Determining Tongue weight, scale has a ramp?

Question

Hello everyone! My first post here. I have been reading this forum for the past year or more as I decided on what travel trailer to buy. Now I finally bought my travel trailer, a Viewfinder 32rlss from Cruisers RV and I want to make sure I set everything up right.

I don't have a CAT scale close by, but I do have a large single pad scale at the local county recycling site that I can use for free. I have already read on here what weights I need to determine the tongue weight. My question is regarding the scale. There is a ramp that leads me up onto the scale, probably climing 2 feet at the most. how will this affect my readings when leaving the trailer off the scale and weighing the truck?

Thanks and I'm sure this is just the first of my posts to come!

carringb · Answer

If you weigh without weight distribution, the affect will be negligible unless the trailer has a really high center of gravity. It can affect weight distribution a lot, to the point it might not even be in affect while on the ramp.

rsaylor3 · Answer

Thanks carringb! Just wanted to know if my numbers will be off tomorrow.

rbpru · Answer

If you want the exact TT tongue weight, pull the TT wheels close to but not on the scale, chock them so the TT does not roll, you should be able to unhitch and have only the tongue weight on the scale. I suppose the TT tongue should be somewhere close to the middle of the scale.

Except for the roll back potential of the TT when unhooked, it sounds like a doable plan.

Alternately it might be easier to weigh the TV then the TT, unhitch and re-weigh TV. This will give you the load the TT is placing on the TV. Basically it is the tongue weight minus the weight offset by WD hitch.

I suppose you could also find the tongue weight by weighing each of the TV axels, without the WD hitch bars installed, with and without the TT, and then do the math.

douge · Answer

Leave the trailer hooked up to the tow vehicle. Position the rig with the trailer on the scale and the tow vehicle wheels off the scale. Weigh the trailer. This will give you weight on the trailer wheels. Lower the trailer tongue jack until it just lifts the tongue off the hitch ball. This will give you the total trailer weight. Trailer weight - Trailer wheel weight = Tongue weight. If the trailer tongue and wheels will not fit on the scale at the same time you can weigh the tongue and wheels separately similarly to the above method. (you don't need to lift the tongue completely off the ball, you just need to raise it until all the load is off the ball.)

passin_thru · Answer

drop the trailer on the scale weigh hook on and pull off scale leaving TT wheels on and weigh. Subtract from total. Boy, doesn't anyone think. CAT Scales are 70 ft long. It will not affect wts if you axle enough so it's noticeable. I have weighed thousands of loads in 30 years of trucking.

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Determining Tongue weight, scale has a ramp?

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