Does weight matter?

[entropy]

You're suppose to stay below payload that's on the door jamb. Mine says 850lbs and that's with cargo and passengers. So with my whole family (5) and all our camping stuff, bigger wheels, steel bumper, I'm right close to the limit.

I know on other forums there were debates about what happens if you crash/hurt someone and it turns out you were over payload. People debated that it opens you up to legal action from the other party if you operate your vehicle over its design capacities.

They'll have to weigh the jeep to prove it. Nobody does that at the scene of an accident. I had an accident in 2018, I was carrying a 55lb kayak (it is a pretty big kayak but very light), some camping and fishing gear. Wife and I in the jeep. The officer mention to me how "full" the jeep looked. And I say, so?. It ended there, he wasn't gonna go through the trouble. And that Jeep was still below the pathetic 700lb payload limit.

As long as you stay close to the payload limit I think it is fine, for your safety and legally speaking.

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[Halstem1]

You're suppose to stay below payload that's on the door jamb. Mine says 850lbs and that's with cargo and passengers. So with my whole family (5) and all our camping stuff, bigger wheels, steel bumper, I'm right close to the limit.

I know on other forums there were debates about what happens if you crash/hurt someone and it turns out you were over payload. People debated that it opens you up to legal action from the other party if you operate your vehicle over its design capacities.

Insurance rules and regulations are state specific and determined by the insurance commissioner. However, I handled casualty liability claims in multiple states for 5 years and vehicle payload was never considered one time for an insurance denial.

However.... the more important thing I took from your post was that you have a family of 5 AND camping stuff AND wheels and tires AND a steel bumper that weights less than 850?!?!?!

 

[Notorious]

Does this Jeep make my butt look big?

Spoiler: Off topic

The answer to this question is always no and should be immediately followed up with

 

[TOTL Innovations]

As several have already mentioned, not only does weight play a roll in the driving characteristics of your vehicle its also about where that weight is placed. Rolling mass (wheels and tires) as @InvertedLogic mentioned has a multiplying factor on parts. Sprung mass such as armor or racks etc.. will affect just about everything from braking and acceleration to raising your center of gravity making the Jeep more tippy.

I wouldn’t think it would affect rock crawling as the engine will pull you over any obstacle regardless of weight. It would just be more work for the engine.

Adding weight outside of your axles will have a huge impact on your rock crawling ability. I ran a 37" spare inside my cab with the seats down while I waited for a rear bumper and crawled up everything with ease. I ran the same trails with everything being the same except for the spare being on a bumper now and you can feel that weight holding the rig down from wanting to crawl up an obstacle.

It becomes a very fine balancing act between where to spend money on the lighter options and whether those options are still as good. Cheap(er), lighter, stronger...you can only pick 2

 

[DOOKEY]

Spoiler: Off topic

The answer to this question is always no and should be immediately followed up with

I've had some strange requests in my Jeep time online but that one may take the cake.

 

[stylett9]

I think everyone in here has already given you enough well explained answers. Like you, my jeep is my daily. Purely for fuel efficiency and spring sag reasons i'm watching my weight very carefully. Between my LOD Destroyer rock sliders and Mopar Steel bumper, I'm at a net add of 83-87lbs. I'm not very inclined to go over 100lbs with anything else that is "hard mounted" to my jeep without having to really consider suspension changes.

 

[WagzDad]

...and then she said does this Jeep make me look fat?

 

[Notorious]

I've had some strange requests in my Jeep time online but that one may take the cake.

LMAO.

...and then she said does this Jeep make me look fat?

Spoiler: Off topic

To which you will answer no and then say

 

[YYCSahara]

Insurance rules and regulations are state specific and determined by the insurance commissioner. However, I handled casualty liability claims in multiple states for 5 years and vehicle payload was never considered one time for an insurance denial.

However.... the more important thing I took from your post was that you have a family of 5 AND camping stuff AND wheels and tires AND a steel bumper that weights less than 850?!?!?!

Yup, we are Canadian, we don't weigh much.

 

[Halstem1]

Yup, we are Canadian, we don't weigh much.

LOL

 

[Thinman]

20' JLUR
Metal Cloak 2.5 GC lift
37" Pats + Fifteen52 Wheels (~96#)
Metal Cloak front bumper
Warn Xeon 10s
LOD rear bumper w/tire carrier
RSE Step Sliders (no extra armor)
Metal Cloak front & rear diff covers + skids
All my recovery gear
1/2 my camping gear
Wife & I
3/4 tank gas

I've since deleted the 60% back seat (65#) and will kill the muffler soon for one of the high tuck options.

Adding a full Frontrunner rack (86#) , iKamper (160#) & fridge (45# dry).

Expect I'm going to land at around 6150 lbs completely loaded.

 

[LooselyHeldPlans]

I bet the real answer is something like "as light as possible, as heavy as necessary".

I love this. going to steal it for myself.

Maybe, you might be right. I don't know him well enough to know if he was being a dick or like you said just saying don't worry about it.

Uninformed? I doubt he was being malicious.

couple questions... is there any one thing that you think was more impactful than another? for example, was adding 20# per wheel significantly more noticeable than 100# of skid plates?

I see it as 1) Sprung weight (above the suspension), 2) Unsprunf weight (below the suspension) and 3) unsprung weight that spins (like your wheels, tires, etc )

I LOVE the factory steel wheels, but can't justify spinning an additional 85-90 pounds just for them. That's why I'm sticking to the aluminum wheels.

Agreed. Also, all weight is not equal. Axles, control arms, wheels, and tires are not the same as adding roof rack, rooftop tent, fridge, water, etc... Again, probably a completely different convo that I originally intended.

Totally true, the higher the weight, the bigger the effect on center of gravity.

When we get to the bottom, you can stand near any of the overloaded vehicles and know immediately they've been riding the brakes the entire time because of the awesome burning brake death smell. No joke - last year in Utah one of their rigs was smoking from the rear wheel area.

At Pikes Peak, they have Rangers that will test the temp of your rotors. If they're a certain temp or more, they require you to pull over for them to cool off.

That means we are adding 30 to 45 lbs., times 5, and we are adding 150 to 250 lbs just by swapping shoes.

It's bonkers how much spinning weight that is. It's what will very likely keep me on 33/34s.

 

[EVMIII]

I tow mine behind our RV, weight definitely matters to me. My Hammerhead front bumper and winch already added 100 lbs. plus 25lbs more for my recovery bag. I must consider need/weight with every future upgrade. 2" lift coming (new adjustable track bar, adjustable control arms and springs) adds about 15 lbs and the lightest quality rims and 35's (maybe add 30/tire x 5 tires is another 150 lbs) coming before my trip to Moab in October. With other gear I figure I'm already about 400 lbs heavier. I'd love to some under armor but I don't want the weight.

 

[xtopherm]

I just want to know what everyone thinks about weight...

Does it matter? Heavy jeep vs a light jeep? Heavy upgrades compared to keeping things lighter.

I've always thought this mattered but someone at a local jeep club wanted to express his opinion that it didn't matter and I'm dumb for worrying about it. I could be totally wrong. I'm building this jeep up more than anything prior, so I don't know. I don't want to build a 3 ton tank that sucks to drive and its too heavy to function.

Maybe that's where re-gearing fixes everything???

I've been trying not to "over-build" since its my daily driver and has great on road manners. Not to mention, I get to actually go off-road about 4 times a year because of where I live. But if I'm worry too much about 10# here and 30# there, then I might do a couple things different. Things just start adding up when you have upgrading steering, control arms X 8, beadlocks X 5, MT tires X 5, skids everywhere, drive shafts X 2...

Any input is appreciated. sorry if a dumb question. Not the first time I worried about something that is a non-issue.

Thanks, Mike

Climbing up a steep slippery or loose hill is a battle between tire patch traction and gravity. The more your Jeep weighs, the more gravity pulls, and the sooner you run out of traction. Put another way, take a heavy Jeep and a light Jeep on identical tires & inflation and any driver regardless of skill will get the lighter Jeep farther up the hill in 8-9 out of every ten tries.

Buy it is not just about one hill. After all, you can always try again, winch or get a pull. And some added weight can help with capabilities or durability, so like all things, it is a question of moderation. In my case I will tolerate additional weight for things that meaningfully improve net performance (larger tires, belly skids, winch, carrying tools and recovery gear), but I won’t tolerate added weight for cosmetic stuff. But that’s just me. To each his or her own!

 

[aeonixx1001]

I guess it depends, lets call it ROI (return on investment). If the mod is something you need, go for it. But if you are lifting it 6 inches and putting 40's on it, I would serious rethink of a different gearing option. That is a lot of weight to get rolling down the road. Your mileage sucks, no torque, unless you get into gearing it correctly for the additional weight. You don't think they are going to Engineer your Jeep to be able to sustain "Tank" like add ons do you? Hell no you are now the (Jeep Addict) where you have to keep feeding the habit. Been there, and unless I use it everyday for mountain crawling.. Why would I do that? Looks from the chics? or better yet their jealous boyfriends. Love a Jeep with a winch, 37's, death suspension, that has never seen dirt!!!

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