Trailer tongue weight distribution

[hidesertwheelin]

For those with small off-road trailer, are you following the 10/90 to 20/80 tongue weight distribution method? I hardly have anything on my trailer, and am having a hard time picking up the tongue and moving the trailer around. I debating weather I need to add a foot or two to the tongue length to help with this. I brought up a discussion on facebook, and people said they were loading more weight on the tongue then the rest of the trailer. Thoughts.

 

[john61ct]

That would be stupidly dangerous, especially when the total trailer weight is over half of the TV's.

 

[Teardropper]

You have to have more weight forward of the axle than behind otherwise it will be dangerous to tow.


If the problem is difficulty in moving it by hand, that might be something you just need to live with.

T

 

[dreadlocks]

10-20% is what you shoot for, anything within is allright.. as long as its within your tow vehicle tongue spec and no extenders or anything else is involved.. I'm usually about 15%-20% and never have any stability issues at speed or on trail.. its better to be too tongue heavy than too tounge light.. if you ride at 10% and come home w/empty water tanks you might be under, so keep that in mind.

moving a trailer that size by hand fully loaded is a 2 person job, one person could do it but at great risk to personal injury.. if you dont have two people, leave it hooked up or drop it where you can back it in.

 

[Louisd75]

My tongue weight is too much for me to comfortably lift. My solution is two part. First, I welded a heavy duty swivel wheel to my tongue jack. This let's me pivot the trailer pretty easily so long as the ground isn't too soft. I put wheel chocks down for one wheel, push the trailer, chock the 2nd wheel, then unchock the first wheel, push the tongue again. This let's me "walk" the trailer forward or backwards assuming that the ground is reasonably level.

The second part of my solution is happening this fall. I have a new set of trailer hubs and brakes that have a manual parking brake feature. My plan is to have two parking brake levers mounted on the tongue so that I don't have to run around with the wheel chocks. I need to figure out the cable runs still but I don't see that as being a huge issue.

 

[Teardropper]

I have a new set of trailer hubs and brakes that have a manual parking brake feature. My plan is to have two parking brake levers mounted on the tongue so that I don't have to run around with the wheel chocks.

WHAT????

Does that mean I have to do that too??? Sheeeeeesh.

T

 

[wjeeper]

I had a trailer that was sub 750 lbs loaded. I had a really short tongue and like 50-75 lbs tongue weight. It towed well as fast as my jeep could go (60-65). I had a 3' extending tongue, absolutely scary at speed! But with the long tongue it was easy to back and push around the garage by hand.

 

[mikeprince]

WHAT????

Does that mean I have to do that too??? Sheeeeeesh.

T

My M101A1s came with that feature and it’s super handy. Much safer to move trailer around when on a slight hill or trying to break the wheels free when stuck in mud, plus no more need for wheel chocks.

 

[mikeprince]

I had a trailer that was sub 750 lbs loaded. I had a really short tongue and like 50-75 lbs tongue weight. It towed well as fast as my jeep could go (60-65). I had a 3' extending tongue, absolutely scary at speed! But with the long tongue it was easy to back and push around the garage by hand.

Minimum tongue weight, bordering on dangerous, is 10%.

 

[shade]

For those with small off-road trailer, are you following the 10/90 to 20/80 tongue weight distribution method? I hardly have anything on my trailer, and am having a hard time picking up the tongue and moving the trailer around. I debating weather I need to add a foot or two to the tongue length to help with this. I brought up a discussion on facebook, and people said they were loading more weight on the tongue then the rest of the trailer. Thoughts.

Assuming the load distribution is proper, consider using a trailer dolly. One with good wheels can be a big help as long as the terrain supports it, and you can probably find a way to bring it along if you think manual trailer moving will be on the menu.

 

[CampStewart]

There is plenty of documentation about too little tongue weight and its catastrophic effects. In my experience unless your tow vehicle is becoming overloaded there is little concern about too much tongue weight. This is my experience from hauling dozens of different trailers single and double axle from under 1k up to 12k over the last 40 years.

 

[billiebob]

Have you scaled the trailer and measured the tongue weight?
Until you do that this is all speculation.
The easy way to change tongue weight is to reload the trailer.
It looks like the hitch to axle distance is about 7? feet?
If you want to cut the tongue weight in half, you would need to add 7' to the tongue.

 

[Louisd75]

WHAT????

Does that mean I have to do that too??? Sheeeeeesh.

T

Sorry I've had the hubs sitting since last winter, just haven't gotten around to making headway on it yet. The company I bought my original axle/hubs from didn't know that that was an option and I didn't look into it enough. They're a Dexter part and etrailer carries them: https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brakes/Dexter-Axle/K23-086-087-00.html. Note, they say that they include the levers. It took me quite a few emails back and forth to clarify that you need to order separate levers to mount on the tongue, the only levers included are the ones on the brake that the cable attaches to. I don't think my trailer will stop evolving til I start building a new one.

My M101A1s came with that feature and it’s super handy. Much safer to move trailer around when on a slight hill or trying to break the wheels free when stuck in mud, plus no more need for wheel chocks.

This is likely the trailer my old man was referring to when he suggested that I look into two manual brakes. He said that they used the feature all the time moving their trailers around and could even walk them up hill. Another bonus is that it's possible to tie the levers into a breakaway system so that in the event that the trailer comes off and the safety chains fail the levers can trip and lock up the wheels.

For those with small off-road trailer, are you following the 10/90 to 20/80 tongue weight distribution method? I hardly have anything on my trailer, and am having a hard time picking up the tongue and moving the trailer around. I debating weather I need to add a foot or two to the tongue length to help with this. I brought up a discussion on facebook, and people said they were loading more weight on the tongue then the rest of the trailer. Thoughts.

Something that came into mind... how far are you typically trying to move the trailer around? Would it be possible to make some sort of extension that you could drop through the pintle eye that would give you more leverage? Something like this could work so long as you weren't trying to get too close to the truck. I also like the recommendation from @shade with the dolly. The only issues I see with it are one more thing to move around (which would also be true with a temporary tongue extension), most of them are too low for an offroad trailer's tongue height, and all the ones I've seen are set up for a ball. None of these is insurmountable. I have one of these sitting in my backyard waiting for me to get around to modifying it to work for my trailer:

Ironton Trailer Dolly 600-Lb. Capacity | Northern Tool

The Ironton® Trailer Dolly provides an easy way to move most 2-wheeled trailers. The ball height is 16in. to fit most trailers. Do...

www.northerntool.com

 

[old_CWO]

This web site can be handy for calculating your trailer weight and balance:

Trailer Weight and Balance Equations and Calculator

This calculator will determine the Weigh and Balance of a trailer or similar application. Units used are in, lbs or mm and Newton's perspective. At the bottom of the webpages, there are several weight and balance application example's.

www.engineersedge.com

 

[67cj5]

Minimum tongue weight, bordering on dangerous, is 10%.

Sorry but you are totally Wrong, That was the Norm in Australia until Vehicle Manufacturers Started Adding factory limits on the Tongue Ball or Hitch weight That 10 or 20% might be the case In the US if a person Drives an F-Series Ford or a Ram 2500 or Chevy that can gross out at over 20,000Lbs,

Vehicles in the rest of the world have more realistic Hitch/Ball weights and the whole of Europe have limits ranging from around 50kgs / 110Lbs up to around 250kgs / 550Lbs, And what ever Hitch weight the Trailer Is needs to be subtracted from the Tow Vehicles GVM ( Loaded Weight ) Because the Hitch weight then becomes part of the Tow Vehicles Load. IE If a pickup has a 1000kg /2204Lbs Load Capacity and you add a 3500kg 7716Lbs Trailer to the Tow Vehicle using that 20% ratio = 700kgs / 1543Lbs which leaves a total 300kgs / 661Lbs of load capacity left for the Tow Vehicle to Legally Haul ,

So Now you are down to 300kgs or 661Lbs of Load Capacity left, add to that 5 Adults weighing 80kgs / 176Lbs each = 400Kgs / 881Lbs which now puts that Vehicle 100Kgs / 220Lbs over it's Legal weight Limit, And in the case of an Accident Places the Driver In All Kinds of legal Trouble even more so in the US where it seems to be the custom to Sue everyone,,

The Bottom line is a trailer with a lighter Hitch load of say 100 to 150/175Kgs ( 220Lbs - 385Lbs ) is a far safer way to go because the excessive down force is not taking the weight off the front Axle of the Tow Vehicle and the Upside to that is you still have some Load Capacity left within the Truck,

There is nothing heroic about massive Tongue / Ball weights, in fact by towing with such a heavy Ball weight all you are doing is restricting your Load Capacity or GVM of the Tow Vehicle, My Truck has a Ball/ Hitch weight of 115kgs / 254Lbs yet I can still Tow a 2900kg / 6393Lbs Trailer with a combination weight of 5410kgs / 11927Lbs, Baring in mind it is an SUV with a 700kg / 1543Lbs payload,

To get and Idea of what a 115kgs of weight feels like on the back of a Truck/SUV Remembering that that 115kgs/254Lbs is sitting 1 Metre / 40"inches +/- behind the back Axle, so try holding your arm out straight and then get someone sit a 15Lb Sledge Hammer on your finger Tips and see how long you can hold it there, That 115kgs/254Lbs is equal to about 845ft Lbs because it is 3.33 feet behind the axle and the longer/further the Tow ball is from the centreline of the Axle the heavier that load is. A 350kg / 771Lbs at 40" inches is equal to 1050Kgs or 2567.43Lbs.

Sorry Guys but this subject is way more involved than just picking 10 or 20% of the Trailers gross weight, On a light weight Trailer you can add a bit more weight as long as that figure is below the Vehicles RATED Hitch weight, NOT the Hitch Companies Hitch Weight Rating. But be warned because you might have the same Vehicle as me but depending where you are in the world All of these Hitch Weights vary from country to country for the same vehicle.