Help with hitch / tongue weight

rhetthughes wrote:
Thank you all for the helpful advice. Sounds like I should work towards finding a camper that meets our needs with a tongue weight down in the 700 lb range to be safe.

Good thinking.

If dry tongue weight is giving you concerns, loaded weight could become a big issue.

Tongue weight is not a constant weight. It fluctuates with and during every trip. You won't necessarily load the same items, in the same amounts, and in the same locations, on every trip. During the trip, water, propane, and groceries get used up, and holding tanks get filled. All of this affects your tongue weight.

Holding tanks can have a significant impact. In my case, I have a galley tank that is in front of the trailer axles and a fresh tank that is behind the axles. During any given trip, my tongue weight can be anywhere between 975 and 1300 lbs. My advertised dry tongue weight was 888 lbs. I'm at my heaviest tongue weight with empty fresh tank, still have groceries on board, and galley tank is full. I have camped in places without a nearby dump station, and had to tow with that 1300 lbs on the tongue.

Take a look at the loading sticker on your drivers door post. You'll see a cargo carrying capacity (CCC) or payload number. That is the capacity the truck has to carry the weight of aftermarket accessories (bed covers, undercoating, bed liners, floor mats, etc), fuel, people, pets, cargo (in or on the truck), weight distributing hitch, and trailer tongue weight, combined.

If you add up your weights on fuel, accessories, people, pets, cargo, and WD hitch, then subtract the total from your payload number. The remaining capacity is the max available for trailer tongue weight. Dividing that number by .13 will give you a ball park for loaded trailer weight that is still within your specs. Here's a link that will help with that. Give yourself some wiggle room for unexpected guests or unplanned cargo, etc.