OK, I'm new at this but now I've read enough to be dangerous
I know recommended TW is 10-15% of trailer weight. It seems most trailer dry weights already anticipate this as advertized TW's are near those numbers. But it seems that once you start adding your "stuff" it disproportionaly adds more weight to the tongue. Most storage areas are in the front as well as propane tanks, etc. So if TW is the limiting factor on my TV, should I be looking at trailers that have less than 10% TW dry? There are a few...not many. This way, I can more easily get to a 12% TW when loaded.
As a general rule to figure if your tv can handle the tongue weight figure 15% of the trailers gvwr. If your tv can handle the most the tongue weight can be. Then you are good.
Guessing at your tongue weight is just that. Guessing. Taking the gvwr and figuring 15% is the best guess way to figure when your shopping.
Thanks
TT: 1995 Layton 2910
Tow Vehicle: 1999 F-350, v10, 2wd, Crew Cab, Dually
Hitch: Draw-Tite Trunnion WD Hitch
Sway Control: Valley dual friction sway control
Brake Control: Tekonsha Voyager
"It's Kind of Fun To Do The Impossible"
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Thanks, but I understand all that. I guess I wasn't clear. Let's say I find two trailers with dry weights of of 5,000 lbs. We are looking a front bedroom models so storage will be in the forward compartment and under the bed. One has a dry TW of 450 lbs, the other a TW of 650 lbs. If I add 500 lbs of stuff, most of it will be forward in the trailers so the 1st one will now have a loaded TW of maybe 600 lbs while the 2nd one might be around 800 lbs. Each will have a loaded weight of 5,500 lbs.
Or am i wrong to assume that most of the "stuff" will disproportionally be added to the tongue?
I would suspect that a trailer with storage at the front would have the fresh water tank at or near the rear in order to counter balance the load, much like a see-saw.
* This post was
edited 02/27/12 09:06pm by Can-AmDuo *
Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.
Good planning is a lot closer than guessing. Look at all the storage spaces and what will go where and where the caned goods and water will be stored. Anything loaded behind the axles of the trailer will help offset the weight on the tongue.
Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to hide the bodies of those people I had to kill because they pissed me off.
mrgeezer2u wrote: OK, I'm new at this but now I've read enough to be dangerous
I know recommended TW is 10-15% of trailer weight. It seems most trailer dry weights already anticipate this as advertized TW's are near those numbers. But it seems that once you start adding your "stuff" it disproportionaly adds more weight to the tongue. Most storage areas are in the front as well as propane tanks, etc. So if TW is the limiting factor on my TV, should I be looking at trailers that have less than 10% TW dry? There are a few...not many. This way, I can more easily get to a 12% TW when loaded.
Hi Mrgeezer2u
Can you provide us with the make and models of the TT's you are looking at?
Floor plan drives the tongue weight add or subtract for the most part. While yes a front bed room can in some cases add TW, it all depends on the rest of the layout.
And you really do not want to buy a camper that unloaded is real low on TW empty. You may end up then on purpose having to force all the gear in the front which may not be the ideal place for it.
It is easier to talk more specifics once I can see what TT layout you are trying to sort through.
In my case the 15% rule did not work. My 1st camper started with a 14.5% dry tongue weight and went to 20% when I loaded it and 22% when I added fresh water. My second camper was not so bad. It started at 13% and only went to around 18% and fresh water did not change TW. Again floor plan drive TW and how you use the camper.
Hope this helps
John
John & Cindy
2005 Ford F350 Super Duty, 4x4; 6.8L V10 with 4.10
CC, SB, Lariat & FX4 package
21,000 GCWR, 11,000 GVWR
Ford Tow Command
1,700# Reese HP hitch & HP Dual Cam
2 1/2" Towbeast Receiver
2004 Sunline Solaris T310SR
(I wish we were camping!)
IMHO floor plan makes ZERO difference. You ALWAYS want AT LEAST 13% of the FULLY LOADED TT WEIGHT on the tongue. Since fully loaded weight is hard to guess, use 13% of the GVWR as MINIMUM tongue weight.
Note the 10% number works for boats and the like, not high wall TT's.
Chuck
Wonderful Wife
Australian Shepherd
2010 Ford Expedition TV
2010 Outback 230RS Toybox, 5390# UVW, 6800# Loaded Not yet camped in Hawaii, 2 Canada Provinces, & 2 Territories I can't be lost because I don't care where this lovely road is going
Find the dry weight. If from the brochure add 300lbs. If on the TTs sticker thats good. Now add 1000-1200lbs to the dry weight. Thats the average load for a TT. Take 13% of that for your TW. Not all TT's will be loaded to GVW. Some are built to carry less, some more. That will get you in the ball park. Any way you crunch the numbers you still need 10-15% for the TW. If your TT's TW is low you'll need to add more up front to compensate. If the TT's TW is high you'll need to move stuff around to compensate. Only problem with one thats overly high to begin with is you may have trouble with payload ratings on your TV. Lots of TT's have lower than 10% dry TW's to fit into the 1/2 ton towable catagory. My TT came delivered with a lower than 10% TW from the factory. Found myself carrying stuff I didn't really need just to get the weight up to 13%.
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