We left Quartzsite yesterday and drove to Phoenix where there is an RV chassis repair place where Lynne and John went to have leaf springs added to their back end. It sounded like a good idea, so we figured we'd have ours checked out too.

The issue is how much weight can a motorhome hold. When we first bought our motorhome, we were very impressed with the amount of storage space it had. As we learned more though, we realized that it has a lot more storage space than it has weight carrying capacity - if we filled every storage area we'd be dangerously overweight. Every RV comes with a GVWR (gross vehicle weight rating). Ours is 14,050 pounds. We've heard stories about RVs that come off the assembly line weighing more than their GVWR! Can you imagine that? The minute you step foot in it, before adding any belongings, you're overweight. Something to be aware of when you buy an RV!

Ours isn't that bad. We have everything we own with us and, according to the technician yesterday, we are only a couple hundred pounds over. Not bad, we could probably get rid of some stuff if we worked at it. But, we could also have them install one more leaf spring on each side and then we'd be underweight!! What do you think? We plan to live in this thing for years to come. I say go for it.

I thought the weight rating had to do more with how much the axles, both front and rear could handle. Weight and the increased torque they must endure as the weight goes up. I didn't think adding a leaf would really change that.

Kevin