Tongue Weight Rating
Hello, We are buying a trailer for our daughter and son-in-law. They now have a Ford Expedition with 8,900# tow rating. 80% of that is 7,120#, but they should stay below 7,000# loaded (5,500 to 6...
Forum Discussion
Crespro wrote:Assuming the wheelbase is 119", a TW of 895# with WD applied to return the TV's front end to the unhitched load would leave an added load of about 700# on the rear axle.
Since the Expy has a class IV hitch that can take 1,000# of tongue weight, is it possible that the 895 is simply a selected number to reduce the risk that a driver might exceed the 4,128# RAGWR? If we can stay under that axle limit and the GVWR with a tongue weight of 1,000 or even 1,050, what item is subject to overstress?
Assuming the TV is loaded to its 7100# GVWR with TT attached and WD applied, the TV's unhitched GVW would be 7100-700 = 6400#.
If that 6400# were distributed 50/50 on front and rear axles, the unhitched rear GAW would be 3200#, and the hitched rear GAW would be 3200+700 = 3900#.
So, depending on the distribution of weight of occupants and cargo, if the TV is loaded to its GVWR and the TW is equal to the Max Tongue Weight rating, it is quite likely that the rear GAW will be very close to the rear GAWR.
As always, only the scales would tell you the actual loads.
What is the problem with a tongue percentage of 15.5% to 15.8%? Is there any loss of stability with that?If you can have a TW% of 15.8% without exceeding any of the TV's ratings and without having to adjust the WDH so the TV's front end is lower than the unhitched height, IMO there should not be a stability problem.
Ron
