Overwhelmed and worried about safety
Hi all. I know threads of "can I tow XYZ with my ABC" probably get annoying and I've been reading and reading and reading. But I'm overwhelmed and my partner and I have never towed anything before. Th...
Forum Discussion
hs4816 wrote:
Sure, but can't they estimate/calculate a "loaded tongue weight" at full carrying capacity?
Regardless, once it is loaded and you weigh it what determines if it is 10% or 15% or somewhere in between?? Isn't random or does it have to do with the hitch type?
The hitch has nothing to do with it. The determining factor is how you load the trailer. Weight behind the axle will remove weight from the tongue. Weight forward of the axle will add tongue weight. And since the factory has no idea what people will do, there's no way they can give a decent estimate.
Go to the scales and determine the actual loaded weight of the trailer, and the actual tongue weight. The actual tongue weight should be 13% to 15% of the traliler's total weight. If your tongue is light, remove weight from the rear, or just put more weight in the front compartment. Too heavy, do the opposite.
Usually, it all works out on it's own, because with the battery and propane bottles on the tongue, and the front storage being where everybody stashes heavy stuff, you won't end up with too light of a tongue, which is much worse than too heavy. Too light can cause serious sway issues. Too heavy, might make your truck squat a little.
Truth is most people never go anywhere near the scales, and they still do OK.
