Re: [VAC] A Weighty Matter

["Terry Tyler" <Tylerbears@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi gary@volcanbaru.com, 

In their 3/18 posting, Scott and Lise "schrmnns@bright.net" 
commented,

>To the best of my knowledge you are not going to hurt the trailer in any
>way by adding weight to the front of the trailer (assuming that you do
>not exceed the total GVWR for the trailer, and your tires and rims are of
>the proper rating). 

That may be true, but a friend of ours cracked his A frame by putting
four golf cart batteries under his front couch. I actually helped him
make the frame work, strap down connectors and ventilation system.
It was done just before we took several months exploring the entire
Baja Peninsula. His boondocking power was awesome, but a year 
later when we followed the Oregon Trail from start to finish, his 
A frame was obviously sagging. 

The Airstream Factory repaired it, charged him lots of money and he 
now uses just two batteries like those that came with the trailer. 
His 25' Airstream is a 1990s model with the heavier frame. All his 
weight calculations were below the factory limits. Even those of us 
who are sticklers for detail and think we're so smart can get foxed.

The proof the the pudding is in the eating. 
Or what's that saying about eating humble pie?
Enough said,
Terry

PS - He added an extra panel to recharge faster and in that way
continues to use a lot of 12 volt power.