Adjustments needed when adding tongue weight
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Forum Name: Podmods, Maintenance, Tips and Tricks
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=5717
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Topic: Adjustments needed when adding tongue weight
Posted By: Happy Tripping
Subject: Adjustments needed when adding tongue weight
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 10:05am
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Did search - Lots on tongue weights but none on 'changes needed'. I'm off to CA from WV in a couple of months in a 171. I'm thinking of adding a battery and a propane tank to the tongue for dry camping possibilities. Additional weight - 90 pounds for battery and fill of propane PLUS another battery, empty propane tank and and a second propane fill - figure total of about 200 pounds. Should I throw in some lead weights in the far back to balance this out? Is there anything else I must adjust/beware of? We are old tent campers so we travel light, TV rated for 7800 pounds and factory installed hitch. Thanks for any pointers.
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Replies:
Posted By: JStrube
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 10:56am
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Tongue weight is good. Provided of course, your hitch combo can handle it. A 7800# tow rating? Check the owner's manual, but probably good to go. ------------- 2012 181G |
Posted By: Podster
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 11:52am
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My 2¢. ►If the TV and Hitch Specs checkout, and the overall POD GVW is good, then shoot for a TW of 10-15% relative to overall actual POD GVW. You always want to be nose heavy. Tail heavy can = immediate trouble. The only reason I can think of that you would add tail weight in this situation is b/c you are close to exceeding the TW Specs, which you could do to reduce TW as long as you do not exceed the 10=15% rule and do not exceed the overall GVWR of the POD or TV. You don't mention the TW rating of your TV or Hitch. I would suspect that towing with a TV that has a 7,800 rating that the TW may be ok, but some hitches may not be. Are you using a WDH?
------------- Cliff & Raelynn Ranger 4.0/178 (1/2 ton 5,800lb tow capacity) |
Posted By: Seanl
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 12:13pm
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+1 on everything that has been said. I run with my Generator set on the tonuge of my pod. =This adds about 130Lbs. The only thing I had to change was the setup on my WDH. I had to put a little more spring into it. ------------- Sean, 2011 Rpod RP-173,2009 Jeep Liberty Rocky Mountain Edition 
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Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 21 Jan 2015 at 1:52pm
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A second propane tank and mount will add about 40 pounds, the battery/extra box/cables about 55. You don't need to re-add the weight of the existing propane tank, mount and battery. My Interstate HD24-DP batteries weigh 42 pounds each. But more importantly, the tongue is a lever, the only way for ALL that weight to be added to the tongue weight would be for it to be all carried at the ball. Only about 70% of it will actually be carried to the tongue.. I run dual batteries (group 24) and dual propane tanks. My measured tongue weight, pod loaded, ready to camp for a week, is around 305 lbs. ------------- |