Max Tongue Weight?

myredracer wrote:
There is no max. limit on tongue weight except for the payload capacity of the tow vehicle and WDH rating. Our TW is close to 15% and it tows great. Zero sway but there's much more than just TW to reducing sway.

Higher TW may mean you need to go to a higher rated WDH & spring bars and the more weight that needs to be transferred back onto the steer axle.

I'll take a higher TW any time.

Receiver rating as well, AFAIK no half ton has a receiver rated over 1,200 pounds and the max with a 2" class iv is 1,400. Also it's possible that there's a Max rating for the A frame, though getting to it without exceeding gvrw on the trailer would probably be hard.

There is no max. limit on tongue weight except for the payload capacity of the tow vehicle and WDH rating. Our TW is close to 15% and it tows great. Zero sway but there's much more than just TW to reducing sway.

Higher TW may mean you need to go to a higher rated WDH & spring bars and the more weight that needs to be transferred back onto the steer axle.

I'll take a higher TW any time.

cccougar wrote:
Hi All,
I know 10-15% should be tongue weight when towing. My question, is there a max percentage for tongue weight? If loaded trailer weighs 7000 and there’s over 1050 (15%) on the tongue , is this a problem assuming truck payload, axle weight on truck etc all within limits? Is it safe to assume towing will be a little better the more weight there is on the tongue?
Thanks

Take a look at your hitch on the truck. The hitch on my F150 w/ HD package indicates it can support a 11,500# trailer with a 1150# tongue weight as long as a WDH is used. Without a WDH, the truck hitch itself will support only 5,000# with a 500# tongue weight.

Thanks for the feedback. Just thought I’d ask since I hear so much about the 10-15% guidelines.

Assuming a weight distributing hitch and everything else is within ratings...no problem going heavier...this is why 5th wheels tow so nice...they are typically at 20-25%...semis run around 50%.

The trick is your hitch is not typically rated for enough to get 25% unless it's a little utility trailer.

If the front tires are coming off the ground (or getting so light you can feel it), I can guarantee, something is not within ratings.

I move a lot of construction equipment with my PU and can usually adjust the amount of tongue weight by where I center the machine. Recently had so much tongue weight to where the brakes on the front of the PU would just slide the tires...very little stopping power so YES, you can have too much tongue weight. Fortunately only had to move it a couple miles going slow.

When I put a car on my car trailer, I always pull it forward all the way. My truck has plenty of payload, so I wouldn't care if it was 20% or more...the more, the merrier. Within reason of course, I'm not putting a pallet of lead over the front of the trailer and leaving the rest empty.

cccougar wrote:
Hi All,
I know 10-15% should be tongue weight when towing. My question, is there a max percentage for tongue weight? If loaded trailer weighs 7000 and there’s over 1050 (15%) on the tongue , is this a problem assuming truck payload, axle weight on truck etc all within limits? Is it safe to assume towing will be a little better the more weight there is on the tongue?
Thanks

Not an issue with a bit more tongue weight as long as you are within your ratings. Too little tongue weight leads to sway issues but never heard of any issues with more.

Yes, 15% will tow nicer than 10% in most cases. I don't think you will improve towing going heavier than that. You don't say why the tongue is so heavy, or what the TV is, but if within limits, all should be well.

Jerry