How to gauge your trailer's tongue weight on an ongoing basis

[swines]

I use a Sherline Tongue Weight Scale - available from a number of sources for about $130.

I put the scale on a floor jack under the trailer just behind the trailer ball and jack up the scale until the trailer starts to lift off of the ball.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

Hey guys, great suggestions! I also found this online:

Products Archive - Weigh Safe Trailer Hitches

I really like this one - but ....... I see it comes with the 2 larger balls but not the 1 7/8". I'd hate to sink that kind of money into a hitch and not be able to pull my smaller gear. Too bad.

 

[aczlan]

I really like this one - but ....... I see it comes with the 2 larger balls but not the 1 7/8". I'd hate to sink that kind of money into a hitch and not be able to pull my smaller gear. Too bad.

$19 will get you a 2" coupler so that you can avoid needing to mess with 1 7/8" stuff: Amazon.com: Husky 87073 2" Ball 2" Width Straight Coupler with Chain: Automotive

Aaron Z

 

[KiotiKowboy]

$19 will get you a 2" coupler so that you can avoid needing to mess with 1 7/8" stuff: Amazon.com: Husky 87073 2" Ball 2" Width Straight Coupler with Chain: Automotive
Aaron Z

True enough - but seems a no-brainer to offer the 3 ball sizes - especially since one may be pulling rentals or friends gear from time-to-time.

 

[schmism]

I really like this one - but ....... I see it comes with the 2 larger balls but not the 1 7/8". I'd hate to sink that kind of money into a hitch and not be able to pull my smaller gear. Too bad.

why are you worried about tongue weight on an 1 7/8" ball? they are rated for like 300lbs max. There is no tow vehical out there with a 2" hitch that should be worried about 300lb tongue weight.

 

[bdog]

I have been pulling trailers for 24 years and have never seen a 1-7/8" ball except in a catalog or store shelf. Why would anyone use one? 2" is so much more common and is not any significant amount more expensive.

 

[aczlan]

Small (~2000# GVW) trailers often use them. IMO, it makes no sense to use them and we should standardize on 2" for a anything not big enough to need a 2 5/16" ball.
I do not own a 1 7/8" ball and will not in the future.

Aaron Z

 

[zzvyb6]

It would be interesting to see the results from towing with horizontal and vertical strain gauges in a trailer ball.

Bruce

This is done frequently by auto companies to learn what towing loads are, especially the dynamic loads from bumps and potholes, etc. When I worked at GM Proving Grounds, all new models got the loads measurements (cars, too). What is surprising to non-technical people are the bending and twisting moments (rotational, as in yawing and pitching) that the hitch carries. These results would make your decision about greasing the ball or not, but it's already been clearly established that most know-it-all readers here are in total denial of the findings and the recommendation that would result from them.

 

[Diamondpilot]

$19 will get you a 2" coupler so that you can avoid needing to mess with 1 7/8" stuff: Amazon.com: Husky 87073 2" Ball 2" Width Straight Coupler with Chain: Automotive

Aaron Z

I agree. 1 7/8" ball is the worst decision in towing history. I have never understood the reason to have it and a 2" ball also?

Chris

 

[oldballs]

I think there are quite a few who have small trailers that are used to pull some lawn gear to grandma's house.....thus the trailer is small and so is the ball....and the tongue weight probably isn't a factor either.................................unless they decided to load a cord of wood on it...........hum-m-m-m.

 

[KiotiKowboy]

why are you worried about tongue weight on an 1 7/8" ball?

Not. It's just a matter of convenience. Albeit rarely, I have pulled small ball trailers. No biggie - just saying it would be nice if this hitch could fully substitute for a B&W Tow & Stow tri-ball.

 

[locknut]

I think it would be a neat idea to have a sensor built into the ball and a small monitor you could Velcro to the dash to give a weight reading.Something similar to the TPMS system.

 

[check]

I think it would be a neat idea to have a sensor built into the ball and a small monitor you could Velcro to the dash to give a weight reading.Something similar to the TPMS system.

OK, great idea. Build it, and I will be your first customer!

 

[bigtiller]

I am looking for a convenient way to measure my tongue weight, while adjusting my BX25 location and spare implement location on my 18' trailer. I have a 2" receiver hitch on my 2014 F150, and a (non-wheeled) trailer jack on the front of the trailer. If you think about the logistics, you would want to have the trailer attached to the truck while loading and/or adjusting the location of your load, but then you would have have to disconnect it and jack it up off the trailer ball in order to weigh the tongue weight. Also, since my trailer is a 7K model, I need a scale that can take at least 700 lbs, so your average bathroom scale is not going to work!

So, my fellow TBNers, any creative ideas that don't cost an arm and a leg would be much appreciated!

Use a fulcrum, staff and a bathroom scale.

Put the fulcrum 1' to the side of the trailer hitch.
Put a 10' staff (a 2x4 works) on the fulcrum and under the trailer hitch.
Put the bathroom scale 10' away, stand on it, lift the staff until the hitch raises off the ball.
Read the scale.
After subtracting your weight, if you have 80 pounds, multiply 80 times 10 (staff length) and the hitch weight is 800 pounds.

 

[jimrs]

I have not towed my B2320 yet as my trailer is too small. But here is a picture of it being delivered by the dealer on a 18ft trailer. Yours is smaller than mine so just about even with the first tire should be close?

 

[Cord]

I have a 2011 F150, EB, Max tow. What I do is I have the mrs stand away from the truck watching the gap between the rear wheels. When the gap closes by 2", the tongue weight is about right.

If you really need the weight, you could use a regular scale and a lever to reduce the scale weight. It'll take some math, but it'll get the job done.