Surprised that there are no trailer hitches with tongue weight indicators

[bridge4]

I actually got one of those fancy hitches, maybe 10 years ago. I was driving up from NC to MA multiple times moving house and pulling a bigger trailer than I had ever pulled before (nothing big, I just hadn't had any trailering experience, maybe a 21 footer). I was more worried than I should have been, but first time jitters I guess.

I used that thing for a few years, stopped paying attention to the weight once I got a feel for trailering a bit. Now I just use a regular curt or whatever no name brand they will sell me. I should dig it out of my container and sell it. Forgot how much that cost.

 

[oldnslo]

I was lead to believe that you should approximately 10% of the load as tongue weight up to rated max of tongue. Is there value in knowing tongue weight if you don’t the know the load weight?

 

[KennyG]

I was lead to believe that you should approximately 10% of the load as tongue weight up to rated max of tongue. Is there value in knowing tongue weight if you don’t the know the load weight?

The 10% is a good guideline but you are OK if you have a reasonable tongue weight. For example, I have a normal 1/2 ton and the hitch weight should be limited to 500 lbs. I have a 7K trailer that's a little under 2k empty. So, no matter what I'm hauling, I want the tongue weight to be between about 300 and 500 lbs. Without a way to measure it, I'm just guessing.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

The 10% is a good guideline but you are OK if you have a reasonable tongue weight. For example, I have a normal 1/2 ton and the hitch weight should be limited to 500 lbs. I have a 7K trailer that's a little under 2k empty. So, no matter what I'm hauling, I want the tongue weight to be between about 300 and 500 lbs. Without a way to measure it, I'm just guessing.

Here's a thought:
You want tongue weight to be 400 pounds.
Park truck & empty trailer on flat level area.
Unhook trailer from truck & weigh trailer hitch to ground. Bathroom scale + stick same height. Say it's 50 pounds.
Measure ground to truck bumper height.
Trailer back on truck.
Add 350 pounds front of trailer. Bags of cement, two people, etc.
Measure ground to truck bumper height.
Cut a stick (2"×2" is fine) this height.
Now when loading anything use stick for reference.

 

[John_Mc]

Add 350 pounds front of trailer. Bags of cement, two people, etc.

Actually, you'd have to add the weight at the ball for this to be accurate.

 

[Fuddyduddy1952]

Actually, you'd have to add the weight at the ball for this to be accurate.

If the empty trailer has 50 pounds force on the ball, have two people stand over hitch ball that weigh 350#.
Personally I never went through that. I just loaded whatever trailer or drove car/tractor forward watching truck squat a bit. Too little weight and it's "squirrelly"...too much is hard on suspension-tires-handling.

 

[grsthegreat]

Ya, ive been hauling junk for nearly 50 years. Its gotten to the point i can tell by how the truck reacts as i shift the load as to where i need to secure it down. The only time i didnt get it correct was one time i had to deliver a large water cooled generator. I had to back the tractor in as the limited area in which to unload at site. The trailer was a bit squirrly. I pulled off freeway and took surface streets. Other than that, ve never had any trailering issues.

I do remember a funny one though. I was hauling a friends large bumper pull cattle trailer full of cattle in central california and my partner noticed a wheel and tire come flying past us and go flying off of freeway into trees. He joked that some fool lost their tire. When we got to the auction yard, we noticed a missing tire on his trailer. Oops. He swore that they had all the tires rotated and bearings packed that spring. I guess the mechanic didnt tighten the tire. Since that day i ALWAYS check tire pressure and lug nuts on my trailers before use.

 

[ZiggyD]

I was lead to believe that you should approximately 10% of the load as tongue weight up to rated max of tongue. Is there value in knowing tongue weight if you don’t the know the load weight?

The tongue weight must be between a certain range which is important even if you don't know the actual load weight.

 

[gehawk007]

Check out Haul Gauge. Works of odb port by measuring change ing truck angle.

 

[troverman]

I have a WeighSafe hitch. In addition to displaying the tongue weight, it’s also a very nice hitch with a locking key that makes it hard to steal.