Large Suitcases and going over weight limit??

[luvchip]

I'm thinking about purchasing a 29 inch suitcase for our upcoming trip, but am worried about going over the weight limit. We are a family of 5 and I'm thinking we can get most of our things in 1 large (29 in) and one 24 or 25 inch suitcase which then only my husband and I will have to lug around. I will give them (the kids) each a backpack for the plane and we will take 1 carry-on for bathing suits and stuff. For those of you who use the large bags what has been your expereince with paying extra??

 

[nordkin]

Don't pack all of your things in one bag. The airlines are getting more strict with weight limits and the cost is pretty high if you go over. It is very easy to go over the 50lb limit with a 29" bag. I have seen people moving items from one bag to another at the counter to get under the weight limit. I would recommend using smaller bags and more of them.

 

[Nicsmom]

Last year for our Disney cruise we brought two large suitcases for my family of four. We went over on both. We paid $50 + $25 on the trip to Orlando and $50 on the way back. We did not know the policy. Expensive lesson to learn. Next time I will bring more suitcases instead of two heavy ones. Each airline has different rules. So, check their policies.

 

[aquaticmom]

At the Southwest Check-in in Pit last fall I witnessed a family with a huge cardboard box that was over the weight limit, and they were taking things out of the box and moving it into a suitcase. Also if you have almost all of your belongings packed in one suitcase and that happens to be the one suitcase the airlines loses then what? I used to pack a suitcase for each person, now I put a little of everyones things in each suitcase just in case the airline "misplaces" one of them. Just food for thought.

 

[n2mm]

Most airlines are very strict with going over. They do watch carefully and comment when we are at 49 pounds. Yes you will be charged the overage fee--EACH WAY--We retired our large suitcase over a year ago and can pretty much gage how much we can stuff in our other suitcases now. Most rolling bags can be attached to one another and that's how we roll through the airport. I've been using United over the past year so can only comment on them.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree - the airlines are getting really strict about enforcing the weight limits of baggage. The days of large suitcases are over, except possibly for car travel.

My husband and I have moved pretty much to 20" bags and don't check them.

 

[SueM in MN]

We saw someone have to pay an overage charge at 52 pounds. They will let you move things around to other bags, but it's easierr not to have to do that.
Also, I have heard it is a ovarweight charge at each leg of your trip if you don't have non-stop flights.

 

[FlaNative]

I'm thinking about purchasing a 29 inch suitcase for our upcoming trip, but am worried about going over the weight limit. We are a family of 5 and I'm thinking we can get most of our things in 1 large (29 in) and one 24 or 25 inch suitcase which then only my husband and I will have to lug around. I will give them (the kids) each a backpack for the plane and we will take 1 carry-on for bathing suits and stuff. For those of you who use the large bags what has been your expereince with paying extra??

I travel a lot and yes, bankrupt airlines have found the great revenue source of extracting $50 from you for a one pound overweight bag. If you think they charge a lot, get hit with an over weight or over size bag on an international flight--better have your Visa card, you might pay the equivalent of 1/3 of another ticket.

Get good wheeled bags with a pop up handle. An adult can, with a little practice, handle 2 of these, with your carry on either on your back or on one of the rollers. The two of you can manage 3 bags and one of you still have one hand free to spank the brats. Oh, I forgot, yours are full time angels. My bad.

Note the size as well as the weight, over size costs too. I have a 29 inch bag, the largest that fits the 62 inch limit (height + width +depth) allowed by many airlines. What shocks me is that this is not a huge bag as far as what they sell. In a upscale department store in the typical 5 piece matched luggage set, the two largest bags in the set are both over the 62 inch limit. The major luggage makers are setting up the occasional flyer for a nasty shock at the airport. At airports all over I see passengers who look lost and dazed, obviously have not been on a flight in the last 10 or 20 years, dragging one of these oversized heavy monsters toward the check in counter. I have to grab my ticket and leave, I don't want to see what is going to happen to them next, it's too painful to watch.

Go to your airlines web site and print out their domestic baggage policies. It is at least one checked bag per person in coach, sometimes 2, varies by the airline and class of ticket you have. With 5 in your party, assuming all have a ticket, no lap infants, you have at least 5 bag checked allowance. Use it.

Most people are like me: we come back with more than we left with. We pick up souvenirs and maps and literature and other stuff(no, not the hotel towels ).

For cost and convenience, I carry the first couple days of snacks and non perishable stuff with me. My bag is heavier, but if I arrive late I am spared vending machine overpriced junk food or trying to squeeze in a trip to a real grocery store, I am self contained for a couple days. As I eat the contents of my suitcase , it becomes lighter and emptier, so I have the room for souvenirs.

Failing this, I carry an extra suitcase. Assuming my checked limit is two bags, I only go with one. The Outdoor Products Basic Duffels (campmor dot com etc) is inexpensive and light and folds flat into almost nothing. Yet it is tough enough to survive a few airline baggage trips. (If I was going to check it regularly, I would get a much thicker duffel.) On my return, I open the duffel and fill it with light unbrakable things, clothes and shoes and such. That leaves my real suitcase for breakable souvenirs and such to travel home safely.

I totally agree with the mentioned philosophy, split your things. With five in your family, I would split everyone's things among the 5 checked bags. Airline loses one, each person has 4/5 of their stuff, probably enough for the whole trip with only a little needing to be purchased in Orlando.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Although an adult can handle more than one wheeled bag, it is so much easier if you only have one wheeled bag per adult. We use a soft-sided bag w/o wheels as an additional checked bag becuase it is so easy to attach to the wheeled bag to carry. It's also much easy to store at home than another wheeled bag.

Another packing tip, I have heard that the x-ray machines have a harder time "reading" tightly packed luggage, so a tightly packed bag is more likely to need to be hand-searched.

Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Failing this, I carry an extra suitcase. Assuming my checked limit is two bags, I only go with one. The Outdoor Products Basic Duffels (campmor dot com etc) is inexpensive and light and folds flat into almost nothing. Yet it is tough enough to survive a few airline baggage trips. (If I was going to check it regularly, I would get a much thicker duffel.)

That is exactly what my husband and I do, as we always have more coming home. We bought a cheap duffle bag at a sporting goods store in Stockholm for about $15.00 and it has held up fine now for several trips as checked baggage. If we don't need it, it takes up almost no room folded in the outside pocket of my carry on suitcase.

 

[justplaingoofy]

Personally, I would not put everything in one big bag because;

1. heavy..you'll have to pay the extra $
2. if it gets lost....almost everything is in it.

I would pack 2 suitcases and put something for everyone in both suitcases. That way if one gets lost, you'll still have the other one.

(I also pack each outfit in the large zip lock baggies complete with socks, underwear,etc..) takes the guess work out of the day and makes it easier to unpack...

 

[lovesdumbo]

I have never gone over on my large bag but worry about it every time as it is heavier to start. And I've only flown Delta with my big bag. I'll have to check the height/width/depth of that bag to make sure it doesn't go over SW's limits before I take it on that flight in Aug.


I think I would do 3 medium bags instead of the 1 huge and 1 medium. You should be able to attach one to one of the rolling bags.

I do always split stuff between bags so there are some of everyone's clothes in each bag.

Another option that I use for my family of 5 is to ship a package to the resort.

 

[Ella's Mom]

I would definitely bring more suitcases even if it's harder to lug around. I have a 29 inch suitcase and I can't pack it full. If I did, it would be way over 50 pounds. If you buy anything on the trip, you can always use an extra suitcase. We travel with two suitcases and then two smaller bags ( if we need to) that can attach to the bigger suitcases. For carryons, we each (DH and myself) use a backpack.

 

[thinkerbell]

Yep, we have been caught with the 50 pound rule. We were probably one of the ones you saw trying to switch stuff around to make sure we weren't over the limit. Actually, we do as others have said and bring a duffel with us, so we just took enough out to pack the duffel and then checked the duffel. I wish we could go back to when we bought the monster and we would definitely NOT buy it. We still use it, we just don't pack it full. We thought we were getting such a good deal on that suitcase we could pack the house in. Not such a good deal when you can't put anymore in it than a medium size suitcase.

 

[funcinderella]

Yep, we have been caught with the 50 pound rule. We were probably one of the ones you saw trying to switch stuff around to make sure we weren't over the limit. Actually, we do as others have said and bring a duffel with us, so we just took enough out to pack the duffel and then checked the duffel. I wish we could go back to when we bought the monster and we would definitely NOT buy it. We still use it, we just don't pack it full. We thought we were getting such a good deal on that suitcase we could pack the house in. Not such a good deal when you can't put anymore in it than a medium size suitcase.

I'm regretting it too. I can only fill mine half way before it's over 50 lbs.

What I highly recommend (I could be a salesperson for these things) is Samsonite's 4 wheel suitcases (I think they're called easy rollers??) Whatever, they have 4 wheels and are SO easy to push, especially on the smooth floors in an airport. WAY better than the 2-wheeled ones, whcih still has you bearing all of the weight once you tip it to roll. Everyone always look at me with envy with that suitcase; I have everything piled on it and barely have to push it.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm going to disagree with the "pack more smaller bags" consensus. While it goes without saying that any bag over 62" is useless and a bad idea (because you can't adjust the SIZE of the bag), we REALLY prefer to reduce the number of bags, so that we don't have to struggle with moving them, and so that everything fits easily in the trunk of the rental car.

For family travel we pack one large rolling bag (a 28"), plus a 20" rollaboard that holds the overnight necessities. On long trips that include a beach component, we also add a medium-sized collapsible rolling cooler that we use to pack beach stuff.

I pack the big case using space bags, and most of the time it runs to about 57# fully loaded. (It has 4 wheels and weighs about 13 lbs. empty). We have a cordura duffel that lives in the big front pocket with a luggage tag already on it -- it takes about 60 seconds to pull out 2-3 space bags and zip them into the duffel at the baggage counter, which drops the weight about 10-13#. When we claim the bags we take a moment to dump the space bags and the duffel back in before we leave baggage claim. We ALWAYS do this, not a problem at all, and the space bags make it super-easy to balance the weight.

 

[cepmom]

I'm glad you posted this....I jsut purchased new luggage a couple of weeks ago. I had been borrowing my mother's luggage and thought I bought the same size bags as her's. When I got them all home, I realized that I bought one 29" and one 25" instead of what she has which is one 25" and one 20". I am nervous that the 29" will be too heavy when filled. I keep going back and forth over whether I should return it and get another 25" instead

Maybe I should pack it full then weigh it and see where it is. I'm trying to keep it under 50 pounds since that's what it seems most airline's limit is.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I pack the big case using space bags, and most of the time it runs to about 57# fully loaded. (It has 4 wheels and weighs about 13 lbs. empty). We have a cordura duffel that lives in the big front pocket with a luggage tag already on it -- it takes about 60 seconds to pull out 2-3 space bags and zip them into the duffel at the baggage counter, which drops the weight about 10-13#.

Sorry, but this seems like a pain to me. Why not just pack in smaller bags to begin with, rather than dealing with this at a check in counter? If you already know that your bag is going to be overweight (57+ lbs), this doesn't even make sense.

 

[shelly3girls]

What I highly recommend (I could be a salesperson for these things) is Samsonite's 4 wheel suitcases (I think they're called easy rollers??) Whatever, they have 4 wheels and are SO easy to push, especially on the smooth floors in an airport. WAY better than the 2-wheeled ones, whcih still has you bearing all of the weight once you tip it to roll. Everyone always look at me with envy with that suitcase; I have everything piled on it and barely have to push it.

I have to agree, these are awesome! We own a large and medium size and now plan to buy 2 more medium (since we can only pack the large half full anyway). My DD6 can push the large fully packed without a problem. It sure makes our lives easier.

 

[rigs32]

I keep the weight limit down by minimizing the shoes I pack. Everything I bring on a trip goes with brown OR black shoes. Meaning, everything I have for the business trip I'm currently on is in the brown family. Last time it was black. I also tuck in a small duffle just in case. Another weight tip is to pay toiletries either in your carry on, or in a carry-on size bag that you check. They are heavier that clothes, but a smaller bag size typically won't hit 50#. I also only travel with paperback books - hardcovers weight too much.