D4 rear axle overweight

[jliquorish]

Hi guys,

Disappointed with my D4. Recently bought a Jayco penguin thinking wont have any problems with weights. Passing through a NSW town saw a roaming weighstation for $80 so thought might as well get weighed so I know where I stand. Everything good except for rear axle weight. 1885kg Max and it weighed in at 1928kg. Tow ball mass was only 204kg with half a tank of fuel, the missus and I and a 270 awning weighing 15kg and assorted stuff in back. WT?

[DiscoJeffster]

Very common. You can do thing such as removing the third row seats. They weigh a decent amount.

[DieselLSE]

Not familiar with the Jayco Penguin, but 204Kg tow ball weight sounds high. I would have expected about two-thirds of that. Agree with removal of third row seats if they're not needed. About 45Kg from memory.
For outback travel, I also remove the second row seats. Bit hard if you have children, but.

[veebs]

What is the assorted stuff in the back? The ball weight is well inside capacity of 350kg. Is it a standard fuel tank? Wheels mounted on the back or a rear bar maybe?

[jliquorish]

Hi Veebs, would be lucky to have 50kg in the back. Do have Tuffant steels with 265 60 18 on. Standard tank. 2 clothes bags on rear seats. Jayco penguin although ATM Of 1600ish has a heavy front. Might take one 8.5kg gas bottle off and not carry a bluetti ac70.

[DiscoJeffster]

Tuffant steel wheels are heavier than OEM, plus heavier tyres. That said, we’re talking about ~10kg a side so not huge, but it all adds up.

[Globetrotter]

Tow ball weight for 1600kg trailer should be around 160 kg so this may be your problem of how the trailer is loaded.[bigsad]

[scarry]

Tow ball weight for 1600kg trailer should be around 160 kg so this may be your problem of how the trailer is loaded.[bigsad]

Yes,correct.

Even with 160KG ball weight,the actual increase on the rear axle will be over 200KG,often 50% over the ball weight,depending on the leverage of the tow ball set up.
The weight comes off the front axle.
This catches many out.

Many D4s towing the big weights will be over on the rear axle,it is a common issue.
If they have bigger fuel tanks,rear wheel carriers,it all adds up to trouble with keeping weights down,and unfortunately no GVM increases available.

[haydent]

im also very surprised its over with such a low tow ball weight, there are several big existing threads already on towing weights, someone moved their spare tyre to back of van, you can take the gonad weights off, i just tested a weight distribution hitch, and it moved about 80kg off my rear axle.

third row seats only in 7 seats version obviously, so not all d4's also it needs an engineering certificate in some states, though may still be worth it.

did the weigh guy measure your van ball weight separately as 200kg ?

[haydent]

This opening post doesnt add up, as I just weighed a 2014 D4 SE, 19" factory rims, no sunroof, 7 seats, no bull bar, does have side steps, 2 passengers

came in at appx

front 1380
rear 1400
total 2780

by my estimates that leave 450 kg rear axle capacity, which is about 300kg ball weight (1.5x magnification)

[Discodicky]

This opening post doesnt add up, as I just weighed a 2014 D4 SE, 19" factory rims, no sunroof, 7 seats, no bull bar, does have side steps, 2 passengers

came in at appx

front 1380
rear 1400
total 2780

by my estimates that leave 450 kg rear axle capacity, which is about 300kg ball weight (1.5x magnification)

Agreed. It sounds odd.
I can't believe that if you had 7 persons in the car, the rear two persons being say, 90-100 kg weight each, then the rear axle loading would basically be close or at legal max??
Or have I misunderstood something?

In my case, my stock standard (weight), ie, no bull bar or roof rack etc etc, MY13 TDV6 has 290 kg on the ball with my caravan attached.
With my wife (85 kg) and I (94 kg) and full tank fuel we are overweight on rear axle??

[haydent]

With my wife (85 kg) and I (94 kg) and full tank fuel we are overweight on rear axle??

is that a question or result ? either way you likely need to reduce your rear axle weight, you can reduce that ball weight significantly and still be withing LR spec. id aim for about 250kg at a guess, but depends on your van weight. as also often suggested you can remove rear 3rd row seats (pending rego requirements)

if its a question, yeah you may well be, as with the weight i provided the passengers are only 65kg each.


re 7 seat, yeah it prob would be close: 450kg payload / 5 rear passengers = 90 kg each, depending how the weight distributes, some may go on the front , but that has to watched too with the example i gave only having 70kg spare on the front with now bull bar, see also Disco 4 front axle weight issues

also if you used up that full 455 rear axle payload, you would only be 10kg below the gvm (total car weight limit) so definitely couldnt carry any gear or tow

toyota lc200 not much better, ive seen yt vid, someone weighs one with 2 passengers, full tank of fuel, and alloy bull bar, and nearly over gvm even without van hooked on

[discomatt69]

Has anyone actually weighed or know the actual weight on the rear axle?
the reason I ask is IMO the advertised weight is incorrect and the reality is we have considerably less than the factory spec indicates
Also how much extra is a HSE with rear air conditioning then a base SE model without

[Disco4TT3]

I'm pretty sure mine has about 100kg of mud stuck in various crevices around the underbody :)

But seriously, the stock payload capacity of all vehicles is just ridiculous - especially when tailored to offroad use where some accessories are a must. Even worse when you find your rig can't be upgraded.

[TerryO]

Has anyone actually weighed or know the actual weight on the rear axle?
the reason I ask is IMO the advertised weight is incorrect and the reality is we have considerably less than the factory spec indicates
Also how much extra is a HSE with rear air conditioning then a base SE model without

its not so much the rear aircon that adds weight as the glass roof, from memory it adds about 70kg over the standard steel roof and most of that is over the rear axle. Mind you I looked up those numbers quite a few years ago so might be worth checking to see if my memory is correct or not.