Overland Weight reduction

[anotheraznguy]

So i am currently planning my build and am curious for those with RTT's and other items how you guys are getting away with not going over GVWR

So i did some basic calculations as well as what i would be planning and it doesnt look good. This is one of the reasons i am not going RTT. I am curious how some of you guys are putting so much into your rig without being overloaded. My GVWR is 10k

Curb weight - 8310
5 Passengers - 550
Jack - 60
Sliders - 270
Winch - 140
Front Bumper - 210 (Including weight different of removing stock)
Drawer System - 220
Leitner ACS - 70
Tepui RTT - 150
Total Weight - 9980

That only leaves 20 lbs for camping gear / tools / recovery

 

[1derer]

So i am currently planning my build and am curious for those with RTT's and other items how you guys are getting away with not going over GVWR

So i did some basic calculations as well as what i would be planning and it doesnt look good. This is one of the reasons i am not going RTT. I am curious how some of you guys are putting so much into your rig without being overloaded. My GVWR is 10k

Curb weight - 8310
5 Passengers - 550
Jack - 60
Sliders - 270
Winch - 140
Front Bumper - 210 (Including weight different of removing stock)
Drawer System - 220
Leitner ACS - 70
Tepui RTT - 150
Total Weight - 9980

That only leaves 20 lbs for camping gear / tools / recovery

What year and model is your truck figure a 2014 Mega Cab 4x4 curb is about 7,000lbs , and wow only 550 for 5 passengers must be 3 children?

 

[anotheraznguy]

2016 Laramie that was optioned out, the curb weight as listed was 8010 based on my vin which makes sense considering the payload for the truck is about 1990. to hit the total GVW of 10k. I also have big heavy tires and wheels and a lift kit which adds to the weight of the truck as well. Last time i weighed her with my 20 ft enclosed it was a tick over 13k. The trailer itself weighed in at 4000 so the numbers are about right since it was just myself and the wife. I'll prob stop by the scale at the dump later this week just to get a baseline of what she weighs with just me. And yes 2 kids and a dog

 

[Jeff Graham]

2016 Laramie that was optioned out, the curb weight as listed was 8010 based on my vin which makes sense considering the payload for the truck is about 1990. to hit the total GVW of 10k. I also have big heavy tires and wheels and a lift kit which adds to the weight of the truck as well. Last time i weighed her with my 20 ft enclosed it was a tick over 13k. The trailer itself weighed in at 4000 so the numbers are about right since it was just myself and the wife. I'll prob stop by the scale at the dump later this week just to get a baseline of what she weighs with just me. And yes 2 kids and a dog

This is the issue, that drove me to start the thread. Many of our OB rigs are crazy overloaded. I'm trying to reduce where it makes sense, so I'm on the trail at 80% GVWR. I have upgraded many components of my rig to handle additional load. Springs, Axles, breaks, etc. Still want a safety margin (80% GVWR).

 

[Mike W]

Don't forget tires. I have my eye on the E rated KO2 for the next set to increase the load rating a bit. The Goodyears I have now are fine, and exceed factory specs which are pretty high on a Land Rover (Because I assume they think of the off road aspects).

Also.. what are the thoughts on fridges? I was just out working with my 50qt ARB fridge and I swear it is lighter than when I use a big cooler with ice in it. That is just something I can't live without now though.

 

[Jeff Graham]

Don't forget tires. I have my eye on the E rated KO2 for the next set to increase the load rating a bit. The Goodyears I have now are fine, and exceed factory specs which are pretty high on a Land Rover (Because I assume they think of the off road aspects).

Also.. what are the thoughts on fridges? I was just out working with my 50qt ARB fridge and I swear it is lighter than when I use a big cooler with ice in it. That is just something I can't live without now though.

That a good point about fridge vs Cooler. I have always been a cooler person. I use two coolers: One for frozen food, that I use with dry ice. The other for cold storage, that I use with frozen jugs of water. As the water melts, I use it for cold drinking water. Frozen stuff gets moved the the cooler, as needed. This helps keep a supply of frozen stuff in the cooler. Works, but takes time and planning. A Fridge/Freezer, would be way better. If its also lighter, and sold.

 

[Jeepney]

That a good point about fridge vs Cooler. I have always been a cooler person. I use two coolers: One for frozen food, that I use with dry ice. The other for cold storage, that I use with frozen jugs of water. As the water melts, I use it for cold drinking water. Frozen stuff gets moved the the cooler, as needed. This helps keep a supply of frozen stuff in the cooler. Works, but takes time and planning. A Fridge/Freezer, would be way better. If its also lighter, and sold.

We do the same, two coolers with one i call the fridge/freezer (dry ice). It is a heavy setup and the ice takes up lots of space!

My wife and i just decided that we are going for a real fridge and i am hopeful that we will shave off some weight doing so.


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[Mike W]

I posted in this other thread what my fridge setup looks like. I think a lot of folks carry some large coolers. I asked folks what their setups look like. Always love to see how things get packed. https://overlandbound.com/forums/threads/overland-cooler-size.2143/page-2#post-130445

 

[000]

I was thinking about the possible weight savings with water, which I always bring too much of but figure it's always better than running out. Outside of a desert situation, I was considering getting a filter to supplement a smaller supply of water brought from home and also save a considerable amount of space. This being said, I have upgraded my suspension and tires to safely haul the extra weight, but if I can haul less weight and take up less space why not?


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[Jeff Graham]

I was thinking about the possible weight savings with water, which I always bring too much of but figure it's always better than running out. Outside of a desert situation, I was considering getting a filter to supplement a smaller supply of water brought from home and also save a considerable amount of space. This being said, I have upgraded my suspension and tires to safely haul the extra weight, but if I can haul less weight and take up less space why not?


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When I travel in areas with plentiful water, I carry very little. I filter as I go, with a gravity fed purifier.

 

[Jeff Graham]

as an effort to continue to reduce my jeep weight. I removed My Hi-Lift X-Treme, Lift-Mate, Off-Road Base, Bumper lift, and mounting bracket have all been removed from my Jeep. All in total: I reduced my jeeps load by 95lbs. I’m hoping a combination of my ARB Bushranger Inflatable X-Jack, and a 6K lbs Powerbuilt Unijack, will see me through all my lifting needs.

I have the AEV front bumper on my Jeep JK Unlimited. The AEV front bumper, has an optional skid plate, that ways 23lbs

I'm not sure if the skid plate provided that much protection. It was also removed today. Time will tell if this was a good idea or not.

 

[Jeff Graham]

OEM seats are very heavy. Does anyone in the community have experience with light weight suspension seats. I'm looking at PRP at the moment. I think this would be another way to drop some weight off of a vehicle and increase the function/comfort.

 

[Jeff Graham]

On a side topic of vehicle weight, is choosing recovery gear. Shackles, kinetic recovery straps, etc.. it is important to size this gear for the weight of your loaded vehicle, not the curbe weight.

As an example: most recommend multiplying the weight of your vehicle by 3 or 4 times and then selecting the kinetic rope that has a breaking strength that is equal to or higher than that number. There is a lot of difference with this calculation from a loaded vs unloaded vehicle.

 

[britz]

I got some weight reduction coming off the Magruder Corridor yesterday. My group stopped in Hamilton, MT for gas and groceries and someone clipped my two rear shackles. Good excuse to upgrade with some soft shackles and they'll stay inside. Glad that's all they got, I'd like to decide where i'm going to shave weight.

 

[Mike W]

I got some weight reduction coming off the Magruder Corridor yesterday. My group stopped in Hamilton, MT for gas and groceries and someone clipped my two rear shackles. Good excuse to upgrade with some soft shackles and they'll stay inside. Glad that's all they got, I'd like to decide where i'm going to shave weight.

That is just infuriating. Who steals a shackle... really. On that note I am going to take mine off... sigh.

 

[Jeff Graham]

I got some weight reduction coming off the Magruder Corridor yesterday. My group stopped in Hamilton, MT for gas and groceries and someone clipped my two rear shackles. Good excuse to upgrade with some soft shackles and they'll stay inside. Glad that's all they got, I'd like to decide where i'm going to shave weight.

That sucks!

 

[Jeff Graham]

I currently use heavy Hutchinson wheels on my Rig
See thread:
https://www.overlandbound.com/forums/threads/beedlocks-for-overlanding.7811/

I love these, when I'm doing extremely technical off roading, in remote areas. For the next many months, I'm going to be enjoying the Beauty of the USA, where we are never more then a few hours from a Starbucks.

I have chosen to mount my 285/70R17 AT on much lighter wheels. I chose AEV Salta wheels.

Per AEV they way 22lbs each. That is a 21lbs weight savings, compared to my current per wheel weight of 43lbs.

I'm also going with a smaller tire:

My current tire is Goodyear Duratrac 315/70R17 at 60lbs
I'm changing to Goodyear Duratrac 285/70R17 at 54lbs

This will net me a total of 135lbs reduction in my rig. With smaller tires, my fuel economy and range should improve.

The wheels just arrived today, so they will get mounted to the tires this weekend.

I will keep the other wheels and tires in storage, for when I need them. I will post the before and after photos when the swop is complete.

 

[Moriarty]

Great thread! I have been re-evaluating my wish-list and the equipment after attending Overland EXPO West 2017. Love all the input/comments.

 

[Boort]

I'm also going with a smaller tire:

My current tire is Goodyear Duratrac 315/70R17 at 60lbs
I'm changing to Goodyear Duratrac 285/70R17 at 54lbs

This will net me a total of 135lbs reduction in my rig. With smaller tires, my fuel economy and range should improve.

The wheels just arrived today, so they will get mounted to the tires this weekend.

I will keep the other wheels and tires in storage, for when I need them. I will post the before and after photos when the swop is complete.

I've often wondered how many folks do this. Keep one set of tires for day to day driving and another set for overlanding / off roading.

Any one see a downside (other than cost of the 2nd set of tires/rims)?

Boort

 

[Jeff Graham]

I've often wondered how many folks do this. Keep one set of tires for day to day driving and another set for overlanding / off roading.

Any one see a downside (other than cost of the 2nd set of tires/rims)?

Boort

Not much different then our friends up north, that have snow tires mounted on wheels, used during winter months.