How heavy are you?

I guess I am gonna take a trip out to the dump to get a weight. It's cheaper and I need to haul off a few things, but I have eliminated about 150lbs or so in the last few months. So, no real idea but I am guessing, about 700 pounds under the limit.

 

From Wikipedia:
The libra (Latin for 'scale'/'balance') is an ancient Roman unit of mass that is now equivalent to 328.9 g (11.60 oz).[19][20][21] It was divided into 12 unciae (singular: uncia), or ounces. The libra is the origin of the abbreviation for pound, "lb".

 

Average about 5900lbs, 37s, 3 link, whole lotta metal welded on, box full of tools and full size spare

 

Funny how close we are in weight. I’m 5 lbs heavier than you at 5555lbs (2520kg) loaded for camping.

 

Perfect when the wife is happy, a fatass if I piss her off

 

not bad, Im still 6864 without the tent and all the extra camp stuff like water and cooler.

 

Found the photo. Was 7550, not 7540 apparently. Close enough. This was including tongue weight, with zero trailer axles on scale.

 

Only the second failure was due to a loose bolt turning the camper into a hammer on the front bed mount. The first was caused by the sheer weight of the camper setup, and the massive overhang (relative to other pop up truck campers) that those mounts have to carry.

Also, that forward frame mount design is only present on ACLB and DCLB. The DCSB has a different, more stout front frame mount.

If you are going heavy camper, and plan on leaving pavement, get AG rear shock towers and install them according to the instructions. Gives you another place where your bed is tied into your frame.

 

OP, my weight is similar and I am not concerned but I am vigilant - bear with me, I will explain why:
- My curb (no people, ½ tank) is Front 3120, rear 2820, total 5940 (incudes front ARB bumper, winch, steel skid plates, long ranger tank, Alu-cab canopy, ARB drawers, etc).
- The GAWR (gross axle weight ratio, i.e. max loading allowed on each axle) is: front 2940 lb, rear 3280lb
- When fully loaded, depends on the trip, my weight (F/R/Total): 3250/3250-3350/6500-6600lb
- In percentages, I am 11% over in front and barely over in the rear. I feel a few % over designed limit is well within the safety margin the designers built in, per Toyota philosophy.
- I checked part numbers between the Tacoma and the Hilux, which has a payload of 2230 lb. Front bearings/hubs are the same, rear axle is the same, CV axles are the same. So my conclusion that at the axle/drivetrain level, the higher load is probably ok. The Hilux chassis though is much stiffer.
- I sprung correctly with Dobinsons in the back and ARB front, so no excessive sag.
- I feel my overload in the front is most critical, but with the fully boxed chassis in front, I am not very worried about the frame. I do expect to potentially have shorter life from front suspension components (bearings, bushings), and I check those all the time.
- In the rear, my main worry is the open C-frame, which is quite flexy. I keep a record of measurements of the chassis (corner to corner, hanger to hanger and diagonals), to see if a distortion is building up. Nothing to date.
- After driving thousands of off-road miles in the US and Europe/Morocco (and in 2024 European Balkans and south Africa), and seeing no change in these measurements, I became less concerned.

Therefore, I am:
- Trying to reduce weight where possible: I ditched my RTT for an Australian SWAG, I am using a Moon awning instead of the Alucab Shadow-awn, and more such things.
- In the next build I would skip the ARB bumper, get aluminum skid plates, and so on, to keep weight lower.
- I watch very carefully the suspension, mounting points and hangers, bearings, and bed (mounting points and walls) and hope to catch damage in time.

It's possible too that all the above is just a fancy way for me to justify my weight situation.....hope not to find I am wrong when the truck is on the other side of the ocean. But no question my next build will be different, lighter.

 

Interesting, and thank you. This is the kind of info I was hoping to see. I have the dcsb so O guess thats a little plus eh? Im gonna look at those towers online. Never even heard of that before.

 

Thanks for taking the time and helping lay that all out for me. I do feel safer with the steel, but I agree with a aluminum bumper if I had to do it again. They should hold up to animal strikes but might crack on rock. Ill be trying to keep weight down. And looking into those shock mounts mentioned in the post below.

 

What kind of tent is that and do you recommend?

 

That's a Gazelle Tent. I have their G5 screen room, and it is AMAZING. the quality is spot-on, and the advertised setup times are real.

I think the tent in the picture is the T4 hub tent. Supposed to setup in 90 seconds. Our G5 awning room prolly takes 60 seconds from bag, to keeping the rain off me (not including guying it down).

 

You need more fancy suspension stuff and the willingness to cut metal off of your frame, but it's an upgrade worth making IMO.

Rear Towers plus Misc. by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

Rear Towers plus Misc. by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

How do the towers attach to the bed?

 

(2) thru bolts with a plate on top. Top of the towers is on the underside of the wheel well.

Grey plate in photo below:

House Battery Upgrade by Michael Rickerd, on Flickr

 

Cool, thanks for the pic

 

Have you seen Renogy's new REGO 400ah battery? that thing looks like a smokin deal.

 

I have not. I am hoping I don't have to think about batteries again anytime soon. Very satisfied with my current setup.

 

It’s a 3-person Gazelle Hub tent. I could not recommend enough. Best camping purchase I’ve ever made and I’m not joking. 3-person packs up 5” long so fits lengthwise in short bed.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=42hTBcNh1f8&pp=ygUISHViIHRlbnQ=