Tongue Weight

I wouldn't get hung up on tongue weight specs out of the book, as mentioned, what matters is when your loaded. How you load the trailer can drastically change any spec weight.

And I can tell you, every trailer tows differently, and different tweaks can be made for towing any given trailer with the same TV. For example, not every TV or situation, will increasing tongue weight, make for a better tow...even while staying under 15%. Some set ups don't work well with heavy tongues.

So anyway, its this "fine tuning" that no one here can answer for you, because its all guess work until the rubber hits the road! And I would wage that you will connect either of the options you're looking at, without much fine tuning at all!

I understand why you are hung up on tongue weights but understand those two tongue weights are dry tongue weights and truly not respective of what they will be once loaded. It might help you better to tell us which too TT you are looking at. Check the owners forums for those brands and see if anybody has had towing difficulties with either of those two TTs and a properly sized TV.

davisenvy wrote:
Sorry, I didn't mean to give an attitude. I sold the Keystone over a year ago and its kind of old news. I had two different reputable camping service centers try to straighten it out and never could. The new owner says the TT pulls the same way with him.

Anyways, I'm looking at smaller TT's that I can tow with ease. Yes, my truck is overkill for the TT's I'm looking at. I towed my Keystone back from Florida on a windy day and it turned a 7hr trip into a 10hr trip. I was thinking a lighter tongue weight would keep more of the weight on the TT instead of my rear bumper. I understand tongue weight is good, but some TT's are loaded more towards the front than others, which is the case here. The two TT's differ in weight by 400lbs, but the heaver one has a heavier tongue weight by 300lbs because of the front kitchen. Which would be the better towing TT.

There are a lot of different things that go into whether or not a trailer will tow well. Axle alignment, frame tolerances, coupler being centered and aerodynamics are all important. The tongue weight is very important. With the limited info that you are giving us, my educated guess is that the trailer with the most tongue weight will tow the best. Your truck is heavy enough and with a WDH (assuming the trailer is built correctly) it should tow great. Having as little longer distance between the coupler and the axles also helps with towing and giving more tongue weight. A short coupled trailer won't tow as well as a longer one.

Also check out where the fresh water, gray and black tanks are. Some manufacturers don't figure out the weight shift from empty to full or from full fresh water to empty fresh water and full gray and black tanks. The shifting of weight can significantly change the tongue weight and the towing characteristics.

Sorry, I didn't mean to give an attitude. I sold the Keystone over a year ago and its kind of old news. I had two different reputable camping service centers try to straighten it out and never could. The new owner says the TT pulls the same way with him.

Anyways, I'm looking at smaller TT's that I can tow with ease. Yes, my truck is overkill for the TT's I'm looking at. I towed my Keystone back from Florida on a windy day and it turned a 7hr trip into a 10hr trip. I was thinking a lighter tongue weight would keep more of the weight on the TT instead of my rear bumper. I understand tongue weight is good, but some TT's are loaded more towards the front than others, which is the case here. The two TT's differ in weight by 400lbs, but the heaver one has a heavier tongue weight by 300lbs because of the front kitchen. Which would be the better towing TT.

one of the things that could gave gone wrong is not enough tongue weight, another is improperly sized bars. Either way that TT is gone. You are asking about the current choices. Either of those TT are fine for your truck. With TT those size you won't notice a difference between tongue weights as long as you have enough tongue weight on each respective TT. Ideally you want 13-15% of loaded TT weight on the tongue. I would weigh the whole rig once it is loaded as well as check the tongue weights. What is the available payload on your 2500? I have seen some 3/4 tons with low payloads. for example my F250 only has 1500 lbs available payload. It is possible if you have a low payload 3/4 ton that you could have been over in the past. it would be worth it to weigh your truck without the trailer and do your calculations. It is also possible you just had a poor handling trailer, they exist too. Either way I would not worry about either of those two TT you mentioned.

RinconVTR wrote:

davisenvy wrote:
The second post is the only one that answered my question. Somehow the subject turned to what I used to have and how I may or may not have had it set up. I sold the Keystone for many reasons. I'm now in the market for a lighter smaller TT for VERY EASY TOWING. You cannot deny that I will be able to tow a 4000lb TT easier than a 11,000lb TT that is 36ft long.

No need for an attitude, which is what I'm feeling here.

You have a 3/4 ton truck and your looking to tow something newer, and lighter, something you'll barely feel behind your truck. Honestly, I am confused as to what you want to hear.

Your truck is overkill for what you're looking at. You'll be just fine, and super comfortable. End of story.

X2. People were just trying to figure what went wrong in the past hoping to help you get it right the next time.

davisenvy wrote:
The second post is the only one that answered my question. Somehow the subject turned to what I used to have and how I may or may not have had it set up. I sold the Keystone for many reasons. I'm now in the market for a lighter smaller TT for VERY EASY TOWING. You cannot deny that I will be able to tow a 4000lb TT easier than a 11,000lb TT that is 36ft long.

No need for an attitude, which is what I'm feeling here.

You have a 3/4 ton truck and your looking to tow something newer, and lighter, something you'll barely feel behind your truck. Honestly, I am confused as to what you want to hear.

Your truck is overkill for what you're looking at. You'll be just fine, and super comfortable. End of story.

The second post is the only one that answered my question. Somehow the subject turned to what I used to have and how I may or may not have had it set up. I sold the Keystone for many reasons. I'm now in the market for a lighter smaller TT for VERY EASY TOWING. You cannot deny that I will be able to tow a 4000lb TT easier than a 11,000lb TT that is 36ft long.

You certainly are better off having extra tongue weight instead of low tongue weight. I would rather have 15%+ than under 10% tongue weight. A trailer usually won't get squirrely with extra tongue weight but they can get you killed if the tongue weight is too low.

I'm loving the tongue weight .
I load mine as heavy as I can get it on my 9200# gvw gmc diesel .
Which is about 987# tongue and 5345# on the trailer axles .
The most my pickup is loaded is about 8765 # gvw when towing and it normally is about 6678# just cruising without a trailer .
I load my extra 15 gallons extra fresh water , firewood , extra soda , big cooler , bbq propane tank , in my pickup to make sure that the TT follows the heavier TV in every condition .
Heavy tongue weight is the reason I can safely tow around these 2 lane highways in the Oregon territory .