shows how trailer loading affects the tow. I plan on carrying a bathroom scale to check the tongue weight every time.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/796708077030434?view=permalink&id=23739433...
Wed, 03/27/2019 - 09:45
#1
weight distribution dynamics - video
Hi Larry,
That Facebook page isn't available. I wonder if you could describe how you're going to use a bathroom scale to check the tongue weight?
Thanks!
Joan
Hitch the trailer to the tow vehicle, without hooking anything up, just use the jack to drop the hitch on the ball. Raise the jack foot a bit, and put the scale on the ground underneath it. Crank the jack until the hitch lifts off the ball. The entire tongue weight is now on the jack, which is on the scale.
Go back to the trailer (wheels need to be chocked) and move things around front to rear to acheive the proper balance. If the tow vehicle has helper springs or rear air bags, I see no reason to strictly adhere to a 200# tongue weight, as long as the vehicle doesn't sag when the trailer weight is on it.
If not now, when?
Larry
Here is the youtube link..this should work.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4jk9H5AB4lM
If not now, when?
Larry
Cool, Larry, thanks. :)
Be very careful following larry-new's instructions for tongue weighing! Often the trailer hitch hangs up on the ball and you will be lifting the TV until the hitch pops off the ball. Not good for a bathroom scale! For that reason I measure tongue weight with the trailer off of the TV. With the tongue on the jack support the tongue with blocks or the step of a step ladder. Lower the jack so the tongue rests on your blocks. Raise the jack enough to get your scale under it. As you lower the jack back onto the scale watch the scale to make sure you don't max out the scale. My old scale only goes up to 250 lbs and my tongue weight on my 13 Scamp right from the factory is about 255 lbs! When the tongue is up off your blocks the scale will show tongue weight. When the tongue is on the scale it should be at about the same hight as when you are towing. The lower the tongue the more weight moves forward. The higher the tongue the more weight moves back.
I have not tried this, but here is a video that demonstrates the use of carefully marked distances along a length of wood to reduce the weight on the scale by a known factor, thus saving your scale :)
Vince
(This is actually a reply to #6 - not sure why it says #7.) Very useful. Basically you're using some other support than the tow vehicle's hitch as a starting point.
So what do you think about possibly changing the height of the ball/hitch, if the tongue weight seems a little high? I always put anything a little heavier in the middle of the floor, over the axle, when traveling, and I don't have that much "stuff" (I don't think, anyway). Clothes, bedding, laptop, some lightweight enameled metal dishes (just for two). Probably that big long extension cord is the heaviest thing. Anyway, there's not a lot to redistribute, though I'd sure start with whatever there is.
The critical thing, for those new to towing who might read this, is that one should not consider tongue weight in isolation.
To avoid fishtail swaying of the trailer, the tongue weight should not be too low; to avoid overloading the rear wheels of the tow vehicle and pushing the TV around, tongue weight should not be too high. These considerations are independent of the weight allowance for the hitch of the TV.
Experts say to tow level, or if you can’t tow level, tow slightly nose down, not up. Tongue weight should be 10 to 15 percent of the weight of the LOADED trailer. If possible, the load in the trailer should be distributed so that about 60 percent is forward of the axle and 40 percent is rear of the axle. If one cannot achieve the tongue weight in the range recommended above without exceeding the TV’s allowed hitch load, then one should remove some cargo from the trailer or get a TV that can handle it.
Of course, the Scamp’s light weight makes the above easy to achieve for owners of smaller TVs, but it’s precisely those folks who have less wiggle room and who need to be even more careful.
pdxrain, Thanks for this. What a clear and succinct summary.
For "Going Light". Raising or lowering the trailer tongue will change the tongue weight some but not significantly for towing. Also for us one of the biggest advantages of Scamp type trailers is that you can get in and out of them any time. The "pop-up" trailers can be lighter and have less wind resistance but are not very good for just a lunch stop. Especially if it's raining! And sometimes for convenience it's just easier to sleep "on the hook", that is, with the trailer still hooked to the TV. Walmart parking lots for example. For that reason we want our trailer to be as level as possible when hooked to our TV.
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