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Colt
Senior Member
Joined: 16 Nov 2019
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Posts: 383
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Topic: adjusting tongue weight Posted: 19 Mar 2021 at 4:30pm |
The 2950 lbs is pretty close on my 2016. With all my towels, cleaning supplies, dishes, full water heater etc., ready to pull out for a trip, sans clothes, food, water, it weighs 3122 lbs. It tows smoother at 14% tongue weight. I built a spreadsheet for it you can have if I can get my laptop connected to the interwebs. It is not easy to shift things in the trailer and change the tongue weight much, but you could put food and heavy stuff in the bathroom.
Looks like I'll have to email you a copy, if you want one. PM me your email address, if you want it.
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John
'16 R-Pod 180
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 13 Mar 2021 at 1:34am |
Nothing wrong with having a tongue scale, but If you want to know the tongue weight as a percent of trailer weight, a tongue scale will only give you half the answer. You still need the trailer weight, so it’s either use a little math or it’s back to the public scale. Just sayin’
Some folks have also tried the Curt Betterweigh system but have reported mixed results for accuracy.
For me, I trust the math which has been around since Archimedes at least. It’s how pilots keep their airplanes loaded safely as well. If you add a 100 lb battery 11 feet from the axle and the tongue is 13 feet from the axle your tongue weight will go up by 100 x 11 / 13 = 84.6 lbs, guaranteed. Your trailer weight will be 100 lbs heavier. So if you started with a 3500 lb trailer with 350 lbs or 10% on the tongue you would now have a 3600 lb trailer with 434.6 lbs on the tongue, or 12.1% tongue weight.
Either way, it’s not something that really needs to be looked at that often, once you’ve looked at your normal range of load configurations you’ll know where your limits are and how to load to stay within them.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Mark Kayser
Newbie
Joined: 28 Feb 2021
Location: NC
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Posts: 7
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 7:42pm |
Again, I want to thank you all for your suggestions. I ordered a scale today, as it can be a bit of a hassle to use the commercial gas station scales. Funny, when I had the DP, I could just load it up with whatever I wished. The rpod will be an adjustment, but it is a welcome one. It will be delivered tomorrow!
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Mark and Talley Kayser
2021 rpod 180
2014 MB E-350 Wagon
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mcarter
podders Helping podders - pHp
Joined: 07 Apr 2016
Location: Greenbrier, TN
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Posts: 3419
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 6:43pm |
I have used a tongue scale for several years. Some additions have changed that weight, however I have a way to monitor.
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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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Mark Kayser
Newbie
Joined: 28 Feb 2021
Location: NC
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Posts: 7
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 9:24am |
And thanks for the tip on the scale!
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Mark and Talley Kayser
2021 rpod 180
2014 MB E-350 Wagon
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
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Posts: 5290
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 9:01am |
I’d suggest after getting the real weights, just using the formula and moving whatever you have that’s convenient.
I find with mine that I get about a 3% change between outbound and return legs due to water shifting from the front fresh water tank to the rear gray water tank, offset a bit by reducing consumables stored in the rear kitchen of the 179. So I range from 11-14% and I’m happy with that, I don’t need to move stuff around just to rebalance. If you really want to stay within 1% at all times you’ll probably have to.
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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Mark Kayser
Newbie
Joined: 28 Feb 2021
Location: NC
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Posts: 7
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 8:44am |
Thank you,
I am aware of the dynamics involved, but am simply asking what is the most convenient means of adjusting the tongue weight using a load plan of sorts, i.e., water level maintenance or load positioning.
My TV has 4600 lbs of towing capacity, but I wish to keep the tongue weight at about 11%-12% of the TW.
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Mark and Talley Kayser
2021 rpod 180
2014 MB E-350 Wagon
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offgrid
Senior Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2018
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5290
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 8:30am |
There is really no reason to deliberately shift weight rearward unless you have run out of hitch capacity on your tow vehicle. That just loads the (pretty weak) trailer axle and rear trailer frame more And of course the higher the hitch load the less likely sway is.
I suggest you start by actually loading up the rig as you would normally travel and then weigh it and the toungue weight. Now you have a real world baseline to work from. As that point you can calculate changes in tongue weight with load changes as follows:
Change in tongue weight is (changed load) x (distance of load from trailer axle)/ (distance of tongue from trailer axle). Added load in front of the trailer axle increases tongue weight, load added behind the axle reduces it. Removing load does the reverse. If you’re handy with spreadsheets you can make up a little weight and balance calculator,
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1994 Chinook Concourse
1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft
2015 Rpod 179 - sold
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mjlrpod
Senior Member
Joined: 27 Sep 2016
Location: Massachusetts
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Posts: 1215
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 8:25am |
Adding weight to the tongue is not a 1 to 1 ratio. If you put a 50 pound battery on the tongue, not all 50 pounds is added to the tongue. I unsure of the ratio, but it's not 1 to 1. The axle will carry some of that 50 pounds added. I purchased a tongue weight scale from e-trailer. There are several types, I got this https://www.etrailer.com/Tools/etrailer/e99044.html . Other people say go to the truck stop and use their scales, but I'd rather have my own.
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2017.5 Rp-172
2020 R-pod 195
2015 Frontier sv 4.0L 6cyl
I'll be rpodding
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Mark Kayser
Newbie
Joined: 28 Feb 2021
Location: NC
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Posts: 7
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Posted: 12 Mar 2021 at 8:08am |
Hi,
I am curious about what is the best way to "adjust" tongue weight on a rpod 180. Assuming a loaded trailer weight between 3300-3800 lbs, I expect the tongue weight could vary quite a bit. I want to have about 11-12% of the total weight on the tongue.
I suppose one way is to manage the water level in one or more of the water tanks, another to add a load in the cargo areas, front or back.
I will only have one deep-cycle battery and a single propane tank. The factory specs show an UVW of 2950 lbs and a hitch weight of 332 lbs, which calculates to about 11% tongue weight. I estimate that adding the battery and propane tank would increase the TW by about 100 lbs and the tongue weight nearly as much, making the new tongue weight about 15% of the TW. (Loading the trailer will change both figures, of course).
In your experience, what is the best way to shift the weight rearward in order to maintain an 11-12% tongue weight?
Thanks,
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Mark and Talley Kayser
2021 rpod 180
2014 MB E-350 Wagon
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