If you put in three passangers and yourself, that is, or can be, over 800
pounds.  And then you put in that 720 lbs of mulch.  Or leave the passangers
and just put in 1,500 lbs.  When I load it up like that, I only think of the
braking distance, so I keep enough gap between me and the car in front.
Zoltan

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Mcneely" <mcneely4@COX.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, March 26, 2011 1:07 PM
Subject: Re: How much weight can I carry?

---- Ed Lloyd <elloyd33@COMCAST.NET> wrote:
> The local High School is selling 3 cubic foot bags of mulch, with an
> additional delivery charge of $20.  My neighbor and I always buy some, and
> I offered to pick it up in the Vanagon to save us some money.
>
> At about 54 cubic feet (18 bags), I believe I can get them all in the Van.
> Last year I bought 10 bags by myself and got them all in with no problem.
> This time there are 18 bags, which I believe will fit, but the neighbor
> tells me that there is too much weight and he doesn’t want me to damage
> the van.
>
> Looking in the driver’s manual talks about gross weight, weight per axle,
> etc, but doesn’t tell me how much I can carry.
>
> If the bags are 40 pounds each that would come to about 720 pounds of
> cargo, and we only have about 2 miles of side streets to travel.
>
> What cargo weight limit do you think is maximum?  If the bags are wet they
> could be 50 pounds or more.

the gross weight given in the owner's book is the vehicle weight, plus
passengers and driver, plus cargo.  So, easy to determine how much you can
carry.   mcneely