Tipping the Scales

[PDXWesty]

I always wondered how much my van weighed when I was loaded for camping. So out of curiosity last weekend on my way to Mt Hood in Oregon, I pulled over at a truck scale. With me, my dog, camping gear, water, ice chest, and firewood, the scale read 5300 pounds. Now given this is a truck scale and used to weighing ten times as much, I wonder how accurate it is. I didn't get a chance to weigh in on the way home to compare, but I will next weekend. I also only had half my stuff with me that I sometimes take. I have a couple inflatable boats and a canoe that stayed home this time.

Anyone else out there ever weigh their vans?

.

[Christopher Schimke]

Yeah, I weighed mine on a set of Longacre race scales. 1984 L with a full load of fuel......3466lb. I have a 1984 Vanagon sales brochure that claims 3296lb for the GL. Maybe they weighed it free of any liquids or just wishfull thinking on VW's part!
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[ChesterKV]

I use my '84 passenger van as a work truck and as such all the seats behind the driver/front passenger are removed. A lot of times I'll haul debris to a transfer station that weighs incoming and outgoing weights to determine the dump fee. The lightest I've ever weighed with no tools in the van, all garbage dumped, even the passenger seat removed, was 3,200 pounds including myself in the van. I weigh 170 pounds so the final weight is 3,030 pounds. I THINK I was below a 1/4 tan on gas at the time. My normal weight seems to be 3,600 pounds give or take an ounce.
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1984 Wolfsburg 7-passenger stock sunroof
1992 Subaru Legacy EJ22 boxer motor installed.... van is now sold.... currently playing with a 1987 Toyota MR2 with 1.6 liter twin-cam motor. Better than the Subaru boxers....... I'm impressed. Well, okay, in an "apples and oranges" kind of way.

[McVanagon]

Figuring that the previous gen STi is about 3200lb., Chris' van is going to F. U. N.
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'69 Mike
'85 GL
'87 Wolfsburg Hardtop

[tencentlife]

The things carry 100# of gasoline, full.

12 gallons of water is also exactly 100#.

[PDXWesty]

So I thought about the extra stuff I might carry that might have some weight:

- a full Thule box on top
- a rack with three 78" yakima bars (heavy)
- two auxillary batteries
- a 28"x56" solar panel
- tents, awnings, poles, bbq, full tools,
- firewood

I still don't see what could account for so much extra weight? Do you guys think 5300 pounds could be accurate? I'm only 190#

[riceye]

[RCB]

12 gallons of water should weigh in at 96 lbs. At least from my aquarium days it did. I had a 50gallon tank a 40 gallon tank and two show tanks at 28 gallons each plus a bunch of 10's and 5's.
I raised fancy guppies and angles and siamese fighters and towards the end, one of the most difficult of fish to raise from frys.....the cardinal tetra.
Thats my dimes worth of babble on what a gallon of water weighs.
Now........considering all the heavy metals in our water now-a-days maybe it weighs in more today than yester year .

[ChesterKV]

Water-filled tires ?
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1984 Wolfsburg 7-passenger stock sunroof
1992 Subaru Legacy EJ22 boxer motor installed.... van is now sold.... currently playing with a 1987 Toyota MR2 with 1.6 liter twin-cam motor. Better than the Subaru boxers....... I'm impressed. Well, okay, in an "apples and oranges" kind of way.

[PDXWesty]

Ok,

After last weeks weigh-in, I thought I needed a little more confirmation on the Westy weight. Today I passed another scale so I pulled on in. Wham! 5750-5800 lbs! This time I had two more people, two loaded ice chests and packed with gear.

I think these weigh a lot more than everyone thinks. Either that or I'm hauling around way more stuff than I thought. I think I might clean the van out and get a bare bones weight, then add my gear and see what comes up.

Anyone else take their van on a scale recently?

[vannygun]

i used the scales that they weigh air cargo with at the portland air national guard base.it came in at 3850.i have a stock 1990 gl(not westy)with the middle seat removed.i only carry a toolbox(40lbs max)
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definition-Vanagon, "a ideal breeding ground for gremlins"
2000 jeep Cherokee sport (DD)
1990 vanagon gl 2.2 subaru(sold)
2006 jeep commander

[Lanval]

For no other reason than pervasive shock that your auto could weigh so much, I lean towards thinking that the truck scales may not be as accurate at low weights? It's hard to imagine that 3000+ is too low, but I don't think you'd expect an accurate weight if you stood on it... I'm just wondering if it's set up to accurately weigh only over a certain amount.

Not an answer, I'm afraid, but something worth researching, potentially. You might call the Oregon hwy dept and ask them...

Best,

Lanval

[otiswesty]

Go to the dump / transfer station on St Helens Rd. They weigh you going in and out. Probably more accurate than the truck scales.

[Jake de Villiers]

The truck scales are very accurate. If you get out and stand on the scale by yourself it'll give you a true reading.

I've weighed both my vans on scales in Oregon, Washington and BC and the weights are consistent. They mostly measure in 20lb increments but if you weigh front, rear & total you'll get an accurate picture of what you're dragging around.

I was personally very surprised at how nose heavy Vanagons are, but on reflection, it does make sense. The batteries, gas tank, luggage rack and two passengers are all right over the front wheels, the rear only has the motor and transaxle.