A weighty matter (calling on DU's superior knowledge base).

[chaska]

I'm doing a coast exchange - moving to California. I bought a van and loaded it up with a lot of very heavy stuff. I'm worried about carrying that amount of weight in a minivan. I thought I should weigh the van and contents and check it against recommended limits.

Anybody know how/where I can weigh my load?

[GOPisEvil]

1. A lot of truck stops have scales.

:-)

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. Candy Crowley's bathroom scale?

:shrug:

[chaska]

5. Am I the only one...

that thinks Candy C is kinda hot?

[THUNDER HANDS]

6. I believe so, yes

:)

[Fenris]

8. Without a doubt

She makes me ill, and for reasons unrelated to her weight, which I couldn't care less about.

[GOPisEvil]

9. I find her objectionable, but not for her appearance.

I can't stand her because she fawns over *.

[trumad]

3. what year is the Van...?

[chaska]

4. '93. nm

[AntiCoup2K4]

7. If the van should happen to be a Ford Aerostar

Make sure your transmission in good shape before crossing over the Rockies! Actually, that's probably a good idea with any vehicle, especially weighted down, but the Fords are famous for this sort of thing.

[amazona]

10. what weight is your van rated for?

Most owner's manuals would tell you; for instance, I bought an old van rated to carry 1 ton (2,000 pounds). If anyone traveling with you is heavy, keep in mind that your weight counts too.

Half-tons carry 1,000 pounds.

Mini-vans -- I dunno -- but I wouldn't personally choose to use one for hauling too much weight if you've also got a lot of human weight in there. Maybe try to keep the total at 500 pounds? This is just a guess -- if I find out something different, I'll come back and update.

State truck scales are places of official business so I'm not certain if they would welcome you driving over to get your van plus contents weighed -- in any case you would need to know the tare (weight of the empty van) for the number to do you much good.

If some of the heavy items are paper/books, it can be a good idea to ship them Media Mail (for the books, CDs, etc.) at the Post Office. Other "retired" paperwork might go cheaply by United Parcel Service. Only carry your essential papers or even consider shipping them to the new address via certified mail. Paper/books are shockingly heavy.

I would strongly consider selling or donating anything that can be re-purchased just as cheaply at the other end as transporting it. Much as I would hate giving up my plants, after transporting them less than 50 pounds with great effort, I would sell or gift them and not try to transfer them any great distance. Dirt is heavy!

Good luck with your move. I hate moving. What a chore.

[underpants]

11. At your local landfill/dump or at a trucking company

That is a good idead BTW. Keep in mind the extra braking distance you will need.

[chaska]

12. Good advice, everybody.

I have the owners manual, which talks about vehicle weight versus payload, etc. I think it can carry something like 1300 lbs. There's just me, as far as human weight is concerned.

I am a little concerned about the tranny. This model (Plymouth Grand Voyager) has bad history in that dept. The previous owner has assured me that the problems with the transmission have been repaired before they became a problem.

Think books are heavy, try 500+ vinyl LPs. I'd love to be rid of them - they're old and scratchy - but a great many are simply not available on cd, and many others I wouldn't spend the dough to replace but still like to pull out once in a while. I plan to start transfering this stuff to cd as soon as I can. I truly hate the feeling of being trapped by possessions.

Of course, I have a lot of books and other paper. Shipping them may be a necessary option. CDs too, come to think of it.

Lord knows,I've tried to be as rigorous as I can with ditching as much as possible.

[jmowreader]

13. Call a moving company--they have public scales

By law, all movers' loads must be weighed on a Public Scale.

Therefore, many moving companies own their own sets of Public Scales, which as their name implies are required to be open to the public.

Go to a moving company with a Public Scale, give the guy a buck and weigh your van.

The alternate is a grain elevator, but moving companies are more common than grain elevators.