///// 2005 Gran Caravan - Weight loss Program /////

[Andyinchville1]

HI All,

I've always been curios how much my minivan weighed so I took the time to go to a CAT truck scale ....

Much to my surprise, the van weighed 2620 lbs on the front axle and 2120 lbs on the rear axle (4740 lbs with me (170 lbs) and my stuff in it with a full tank of gas.

This seems higher than many of the published figures I've seen regarding the weight of the van.

Anyways, in theory (based on a 5700 lb GVWR on the door jamb I can carry about 1000 LBS and be within factory limits for carrying load)

I've been hauling some heavy loads in my mini van lately (typically about 800 to 1000 lbs not including myself and the stuff already in my vehicle ) for delivery work.... Just today I hauled 800 lbs (approx) of paint and the can looked like a low rider despite me putting the paint behind the front seats as far as possible to help even out the load.

Anyways, when I got home I got to thinking that if I reduced the weight of the
van I could haul more weight safely and within the factory load limits .... Plus driving unloaded I should have better performance and fuel economy due to reduced weight.

With that, I put my can on a diet .....

Here are my weight reduction numbers in case anybody here wants to do the same and wonders how much weight you can shed relatively easily (weights using me holding the various parts on a bathroom scale and subtracting out my base weight).

Rear seat plastic pieces and nuts / bolts 6.2 lbs
misc water / drinks 7.2 lbs
clothes and screw drivers 6.2 lbs
bag of clothes and ratcheting tie downs 7.0 lbs
smaller third row seat 40.0 lbs
1 floor mat 1.6 lbs
custom floor mats 17.0 lbs
larger third row seat 62.4 lbs
(2) second row seats 149.2 lbs

Total weight reduction 296.8 lbs

Weight of seats removed alone 232.0 lbs


Summary : After removing nearly 300 lbs of unnecessary weight ( I still have a fair amount of "stuff" inside that may be able to be removed but I'll have to think harder on that since they are somewhat essential (like jumper cables , tool box , spare tire / jacks , extra water / food / clothes in case of break down etc....) ... most likely I cannot remove more weight easily BUT I'll double check in the Am ...

The van rides much better and feels a lot lighter ( I guess because it is!) .... cornering improved and empty the rear feels much stiffer because of the weight reduction ..... Overall the van drives soooo much nicer I wish I would have done the weight reduction much sooner!

I will keep track of MPGs on my next tanks to see how much it changes.

Andrew