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Old 10-07-2014, 06:53 PM   #1
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Weighed my tongue

Before buying my first travel trailer I was concerned with tongue weight because i have a half ton truck. While shopping my first question was, "What is the tongue weight?" Of course all the salesman would quote was the dry weight listed in the brochures. I asked if they ever weighed the tongue before installing a WDH. Most said they did not. The other day I decided to find out the real tongue weight on my new Jayco. I bought an inexpensive bathroom scale at Target. I weighed myself and was convinced it was fairly accurate. I set up a 3 foot plank and measured off the distances. I weighed myself again using the set up and was convinced it too was working. Mt trailer has an advertised dry tongue weight of 425 lbs. My trailer is only packed with the routine camping gear and basic supplies, probably less than 300 ilbs. it has a battery and 2 full propane bottles on the tongue and I added 20 gallons of water. The tongue weight came in at 620 lbs. This is not a concern but I thought it was interesting. I also tried something else. While weighing the tongue I made sure it was sitting at the same height as it would while being towed. However I did experiment with changing the height up and down several inches and found it had big affect on the weight.
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Old 10-07-2014, 06:59 PM   #2
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This is why we tell folks those published weights can be way off real world weights, and that should be taken into account when considering a tow vehicle. I weighed mine and came up with a TW in excess of 900 lbs.
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Old 10-07-2014, 07:00 PM   #3
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my X17a has a posted dry weight of 260 and I haven't measured mine but it is likely close to 550. Only way I can keep the weight ok on the trailer axle...My Rav4 handles it perfectly though so I am happy

there is another post on here about weights. guy has an advertised TW of 220 and a cat weight of 620
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Old 10-07-2014, 07:58 PM   #4
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This is why we tell folks those published weights can be way off real world weights, and that should be taken into account when considering a tow vehicle. I weighed mine and came up with a TW in excess of 900 lbs.
At least you are still fine with the truck you are using to pull with
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Old 10-07-2014, 09:51 PM   #5
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Here's an article at etrailer on how to use a bathroom scale.
http://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-d...ue-weight.aspx
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Old 10-07-2014, 11:01 PM   #6
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As I was finishing my initial post company arrived for dinner and I did not reread my typing prior to posting. I meant to say in the last sentence that raising or lowering the tongue height had no real affect on the tongue weight as measured with the scale setup. I had read on other forums the opposite was true. I just wanted to forward my observations. Also i am glad I didn't spend a lot of money on a tongue scale since the cheap one worked fine.
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Old 12-31-2014, 08:57 AM   #7
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Let me ask you a stupid question, what did you use between the scale and the other support ? a 2 x 4 ? IM asking since I always wonder if the 2 x 4 is bending a lot almost to the point of cracking under the weight ...


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As I was finishing my initial post company arrived for dinner and I did not reread my typing prior to posting. I meant to say in the last sentence that raising or lowering the tongue height had no real affect on the tongue weight as measured with the scale setup. I had read on other forums the opposite was true. I just wanted to forward my observations. Also i am glad I didn't spend a lot of money on a tongue scale since the cheap one worked fine.
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Old 12-31-2014, 09:53 AM   #8
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I used a 2 X 6 laid flat because that is what I had handy. I think a 2 X 4 wil be ok because most of the tongue weight will be concentrated on the short end of the board near the support. I did not observe any flexing with the board I used.
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Old 12-31-2014, 10:45 AM   #9
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Let me ask you a stupid question, what did you use between the scale and the other support ? a 2 x 4 ? IM asking since I always wonder if the 2 x 4 is bending a lot almost to the point of cracking under the weight ...
I used a nice straight grained, no knots, 2x4 it barely sagged at all and came no where near near to breaking.
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Old 12-31-2014, 11:01 AM   #10
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What a place, the answer are coming at the speed that even the taxman cant reach ...thanks to all :-)
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Old 12-31-2014, 12:32 PM   #11
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Gotta chime in here...Where does tongue weight end up with a wdh?


I observed back of tv dropping way down if I just drop tt on to hitch = full tongue wt.
Use of wdh levels out tv and also transfers weight ..Right? therefore you are not putting all of actual tongue wt on tv.
Or am I missing something here?
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Old 12-31-2014, 01:44 PM   #12
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The WDH actually transfers weight that is located over the TV'a rear axle ..., the weight will be transferred to the TV's front suspension and some weight to the TT axles. Ideally, one wants to return the same weight (via WDH) that was removed from the TV's front suspension when the TT tongue weight was initially placed on the TV's hitch ball. The nominal weight transferred to the TT's axles is just a by-product of the WDH meeting the TV's front suspension requirements.

The effect of the TT tongue weight being placed on the hitch ball adds weight to the TV's rear axle and at the same time removes weight from the TV's front suspension. The TT's actual tongue weight on the hitch ball for the most part remains a constant.

A visit to a CAT scale is a good place to see first hand how a WDH can distribute weight, where, and how much.

Bob
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Old 12-31-2014, 02:08 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dennis b View Post
...Where does tongue weight end up with a wdh?
... Use of wdh levels out tv and also transfers weight ... therefore you are not putting all of actual tongue wt on tv...
Yes, the tongue weight is on the TV. My way of visualizing it:

Imagine the TT frame welded directly to the TV frame. All of the weight forward of the TT axle(s) - the tongue weight - would be on the TV frame. Without a ball, there would little rear end sag of the TV because of the lack of a pivot point and the TT would be level.

Now imagine there is a hitch ball, but no WD bars. The rear of the TV wants to drop down due to the tongue weight, but when you see that, you put a steel bar between the TV tailgate and the propane tanks (No, please do not try it!). Now the TV and TT stay level.

WD bars pivot from side-to-side to allow cornering and allow the TV and TT to go over vertical changes in the road, but perform much the same weight transfer that a solid bar would.

In some forum (maybe not in JOF), there is at least one very detailed force analysis of the weight transfer using a WD hitch.

(I see there are new posts on this topic, but I'm going to post this before I read them.)
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Old 12-31-2014, 02:49 PM   #14
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Can't be clearer good job thanks


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Originally Posted by Rustic Eagle View Post
The WDH actually transfers weight that is located over the TV'a rear axle ..., the weight will be transferred to the TV's front suspension and some weight to the TT axles. Ideally, one wants to return the same weight (via WDH) that was removed from the TV's front suspension when the TT tongue weight was initially placed on the TV's hitch ball. The nominal weight transferred to the TT's axles is just a by-product of the WDH meeting the TV's front suspension requirements.

The effect of the TT tongue weight being placed on the hitch ball adds weight to the TV's rear axle and at the same time removes weight from the TV's front suspension. The TT's actual tongue weight on the hitch ball for the most part remains a constant.

A visit to a CAT scale is a good place to see first hand how a WDH can distribute weight, where, and how much.

Bob
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Old 12-31-2014, 03:12 PM   #15
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After giving further thought to my post (oh no thinking again lol) I more or less came to same conclusion.
Then you guys really nailed it!
Thanks
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