Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

Like - what kind of place - what would I Google?

If I Google truck scales (my town), it assumes I want to buy some.

RV dealer?

If I had some some one ton bathroom scales I could weigh the three points individually, but my wife took those with her when she left.





(I'm kidding! about that last part - a last minute opportunity I couldn't pass up as I was typing. But it's a completely serious question)

Your local landfill might do it for you. They have weighbridges and scales.

I just got mine done at a local CAT Scale. $10 for the weigh, plus $2 for additional reweighs.

http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator

It's nice because it weighs each axle individually, and you can then unhook your trailer and reweigh to determine tongue weight. I found out mine was much too high, so I was able to reposition my motorcycle to be more behind the axle.

I was too light for the Cat scales here, went to a sod/nursery store. Perfect, a few odd looks, a couple tours, no charge, big tip, everyone happy. 680 lbs. loaded b.t.w.

Rocky5000100 wrote:I just got mine done at a local CAT Scale. $10 for the weigh, plus $2 for additional reweighs.

http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator

It's nice because it weighs each axle individually, and you can then unhook your trailer and reweigh to determine tongue weight. I found out mine was much too high, so I was able to reposition my motorcycle to be more behind the axle.

Thanks - looks like they have them at some of the big truck stops down toward town.

That would definitely be worth it. They'll let you take the time to drop your tongue on it? That's what I'm concerned about is tongue weight before I permanently mount my batteries.

Or wait.

Do I drop the tongue on the scale, or go unhook in the parking lot and reweigh the truck to get the tongue weight?

khigh wrote:Or wait.

Do I drop the tongue on the scale, or go unhook in the parking lot and reweigh the truck to get the tongue weight?

This option. When I went, there was no line or anything. But yes, unhook the trailer in the parking lot and reweight the truck.

You might try your local aircraft maintenance shop. I have a set of three electronic pads about four inches tall that I use to weigh planes with. Not going to be cheap tho. I have to charge by the hour for a technician, then 250 for scale rental, and recalibration. If it was someone I know and after hours, I would do a trailer just for fun. Ronnie

I needed to determine tongue weight on three different hauling trips last fall and discovered this: http://www.hildstrom.com/projects/tongu ... index.html. Seems to work pretty well

Dave

walkrdg, Howdy;

Excellent link!!! Thanks for posting it.

hank

walkrdg wrote:I needed to determine tongue weight on three different hauling trips last fall and discovered this: http://www.hildstrom.com/projects/tongu ... index.html. Seems to work pretty well

Dave

This is exactly how I now weigh my tongue before every trip. I had a 3 foot piece of 2x12 and several sections of 1 1/2 inch dowel left over from making the legs for the bed, so had all my materials to make a tongue weight tool. Bought a non-electronic scale at WalMart for less than $10. Steps:

1. I marked three lines on my 2x12 at 1 foot intervals.
2. Drilled and screwed my dowels to the bottom of the 2x12 at the 1 and 3 foot marks. Counter sunk screws so they didn't interfere. Tired using pipe, but they tend to roll around a little, making the whole process a little frustrating.
3. Cut a short length of 2x6 as my spacer board under the three foot mark, as a 2x6 is the same height as the scale.
4. Set scale and 2x6 on the ground so the 2 foot mark is under the tongue and the scale and 2x6 are at the 1 and 3 foot marks
5. zero the scale and lower the tongue. Multiply the weight by 2 (2 feet between the scale and the 2x6) to arrive at tongue weight.

For storage, I drilled a 3/4 inch hole in the end of the board, strap the scale on the board with a length of velcro (100 foot roll from Harbor Freight for about $5) so it rests on one of the dowels and hold the 2x6 to the 2x12 with one screw. The whole thing is compact and hangs on the wall, so easy to store.

Takes less than 5 minutes to weight the tongue after I am loaded. I suspect that after a time, I will have a loading strategy so I won't need to weigh the tongue before every trip, but right now, this gives me comfort that my tongue weight does not exceed my limits.

Good pictures on the link...

I'll probably build one of those tongue measuring devices for the future for quick weighs before I set out on trips. The CAT Scales are nice though to know your total weigh loaded, to get that 10-15%, and make sure you're not over your max trailer weight.

That looks like a good system. I might make one up in the future if I find myself shifting things around a lot.

I used a CAT scale and I unhooked the TV and put it on one pad and left the trailer on the other pad. It gave me the weight of each one. As for tongue weight you can use a bathroom scale.

Most of your agricultural grain places will have one as fertilizer and seed is weighed. The one near us ( a large coop) leaves it on at night so no charge. In the day it is a minimal 5.00 for there slush fund.