Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

I never really learned my tung weight, I always figured I would never have that much in it, and I drive a small car.
Mine broke I think in part becuase I used a Used boat trailer that may have had some splashes in the salt water of the ocean.

It brock in the manor that you would break an arm.

my trailer weighs 165 at the tung putting the scale under it.
I also did the formula for some future math. I used the weight formula offered on sdtripper2's Index at the top of this page.

But I still do not know the gross weight of my trailer and just found a list of public scales in California. Hopefully for not to much I can get a real Idea.
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/dms/programs/wm/ ... sting.html

I have a new idea for a poll -- who knows how to spell tung, or tongue, or is that tounge?

Tongue is one of those words that, even if you KNOW how to spell it, you will probably only spell it right fifty-percent of the time.

"Huked on fonics" won't help you, because it defies phonics.

Who came up with the correct spelling of tongue, and what were they smoking.

CD

tung - a Chinese tree from which tung oil is derived

tounge - a typo for tongue

tongue - that thing in your mouth that can get you into trouble.

I answered the poll Yes, I know my tongue weight.

Ron,

I always enjoy your polls, please keep them coming...

Light enough to lift on the hitch, heavy enough to seriously tweek my back

I could just barely lift mine, so I put scale under the tongue, and it read...

165 lbs, plan was about 125 lbs

After IRG, stopped at a local scale and had the puppy weighed, 1900 lbs even.
Ok, so she is a little bigger than an average tear, 5 feet tall and 12 feet long.

Turns out Andrew's spread sheet works, my trailer was just a little bit (400 lbs) more than I had planned. Oh well...........



Wolfgang

All of mine have fallen within the 10-15% rule on tongue weight vs. overall...'cept the Nomad...I'm light on the tongue...1420 OAW but 135 on the tongue...close enough, I can load the front a bit.

On yours Ron...I think part of the deal is...your axle sits so far back. You didn't move it did you? The other part is...you never know just how a used trailer has been abused/maintained. None of it matters now, but sometimes a used trailer, especially for a boat, may not be the best bet if you are limited on metal working abilities.

There are also lots of other places to weigh your trailer...ag stores/co-ops, local small gravel distributors etc...my local gravel guy will do it free, under 5$ at the ag co-op. Doug

Ron Dickey

I never really learned my tongue weight, I always figured I would never have that much in it, and I drive a small car.

Knowing tongue weight is especially important when towing w/ a lightweight tow vehicle!





Right now my "wagon" .5 teardrop weighs just over 650 lbs loaded... and it's tongue weight is exactly 65 lbs. When my teardrop nears completion as a "full" teardrop, it won't weigh over 1100 lbs fully-loaded. Even then I will never load it to more than 80 lbs tongue weight*

Nice thing about lighter-weight teardrops is that one can use a bathroom scale to measure tongue weight.

Be sure to not only measure trailer tongue weight with the trailer at a level attitude... but ALSO tow the thing level, even if it means purchasing or even having a hitch welder custom-bend a drawbar for you.



*In the case where one is towing using a compact-class, front-wheel-drive car then consider the use of the european unofficial standard of 8% tongue weight.

Dispite my bad spelling and it would be nice if we had a spell check. I guess I could cut and past from work program. As most will tell you from over the years I am a bad speller. Sorry I will see what I can do to make it better.
I was once told that reading my words is a little like reading a snoopy cartoon.

Doug, I do not have the equipment to move the axel nor would I know how. but the "tongue" is shorter now so in a way I have moved wheels forward.

I like most want to make another trailer and it is in the talks but will take another 5 years at the rate I go to do so. But I started out knowing little and a neighbor or two helped me understand better. This forum and going to many gathings also has opened my eye's.

I started this string of ideas because if I had had that tongue brake on the freeway with a semi behind spinter city might have happened, and I might have been in trouble with the law if anyone were hurt.

So What I am saying I when you build make sure and consult forum professionals and people in the feild about
suspention, weight of trailer empty and full, tongue weight, making sure the tung is level (mine was not & ball was raised but not enough), and the pulling unit has the stength to support the weight at it's end.

I have pulled my trailer to several states, northern and southern California several time. but I have bottomed out a few times. This time I had an angel on my shoulders braking 1000 feet shy of a freeway entrance. Make sure your angel works with you to keep you always safe.

So read all you can find on frames, axels, brakes (my trailer has non), size of wheels and tires, what to do to keep your frame stong and safe, tongue weight, trailer weight and it's math, and what you plan to carry in it and it has the strength to pull what you have built and hold the tung ( correction tongue) level at all times. But even the best built units run into trouble too.