Finally got my Weekender weighed

[LWW]

I finally had it weighed and with a regular twin matteress and a 4" foam on top of that it weighed in at 1160 lbs. I still don't have a real galley in it yet, just a solid oak table top for sitting at while camping. So far I haven't missed the galley so no hurry putting one in yet. I built mine 5' wide and 9 1/2' long on top of an old shortened boat trailer. I was worried it was too heavy for my Jeep Wrangler to pull it even thought the jeep has a 1500 lb towing capacity. It seems to pull it fine so far.

Has anyone else finished a weekender and checked your weight.Larry

[WhitneyK]

Larry,

Mine came in at 1260#, a little heavier than I had planned, but I feel it's solid. 1160's not bad, my dimentions are the exact same as your's and using an old trailer frame. Our Equinox owners manual says you can pull up to 1000 lbs in OD, Rats! just missed it. I'll be looking into a tranny cooler just to keep that expensive thing safe. My galley isn't elaborate, just funtional for our needs, so I don't think it really added that much weight. With your galley installed, cooler of ice, food, etc., you'll probably be coming in around the same weight as mine. My tongue jack has a wheel on it so it's easy to push around.
Hey, you're not that far away, may run into you some day.....

[wincrasher]

1000 lbs tow limit seems awfully low. I would think going over just a bit will be OK. A tranny cooler is probably overkill considering the weights you are talking about.

You may be able to ditch some weight. I got rid of my microwave and went with a toaster oven - saved 30 lbs! My last trip I carried home alot of stuff I never used - so I'm clearing those items out.

[WhitneyK]

1000 lbs tow limit seems awfully low. I would think going over just a bit will be OK. A tranny cooler is probably overkill considering the weights you are talking about.

The tranny cooler is just an option. It has a 5 spd a/t, the 1000 lb limit is just for pulling in O/D, I figure if it's good & flat o/d is fine, get into some grades drop it down to L4. L4 isn't but about 300 rpm differnce so it shouldn't hurt the milage much.

You may be able to ditch some weight. My last trip I carried home alot of stuff I never used - so I'm clearing those items out.

I agree with you there as well. I told my wife that we don't need to leave home with 3 wks worth of grub for a 2 week trip. They have grocery stores along the way, just buy 2 or 3 days worth at a time. When it's close to gone, get some more. We usually bring back a lot. Last trip to the Southwest we survived 2 wks on PB&J & pickled bolagna. We were about a day from home when we incountered a semi-homeless guy hitch hikin' with a sign that read "Hungry". We stopped and loaded him up with bottled water, soda, pudding, vienna sausage, beenie weenie's, chips, spoons, etc. tickled him & us to death. We only eat about once a day when we're on the road. Cup of coffee & little debbie for b-fast, pack of crackers for dinner, and try to eat a good supper. (I know, that's not good for ya)

Now that we have a li'l camper, may have to change our eating habits, at least we have a MW now. mmmmm warm food mmmmmmm

[wincrasher]

Here is another idea - I got a thermoelectric cooler - it's about 1 cubic foot in size and weighs about 2 pounds. I'm trying it out on my next trip. If I can get by with the battery I have, then that will save a huge amount of weight - about 40lbs of a too big cooler and all the ice.

[asianflava]

What size is it and how was it constructed? My 5x10 (not a weekender) came in at 1150, that's with a Queen size memory foam mattress, microwave, air conditioner, and battery.

[WhitneyK]

Maybe if I fill my air mattress with HELIUM.......

[NathanL]

I would imagine if you used a boat trailer a pretty chunk is in the trailer itself.

[Forrest747]

1600 pounds here tha i pull with my Jeep. Was shocked when i got the weight.

[WhitneyK]

1600 pounds here tha i pull with my Jeep. Was shocked when i got the weight.

I'm suprised it not heavier than that Forrest with the big jet sittin' on top of it.

[Maureenm]

Maybe the jets holding it up....
Couldn't resist.

[Forrest747]

You know you have weight issues when planes think they can land on you.

[LWW]

1260 lbs makes me feel like I'm about right then. I've had it out a couple times, most of it in the flat lands on the Eastern Shore and didn't loose to much on the milage of the jeep. I used it to camp out in the hospital parking lot a couple of nights in Charlottesville couple months ago. Going up the hills on I64 had to drop back out of overdrive couple times, jeeps got a 5 speed. I've even slept in it in some really big thunder storms with lots of rain, no leaks. So I'm happy with it. Now if the gas prices will go down some I can make my way out west to see more of the sights.Larry