RV Loaded Weight Calculator

Water 8.34 lb/gal; lithium 0.25 lb per Ah at 12 V. The two factory cylinders (74 lb full) were weighed into the UVW, so they add nothing. Gray and black empty for travel. GVWR 8,495 lb → 981 lb of room.

Two things stand out. The people aren't on the list: on a towable they ride in the truck and count against its payload, which the towing-capacity calculator charges them to. And the water and the heater are 484 of the 1,084 lb, more than every piece of gear combined, which is why the fill level is the first lever in the tool above.

What is cargo carrying capacity, and how much do I need?

CCC is the yellow label's answer to "how much can I add". For RVs up to 10,000 lb GVWR the federal labeling rule, 49 CFR 571.110, sets it as GVWR minus the unloaded vehicle weight, and two details in it decide how you count: the UVW includes the weight of full propane tanks, and on-board water is treated as cargo. Both figures describe the trailer as configured for delivery to the dealer, so whatever the dealer fitted afterward (the battery, a hitch, a solar kit, a TV) is not in the UVW and comes out of the CCC like your gear does. Everything on the table above except the dry weight has to fit inside it. How much a load takes, with a 40 gallon tank full, a 6 gallon heater and two Group 27 batteries, by how you camp:

Water full, two 100 Ah flooded batteries (120 lb, dealer-installed, so cargo); the factory propane is inside the dry weight. A 1,000 lb CCC is common on lightweight trailers and is gone before the gear goes in.

Reading across: a couple who camps with hookups and a 1,500 lb CCC has room to spare; a family that boondocks with a full tank, a generator and bikes on a 1,000 lb CCC is over before the kids' bikes are on the rack. When you're shopping, subtract your row from the label's CCC before you fall for the floor plan, and if the label says 1,000, ask the dealer what was added since it left the plant.

How much does water weigh in an RV?

Water weighs 8.34 pounds a gallon (the label rounds it to 8.3), so the fresh tank is usually the heaviest thing you choose to carry. By tank size, full and at the third most people travel with:

Add the water heater (50 lb for 6 gal, 83 for 10) whenever the system is wet, and whatever is in the gray and black tanks: a half-full 40 gal gray tank is 167 lb you meant to dump.

How much do propane and batteries add?

To the label, the factory propane adds nothing: the cylinders were full when the UVW was set. A spare you carry for the grill or the fire pit is cargo at its full weight, and a cylinder's tare (stamped TW on the collar) is nearly as much as the propane in it:

Lead 0.6 lb, AGM 0.65, lithium 0.25 lb per Ah at 12 V; usable at 50% for lead, 80% for lithium. Cylinder tare from the collar stamp, typical values.

Batteries are the one line you can cut with a checkbook. Two 100 Ah lithium batteries weigh 50 lb and give 160 usable amp-hours; two Group 27 flooded batteries weigh 120 lb and give 100. That's 70 lb of cargo capacity back, most of it on the tongue, for more usable power. The lithium-vs-AGM calculator prices the swap per usable kilowatt-hour, and the batteries line in the tool above changes as soon as you switch the chemistry.

Should you travel with a full fresh water tank?

A full tank makes sense only when there's no water where you're going. Arriving at a campground with hookups and 434 lb of water you're about to replace spends 434 lb of GVWR, tongue and fuel on nothing. A boondocking site with no spigot is the case for a full tank, and then the question is whether the tank lasts the stay. The middle path most people settle on is a third, enough to flush and wash on the road, and a top-up at the last spigot before the dirt. Where the tank sits matters too, and it depends on the floor plan: a tank forward of the axles adds tongue weight as it fills, one behind them takes it away, and a trailer that handled well empty can sway with a full rear tank. In the worked position above, emptying the full tank moves the tongue 103 lb. If your own fill level moves it by that much, weigh it both ways.

What if it's over GVWR?

Take the water out first, because it's the heaviest thing you carry and the easiest to leave behind; then the gray tank, which should have been empty anyway; then the gear you haven't touched in three trips. If it's still over with a third of a tank and a trimmed gear list, the trailer's CCC was never enough for how you camp, and the fixes are structural: lithium batteries for 70 lb on a two-battery bank, a lighter generator, bikes on the truck instead of the bumper, or a trailer with a bigger label. Ignoring it doesn't work, because the axles, the tires and the brakes were all rated for the GVWR. A scale ticket shows how close this estimate came, and once it's saved the towing checks plan with the weighed number instead of the label.