Forum Discussion

fmattox73's avatar
fmattox73
Explorer
May 30, 2014

Trailer Weight and proper names

I done a couple of articles about adding an A/C, Brakes and then a Rear Cargo carrier to my trailer. What I wanted to know is?

Receiver: On back of TV and usually has a adapter with a ball for
holding the trailer in place.
(In my case I also have one on the back of my trailer - Self Installed for a future cargo carrier)

Tongue: The "A" framed shaped section on the front of the trailer with a ball hitch clamp to anchor it to the TV.
(There are also crossed safety chains and the trailer electrical coupler that hook up to the trailer hitch)

At the local truck stop I had the trailer weighed today and it was "CAT" certified to weigh 2540 lbs.

I weighed only the trailer at the axle. I had the TV "OFF" the scale,
but still attached to the TV.
Did I get a true weight or do I need to add all or a percent of the Tongue weight for accuracy?

Frank Mattox
Folding Trailers

3 Replies

  • BurbMan's avatar
    BurbMan
    Explorer II
    Jun 04, 2014
    Jaxom described the right way to do it, some of that trailer wight is carried by the tow vehicle on the tongue. If you estimate that 15% of the trailer is tongue weight, then you can approximate the total trailer weight at 2540/.85= 2988 lbs, or round to 3000 lbs total trailer weight.

    When you talk about "adding brakes" hopefully you've already done that....a 3000 lb is required to have brakes in every state.

    Also on the rear cargo carrier, be careful about reducing the tongue weight too much. The #1 cause of sway is insufficient tongue weight and it can cause you to lose control of the trailer in a hurry.
  • Terryallan's avatar
    Terryallan
    Explorer II
    May 30, 2014
    fmattox73 wrote:
    I done a couple of articles about adding an A/C, Brakes and then a Rear Cargo carrier to my trailer. What I wanted to know is?

    Receiver: On back of TV and usually has a adapter with a ball for
    holding the trailer in place.
    (In my case I also have one on the back of my trailer - Self Installed for a future cargo carrier)

    Tongue: The "A" framed shaped section on the front of the trailer with a ball hitch clamp to anchor it to the TV.
    (There are also crossed safety chains and the trailer electrical coupler that hook up to the trailer hitch)

    At the local truck stop I had the trailer weighed today and it was "CAT" certified to weigh 2540 lbs.

    I weighed only the trailer at the axle. I had the TV "OFF" the scale,
    but still attached to the TV.
    Did I get a true weight or do I need to add all or a percent of the Tongue weight for accuracy?

    Frank Mattox


    Receiver is correct, but the ball is on a draw bar that fits into the receiver.

    The ball clamp is a coupler.

    The electrical connector, is usually called a pig tail, or 7 pin connector
  • Jaxom's avatar
    Jaxom
    Explorer
    May 30, 2014
    Ideally you would first weigh the entire rig, TV and trailer. Place the front axle on one platform, the drive/rear axle on the 2nd platform and the trailer on the rearmost platform. The CAT scale ticket will show all 3 weights plus the total weight.
    Then pull away from the scale and drop the trailer. Drive back onto the scale and tell them it's a "reweigh". It usually costs about $1 for the reweigh.
    That will give you all the information you need.

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