We measured our tongue weight last night and were shocked that it was so low. With the trailer fully loaded as well as a full tank of water it was only 450 lbs. The trailer’s dry weight (I know, I know, don’t use dry weight, however it’s the only concrete weight I have) is 4,500 lbs and I estimate that between the added options, gear and 36 gallons of fresh water we’ve added an additional 1,000-1,200 lbs. (By the way, the back of our fresh water tank starts over the axles with the majority of the tank in front of them.) With our current set up this only gives us an 8% tongue weight.
We haven’t had any real issues with sway, but the trailer does “squirm” sometimes. We’ve replaced our passenger tires with Michelin LTX M/S 2, rated E, which helped but I’m still wondering if that light tongue weight is going to bite us in the butt on a windy Oklahoma day. I’m trying to figure out a way to add more weight to the front of the trailer. We’re pretty light campers and don’t typically carry a bunch of stuff with us. The only thing I’ve come up with so far is getting some sturdy plastic storage boxes, fill them with a couple hundred pounds of sand, and place those in the storage compartment under the queen size bed. Any other ideas on how to increase the tongue weight?
Thanks,
Kristin
TV = 2006 Ford Expedition 4x4
Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) = 11,900 lbs
Curb Weight = 5,353 lbs
Max Payload = 1,600 lbs
Cargo in TV (people, dogs, cargo, etc.) = 700 lbs
TT = 2012 Shadow Cruiser 225RBS
Dry Weight = 4,500 lbs
Assuming add’t 1,000-1,200 lbs gear
Total Weight = 5,500-5,700 lbs
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating = 7,325 lbs
Tongue Weight = 450 (with all gear packed and full tank of water (36 gallons – 288 lbs))
EZ Lift WDH with 1000 lb bars
2006 Ford Expedition 4x4
2012 Shadow Cruiser 225RBS
Where is the trailer spare tire? Remember every pound you remove from the rear bumper of the trailer and move to the front will add about two lbs to the tongue weight.
The water tank is mostly in front of the axles, but part of it is actually over them. The spare is in the back, so that's a possibility. But how complicated would it be to secure that to the front?
no sway you say? no problems. There are always exceptions to the rule, and they all wiggle a tiny bit sometimes.
Don't get confused on what is sway, and what is not sway. Sway is when the TT starts moving back and forth all on it's own, with no outside help. Passing trucks don't cause sway, nor does wind. Those are natural forces, and are going to move your TT a little no matter how good the setup is.
* This post was
edited 06/26/12 02:52pm by Terryallan *
Squarles67,
Not a bad idea, but I’m hoping to find a more efficient solution. The drawback to putting the spare under the bed is that the slide completely blocks off the front of the trailer. So if we had a blowout we’d have to put the slide out in order to reach the spare. But it’s still a definite option.
Terry,
No – no sway, but it’s not unusual for the winds to suddenly pick up here. I’m worried about camping out in the boonies with no access to weather updates and then dealing with 40 mph gusts on the way home. I’m afraid that a trailer with a too-light front end would get pushed around too much in that case.
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