How to estimate tongue weight on travel trailer?

[Loren]

I need to replace my tongue jack on our 26' Play Mor toyhauler travel trailer and I'm curious how to figure out what my tongue weight is so I get the appropriate jack.

CoastyAV8R,



Something that has been overlooked in this discussion is the fact that you may be using an equalizing hitch. If so, your jack will need to lift more than the tongue weight of the trailer.



As you hitch up to a trailer with an equalizing hitch, part of the procedure is to couple the ball, then lift the truck and trailer with the trailer jack in order to allow you to hook up the equalizing bars. This will require lifting a lot more than just the trailer's tounge weight.



My Airstream has a hitch weight of 1040 pounds, fully loaded. The electric tongue jack is rated at 3000 pounds, but it strains to lift the truck/trailer combination while I am setting the equalizer bars.



Get a jack that has a capacity well above what you need and you won't go wrong.

 

[HBarlow]

Loren,

Here's a simple explanation and pictorials of how the Reese weight distributing hitch works cut and pasted from the Reese hitch products website.

"Operation of Reese Weight Distributing Hitches
#ad

The Reese differences are in construction materials, welding, manufacturing processes and hook-up. Adjustment is simple because of the easy-to-operate snap-up brackets that allow spring bar tension to be adjusted by changing links in the support chains. This lets you adjust for various trailer tongue weights within the spring bar weight range by applying tension on the spring bars until the car or tow vehicle is level. Rather than merely supporting the trailer tongue weight (TW), weight distributing hitches apply leverage between the towing vehicle and trailer causing the TW to be carried by all axles of the tow vehicle and trailer. When TW is distributed in this way, trailers with greater TWs can be towed, resulting in a more level ride which reduces stress on the rear of the tow vehicle and provides greater steering and brake control.
<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=440 align=center><TBODY><TR><TD></TD><TD></TD><TD>#ad
</TD></TR><TR><TD align=middle>Without Weight Distributing Hitch</TD><TD>#ad
</TD><TD align=middle>With Weight Distributing Hitch"</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

If you still refuse to believe me just let me know and I'll contact Reese for further explanation.

 

[RVTRKN]

Everyone seems to have gotten off the topic, CoastyAV8R only wants to know how much his tongue weighs and what side winding jack would be capable of that weight.



CoastyAV8R, just make sure you have your trailer loaded for its normal load then weigh it at a certified scale with and without the trailer hitched to your tow vehicle and subtract the difference. I did this for my pin weight on my new 5ver with all of the tanks full. It was at a busy truck stop in So. Cal. and when I explained it to the scale operator what I was doing, he was very helpful. He only charged me $10. 00 and I tipped him $10. 00, so it only cost me $20. 00

 

[Loren]

Gents and Ladies,



After an exchange of PM's with Harvey, I now see why he wants me to explain my understanding of a weight distributing hitch here. When I disagreed with Harvey, he took it as a challenge to his understanding of hitches, and in hindsight, I guess it was.



It would take 10-15 minutes in person or an article of several hundred words with illustrations to explain how a weight distributing hitch works. That's why I am unwilling to debate this here.



Another reason is that many of us, including me, are pretty opinionated and tend to stick to our guns even against a very persuasive argument. That means that I could spend hours writing an explanation and still not convince anyone.



The last reason is that I really don't care whether anyone believes me or not. I already know how this hitch works. You, as readers of this forum, are free to believe anything you want.



As a general rule, don't accept an explanation from anyone who doesn't know what the term "free body diagram" means. (If you are curious, there is a good explanation on Wikipedia. )



Harvey, I apologize for any slight that you feel as a result of my post. I certainly never meant to create a battle. (It's not like I claimed that my oil is best. )



This does not change my understanding of how a weight distributing hitch works.

 

[FFeiller]

coastyAV8r, i don't know if this helps. i have a 14,000 trailer the jack is 5500lbs, i have a 10,000 lb trailer the jack is just over 3000lbs. mine seem to be about 1/3 of the trailers rated capacity.

 

[HBarlow]

Loren,

A professional explanation, if it made sense, could persuade me as I don't know (or care) what a "free body diagram is) but the real challenge you face is persuading the engineers at Reese Products who have been building the weight distributing hitches since 1952. I bet they know what a free body diagram is, if there is such a thing.

They are the guys who wrote the original product description and instructions for using their products that I learned from many years ago and also prepared the single paragraph explanation and drawings I posted above.

If you can persuade them I'll be easy.

Your apology is not necessary but I'll accept it to be polite.

 

[opjohnny]

Sherline in Califorina makes a trailer tongue weight scale (The Sherline Lathe, Milling Machine and Precision Miniature Machining Page). That is if you don't want to fool with the bathroom scale or have a truck scale near you.



John