Tongue Weight |
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rawest50
Senior Member Joined: 07 Mar 2017 Location: Arkansas Online Status: Offline Posts: 440 |
Topic: Tongue Weight Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 12:35pm |
Thinking of purchasing a trailer tongue weight scale. How many of you check your tongue weight and is it critical to make sure you are within the limits of the tongue? I can understand being hundreds over being a problem. With sway and load control does that help the situation?
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2017.5 RPod 179
2017 Jeep Unlimited Wrangler 2017 Chevy Colorado Z71 Off Road Crew Cab 2 Weiner dogs Great wife puts up with my BS ❤️ Thoroughbred Racing. |
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kansasfrogs
Groupie Joined: 21 Jul 2016 Location: KS Online Status: Offline Posts: 83 |
Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 2:37pm |
We weighed it at the truck stop. I think we were charged $11, but it gave me piece of mind. We rarely vary what we carry and are under the limits. I always use the sway bar and can tell a difference without it.
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FROGGY
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rawest50
Senior Member Joined: 07 Mar 2017 Location: Arkansas Online Status: Offline Posts: 440 |
Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 3:43pm |
What was the process to do that? |
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2017.5 RPod 179
2017 Jeep Unlimited Wrangler 2017 Chevy Colorado Z71 Off Road Crew Cab 2 Weiner dogs Great wife puts up with my BS ❤️ Thoroughbred Racing. |
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mcarter
podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 07 Apr 2016 Location: Greenbrier, TN Online Status: Offline Posts: 3419 |
Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 3:55pm |
I have a Sherline tongue weight scale from etrailer.com, would recommend the 1000 vice the 2000. The weight station will give numbers about total trailer and vehicle weight. I use the tongue weight scale because I change tongue configuration (genset/no gen set). Yes it does effect sway and whether you need WDH. It's important to your hitch capacities. As an example if you have an allowable tongue weight at the hitch of 300 lbs, you don't want a tongue weight of 600 lbs. It's a safety and a capacity issue. BTW - a sway bar compensates for sway, however it is induced. The WDH compensates for load. I like to do mine at the house not travel to a weigh station.
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Mike Carter
2015 178 " I had the right to remain silent, I just didn't have the ability." |
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fwunder
Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676 |
Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 3:58pm |
2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits
2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks! |
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JandL
Senior Member Joined: 29 Mar 2014 Location: California Online Status: Offline Posts: 364 |
Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 3:59pm |
I picked up an old spring driven bathroom scale at a garage sale for $5. It reads to 300 pounds. I put a jack stand on the scale and use my floor jack to raise the tongue, then slide the scale right under where the ball goes
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JandL
2013 Honda Ridgeline 2012 177 2 Paynes in a Pod |
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ToolmanJohn
Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2014 Location: Connecticut Online Status: Offline Posts: 451 |
Posted: 19 Jun 2017 at 4:12pm |
A Sherline scale is a wise investment in safety. For any R-Pod, the 1000 pound Sherline is best.
A truck stop CAT scale is fully able to tell you ALL weights. Including the rear axle weight being placed on your tow vehicle. It is not the same thing as the tongue weight. Some people put a lot of cargo in their small pickup/SUV tow vehicle, then hitch up to their loaded trailer and go. This may be overloading the rear axle capacity of their tow vehicle and the result could be bent/broken suspension or loss of control. The nice thing about the pods is it is hard to overload beyond 300-450 pounds. I added a battery and changed to a 30 pound propane tank, and it was still only 350 pounds (WITH 30 gallons in the fresh tank). After using water all weekend the tongue would be heavier. It towed even better after the weekend!! Of course I also used an Andersen WD hitch to smooth out the porpoising bounce over uneven roads. It helped quite a bit. Never has sway either without o with sway control. Most SUV's won't sway a trailer. Their hitches are low, short over hang from rear axle to receiver opening, and independent suspension, which makes them very stable tow vehicles. Make certain your tires are at MAX cold PSI (trailer and rear tow vehicle tires). This can help prevent overheating and sway.
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2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler
2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD) 2013 VW Touareg TDI |
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