertised payload
does not account for the weight of any options but DOES account for the
weight of the fluids because, without these fluids, you have no truck, only
a large doorstop or hurricane grade paperweight.
Digging around the net I came up with this:
http://www.phh.com/fleetServices/truckFleetManagement/glossary.html#P
"Payload: Maximum allowable weight of cargo to be carried in a vehicle,
including occupants (150 lbs. x seating capacity). Computed by subtracting
curb weight from GVWR."
"Curb Weight: Base curb weight is the shipping weight plus fuel to capacity.
The addition of optional equipment will change the curb weight."
I am no expert in these matters and maybe "pph" isnt either but are you
sure the weight of the gas takes up payload?
"andy levy" <andy-dml@levyclan.us> wrote in message
news:btabmo$i3u$1@bent.twistedbits.net...
>
> Joe wrote:
>
>
> $7200 for that thing? Wow. That seems...high. For about the same
> money you could have a pretty decent pop-up trailer. Just how rough is
> the terrain you're hoping to tackle, and would it really be inaccessible
> w/ a trailer? And where would you carry all your gear/supplies in this
> setup?
>
> Looking at my '03 brochure (ok, it's the Canadian one (Thanks Norah &
> Jason!) but still...), the GVWR on my 4x4 4.7L 6010 lbs - that's
> "properly equipped." Break it down:
>
> Truck: ~4500 pounds
> Gas: ~140
> Camper: 500 (does that include the options you may select?)
> People: ~325 for you and your wife (taking a wild guess)
> Water: The Falcon has a 12 gallon tank, 8 pounds per is another 100 pounds
> Total: 5565
>
> So now you have 445 pounds to work with. You still need luggage, food,
> pet, weight of any options on the camper, etc. You're rapidly
> approaching 6010.
>
> Add in the fact that you probably don't want to have yourself loaded to
> the rated max (many serious RVers have a rule of thumb where they stay
> at something like 80% of their total payload/tow rating as a safety
> factor), nor do you want to raise your center of gravity if you're going
> to be bouncing around on a trail, and you need space to carry your
stuff...
>
> I'm not telling you not to do it, nor saying it's a bad idea - just make
> sure you run the numbers and then ask yourself if you honestly think
> this is a good idea.
>
> --
> -andy
>
> http://home.twcny.rr.com/andylevy/dakota - andy-dml@levyclan.us
> --------------------------------------------
> "Whatever Adam does, do the opposite and you'll be fine"
> -Bob Tom
> --------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Sun Feb 01 2004 - 16:29:48 EST