Realistic cargo weight for full time living

[iwanttoretireea]

Anyone have some realistic numbers on how much your cargo weight is for full time living? For 2 people.

Truck Camper magazine says 725 in their buyer guide and they went over how to get that number: eg.

100 pounds of food
15 pounds kitchen equipment
15 pounds of bedding
25 pounds of clothes
400 pounds for 2 people
15 pounds of linen
camera gear
electronics
Tools
etc. etc.

The pics they used of the stuff they were carrying seemed quite sparse.

What have you guys experienced? Please separate cargo weight with camping gear/outdoor toys (eg. sleeping bags, skis, kayaks, etc.). I just want to know for full-time living first.

[Grit_dog]

Bedlam wrote:
I find I use about 10 percent of what I carry, but each time it is a different 10 percent of the 100 percent of items.

Eggzactly!

In the OPs scenario, it sounds like he could largely eliminate the tool weight though....

[Bedlam]

I find I use about 10 percent of what I carry, but each time it is a different 10 percent of the 100 percent of items.

[JimK-NY]

I started out full time living with a bunch of tools. I keep pruning back and now have just the very basic hand tools: small saw, hammer, screwdriver with interchangeable bit, tape measure, small hand drill and bits, a couple of pliers and wrenches. I also have a caulk gun, scraper and tube of caulk. All of it fits in a small canvas bag and weighs less than 10 pounds. Over the period of more than 4 years of full time equivalent travel, I have used the drill once and have never used the saw.

My truck has a jack and lug wrench under the passenger seat.

[jaycocreek]

Tools are a necessity for full timing and there is really know end to how many or how much to take..You have to have tools to repair and keep on your pickup and other tools to repair and keep up on the camper..

Tools are heavy and some tools take up a lot of space but they are very necessary for repairs and sometimes just to get you home..I probably have a 100# behind the drivers seat that goes everywhere of just basic tools/wrenches/socket sets etc and with the metric system taking over,you almost have to carry two sets anymore..

I was stranded once with a brand new pickup and the wrong lug wrench and not a socket of that size in my tools,near a remote Salmon river ranch..A guy drove by from the ranch and agreed to call my son on his satellite phone when the sky was in the right mode for a phone call..LOL..He did and my son showed up hours later after we walked out to a forest service fire station....

I now carry more tools because of that and other things that can happen when your miles away from anyone.

[JimK-NY]

I never weighed the individual items but I can say for sure when my wife and I full timed along with 2 cats, the weight grew way over 1000#.

We added:
2 x 150 AGM batteries
generator and 4 gallons of gas
4 seasons of clothing including enough underwear, socks and Tshirts to last
a month
Computers, backup hard drives, camera gear
Books, DVDs
Food!!! Shopping in a NP can be difficult.
Change of bedding
Tools and misc hardware and repair items
Chairs
Medicines, hot water bottles
Backpacks and hiking gear
Maps, brochures, travel guides
Exercise bands, yoga mats
Household records
Cat food and litter
Bear spray, insect spray, suntan lotion
Black tank chemicals
Water filters
Flashlights, batteries

[jimh406]

Here you go in paragraphs but the payload formula is just GVWR-GVW. Your body weight isn’t counted already in payload only in the truck camper slidein weight if your truck has a slip of paper in the glove box.

https://www.bullringusa.com/determine-truck-payload-capacity/

[iwanttoretireea]

jimh425 wrote:
That subtraction to get to payload is not quite right. They deduct 150 lbs per person from the payload to get the suggested camper weight. Payload is GVWR-GVW.

My water capacity is 60 gallons, so 66 (6 gallon water heater plus water capacity) * 8 is over 500 lbs just for water. My TC has two batteries and two propane tanks. That combined starts to push 750 lbs. (just a guess) It adds up really fast, but you do get to subtract the tailgate weight, but have to add tiedowns and tiedown mounts.

Which calculation are you referring to? My understanding is that if 150 pounds was deducted from the payload, I don't need to account for my body weight (I weigh close to 150 pounds) to calculate my payload.

[jimh406]

That subtraction to get to payload is not quite right. They deduct 150 lbs per person from the payload to get the suggested camper weight. Payload is GVWR-GVW.

My water capacity is 60 gallons, so 66 (6 gallon water heater plus water capacity) * 8 is over 500 lbs just for water. My TC has two batteries and two propane tanks. That combined starts to push 750 lbs. (just a guess) It adds up really fast, but you do get to subtract the tailgate weight, but have to add tiedowns and tiedown mounts.

[Bedlam]

Remember that campers also have different sized tanks and space to store items. My current truck camper has a 60+ gallon fresh water tank, dual 30 lb LPG tanks, and dual batteries - I have not even started filling the cab over full wall wardrobe, floor to ceiling pantry or 36 cuft basement storage. My truck has six external storage boxes of which two are filled with AGM batteries, but the remaining four give me an additional 18 cuft of storage. And I still tow a 20' enclosed trailer behind me...

[iwanttoretireea]

cptqueeg wrote:
FYI in the payload of the Ford trucks they deduct 150lbs per seating position. Check the brochure on the page where payloads are posted.

Thanks for the headsup. That would help tremendously. The issue is it is not clear which years they have done this.

I found a thread where in 2013 they did this: https://www.f150forum.com/f82/ford-giving-easter-egg-new-buyers-750-more-payload-pounds-456776/

but when looking at 2020, there is no indication: https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/product/2020/f-series-super-duty/2020-Super-Duty-Tech-Specs.pdf

Edit: I take it back. I looked at the brochure instead like you mentioned (https://www.ford.com/services/assets/Brochure?make=Ford&model=SuperDuty&year=2020&postalCode=94710) and it does say it takes into account a 150 pound driver.

Keep in mind it's not 150 pounds per seating position. Just the driver for 2020. Back in 2013 it was for each seating position.

[Kayteg1]

specta wrote:
2000 lbs?? What the hell are you taking with you???

Beats me. The things I can count:
400 lb me, DW and dogs
30 lb of food
50 lb of Alaskan beer in bottles
30 lb of Seattle beer in cans
40 lb extra fuel.
40 lb safe box.
30 lb bottled water
2-300lb camper water
50 lb clothing (doubt it was that much)
Hard to estimate what the rocks weight, but I would not say more than 200 lb

Still scratching my head where the other lb come from
Darn, forgot 25lb dog food.

[jaycocreek]

specta wrote:
2000 lbs?? What the hell are you taking with you???

I am not at +2K but if fulltiming,it would not be hard to do..Like our truck campers with wheel well access,start filling them up with batteries and it adds up quick...Throw in tire chains/bottle jacks/generators/hitch extensions/extra gas/extra water..It all ads up fast..All that don't include food/cloths/pet food/fishing stuff/guns/ammo/ladders/chargers/dog chains and anchors/extra cooleror freezer and in my case..Iron skillets and dutch ovens for the wife...

Everyone is different in there needs but full timing means you have to have everything you need with you all the time unless you have a storage shed or a home base which many full timers do not ..

[Grit_dog]

Everyone is different.
Make a list, assign a weight and fifire it out.
Unless you're a minimalist, it will be heavy.
TC and full time = full truck or tow a trailer, IMO. Unless of course you're going to live off of what most people just being on vacation.

[specta]

2000 lbs?? What the hell are you taking with you???