Strategies for weight management

[NorthbyNorthwest]

Hi all,

I'm trying to get an idea of what strategies people use for weight management when building their rigs. I run a 2002 R50 Pathfinder and two young kids. I haven't taken the time to weigh my rig, but based on the research I have done, I barely have enough (legal) weight capacity to carry more than a cooler and a tent after I account four people and two car seats.

As far as I can tell, there are two general strategies for weight management: pack only what you need or upgrade your springs and just ignore GVWR entirely. I'm not a fan of the pure minimalist approach - I travel with a vehicle to avoid living like a backpacker, and with a family, you need to have some margin of both comfort and safety (ie getting caught without gas/spare parts/tools/recovery gear in winter with an 18-month old is just not an option).

Anyone care to try and sell me on "the upgrade springs and call it good" approach? Or any other decent strategies you have for keeping weight in check while still keeping some of the perks and comforts of vehicle based travel available?

Michael

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[Martinjmpr]

As a fellow R50 Pathy owner, I have to say that with (presumably) two adults and two car seats, as well as all the stuff you have to carry when you have little kids, I'm somewhat impressed that you ran out of weight before you ran out of space. I'm pretty sure my R50 has less interior space than the Wife's Honda CR-V.
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The thing about springs is that they are only address ONE consequence of weight and that is the load on the suspension.
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But weight affects other things like braking and handling and merely adding bigger/heavier springs does nothing to alleviate that (it also increases tire wear and fuel consumption.) .
The prospect of having to suddenly swerve to miss an animal in the road and the excess weight (especially if carried too highly on the vehicle - like a roof rack) causing a rollover (which no suspension mod can prevent) ought to give you pause.
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With two kids small enough to need car seats, are you really going far enough into the wild, long enough that you need to bring a lot of gear?
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I would say the first step would be to distinguish between which equipment is "must have" and and which is "nice to have but not neccessary."

 

[Haf-E]

trailer?

 

[Airmapper]

I think in your situation I'd very heavily consider a small trailer. With the vehicle occupied with 4 people really just the stuff you use during the day is going to keep it plenty cluttered inside.

A trailer would put the weight off the vehicle to some extent (I don't know the particulars but I know towed weight is a bit more relaxed than on board weight) and keep your gear separated from you while you are all trying to exist in a small space.

EDIT: Yeah what he said. lol.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

We watch what we eat and exercise....and upgraded the springs :victory:

 

[NorthbyNorthwest]

With two kids small enough to need car seats, are you really going far enough into the wild, long enough that you need to bring a lot of gear?

The short answer is yes. The long answer: I just moved from Smithers BC, where I was 500 km to anywhere and broke down not once, but twice less than 30 minutes out of town without cell service.

I'm in Revelstoke now which isn't quite as remote, but realistically, anything in BC outside of the Lower Mainland and major highways is "far enough into the wild" to carry some risk and require at least reasonable preparation.

I wouldn't say it's a lot of stuff, but even a cooler, RTT and drinking water add up in a hurry


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[jeep-N-montero]

As a fellow R50 Pathy owner, I have to say that with (presumably) two adults and two car seats, as well as all the stuff you have to carry when you have little kids, I'm somewhat impressed that you ran out of weight before you ran out of space. I'm pretty sure my R50 has less interior space than the Wife's Honda CR-V.
.
The thing about springs is that they are only address ONE consequence of weight and that is the load on the suspension.
.
But weight affects other things like braking and handling and merely adding bigger/heavier springs does nothing to alleviate that (it also increases tire wear and fuel consumption.) .
The prospect of having to suddenly swerve to miss an animal in the road and the excess weight (especially if carried too highly on the vehicle - like a roof rack) causing a rollover (which no suspension mod can prevent) ought to give you pause.
.
With two kids small enough to need car seats, are you really going far enough into the wild, long enough that you need to bring a lot of gear?
.
I would say the first step would be to distinguish between which equipment is "must have" and and which is "nice to have but not neccessary."

We took our son camping this summer at 6 months old to an area that is about an hour's drive from the closest cell service, we were there for 4 days and had a great time because we had everything we needed.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

The main thing is to not ask your Pathy to do more than it can do. Much of the GVW of any 4x4 has to do with springs and tire rating. Your rear axle is a sturdy one capable of hauling a pretty good load if up-sprung. As an example, my '01 Dodge 2-series 4x4 has an 8800 pound GVWR. Much of this has to do with the weight rating of the stock tires. The rear axle is a Dana 80, which from Dana's perspective has an 11K pound GAWR. Dodge de-rated that number for 'safety reasons' down to 7500 pounds. That's a fairly big drop in GAWR 'for safety reasons'. So i added several leaves to the pack on the rear bringing the total up to 8.

My GVWR is 10,400 pounds which is still in the Dana window but out of the Dodge window since almost all the extra weight is on the rear axle. So, get some D or E-rated tires on stock rims and add a leaf or two to the rear axle where most of the additional weight of passengers (as small as they are) and goods reside. A small, large tired trailer could be a saving grace as your rig has a lot more trailer towing capacity than GVW capacity. Here's what we towed over the Mojave Road a couple times.

jefe

 

[rayra]

overweight handling would be a real concern, something that sturdier springs won't alleviate and might even make worse, as in a swerve to avoid wildlife.

A trailer would aid the camping and space and some of the weight issues, while introducing new concerns.

A large / greater capacity vehicle would seem to be indicated.

 

[JakeH]

What about some spider trax spacers to widen the stance a bit? Seems like that would help the handling when fully loaded. I think the basic trailer is a good idea for the heavy/bulky stuff

 

[jeep-N-montero]

What about some spider trax spacers to widen the stance a bit? Seems like that would help the handling when fully loaded. I think the basic trailer is a good idea for the heavy/bulky stuff

Please, from a physics standpoint explain us how wheel spacers would increase handling?

 

[shenrie]

^^^ wider footprint?? even if that's the angle, the added stress on the bearings isn't worth it.

if you don't want a trailer, buy a bigger rig rated to haul all the fam and gear you need. no matter what your angle, youre spending money to keep the family safe. why not get an suburban or something with room to grow? most kids don't get smaller, lol.

 

[ExplorerTom]

Please, from a physics standpoint explain us how wheel spacers would increase handling?

Remember the Pontiac commercials? "Wider is better."

I'll agree to upgrading the vehicle. I've stuffed a family of 4 and a dog into Saturn VUE for a weekend of camping. When the kids are small you can use the space in front of their feet. I've also taken that same family of 4 but with 2 dogs camping out of my Expedition. The difference in space (and comfort) is well worth it.

 

[chasespeed]

Weight vs space vs vehicle.

Your Pathy is similar in size, weight, cargo, and trailer capacities, to my WJ.

We have 3 girls. We'd load this thing to the max, for a day/weekend on the beach(literally on the sand, so recovery gear, etc).

IIRC, you also have a uni-body. I wouldn't "update" the GVW. But, that is just me. Tweaked unibody sucks.

I would focus more on a small trailer, either built, bought, etc, for the things you need. Minimal impact on the vehicle, especially with electric brakes, and keeping "immediate needs" close at hand in the cabin, and space.

Second, a divider between the cargo area, and the backseat.

If the trailer isn't an option, I'll say, a larger vehicle is probably a good idea.

Chase

 

[Arclight]

Hi all,

I'm trying to get an idea of what strategies people use for weight management when building their rigs. I run a 2002 R50 Pathfinder and two young kids. I haven't taken the time to weigh my rig, but based on the research I have done, I barely have enough (legal) weight capacity to carry more than a cooler and a tent after I account four people and two car seats.

This is all theoretical until you weigh the truck. First step: Load it up, take it down to a public scale, give them $2.50 and get a slip of paper that shows exactly where you're at. Scales are usually located at truck stops, steel yards, landfills, etc.

Once you have that number, see how close you are to GVWR. You might be surprised to find that you're still under. Bottom line: You don't know until you measure. You can also get front and rear axle weights done for a bit more.


Arclight