A question about tongue weight....

[cokebottle10]

Are you just North of Ducktown TN? I will be headed to Cleveland TN from Ashevile in two weeks. Would you like a second opinion? send me a PM.

I would try to move that battery to the back. Even if you do not connect it up. Then check the tongue weight again. Do you have a spear tire? Is it in the back? If not add one to the back.

Anything that you take off the front will subtract tongue weight. When you place that thing that you removed from the front to the back it will again subtract even more tongue weight.

In other words if you remove a 40 pound battery from the front you will remove almost 40 pounds from the tongue weights. Say 38 pounds. Then add that same battery to the back you will subtract more weight. Say about 20 more pounds. The weight of the trailer has not changed but you have removed 58 pounds off the tongue weight. Do you have a LP bottle in the front? Anything that you can move to the back will decrease the tongue weight by the weight of that object plus some without effecting the total weight. The longer the trailer is behind the axle the more this takes affect. This is the same as moving the axle forward.

Thanks,
David.

[retnavycpo]

David,

Thank you for offering to take a look at my teardrop. I will take you up on that. It will be middle of next week before I can get it registered; and I suppose I need to do that in any case.

As the crow flies, I am not that far from Cleveland, but to get there the only road is 64, which goes along the Ocoee River. I live about 45-50 minutes drive from Cleveland.










Pete

[cokebottle10]

I love taking 64 through Ocoee and then through Natahala back to Asheville. Have you ever white water raft on the lower Ocoee? Man that is fun. Saw tooth, Double suck, it is almost as much fun to watch as it is to run it.

I will be traveling back from Cleveland about Aug 4 or 5. If you PM me with your phone number and address I can give you mine.

I'm not sure what can be done with the axle back as far as it looks in the photo. But the people on this site come up with good ideas all the time. So please don't give up yet.

Hope to see you in a few days,
David.

[retnavycpo]

Thanks for the positive advice, David.

I will not be in a hurry to sell it until you stop by to take a look, and also to see what the good folks on this forum can suggest.

Pete

[S. Heisley]

Hi, Pete:

I've been reading this thread with some interest, awaiting the outcome.
Now that you've posted pictures, I can see a hint of something that you might be able to check out fairly easily.

That tongue box doesn't look lightweight. It looks like it might even be made out of something like thick walnut boards? Because it is mounted on that short tongue, much of the box and its contents' weight would be transferred directly to the hitch.

Viewing the way it is mounted, it looks like you could easily unbolt it and carefully sit it on the ground, beside where it is sitting now. (First, disconnect the battery and propane tank, if they are inside. If at all possible, remove them from the box.) If you see that you or you and a friend can do this, maybe you can weigh the box and everything it contains. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if you write back to tell us that the total weight of the box and its contents is around a 100 lbs. If so, a solution could probably be found and the situation corrected with little difficulty.

Please recognize that this is an assumption based on the picture and could be totally wrong. (But, if I were a betting person..... )
Can someone please give their opinion of my idea/suggestion? (The wheels do look a little far back, too.)

PS. If you decide to do this, why not recheck the tongue weight of the trailer while the tongue box and contents are not attached?

[retnavycpo]

Hi Sharon,

The picture is definitely deceiving, because the box is made of lightweight construction. I have not unbolted/removed it, but will be. Only item in the box is the battery.

I sure hope someone here has some ideas on how to fix this dilemma. I do like this teardrop (especially since it's my first, and I drove so far to get it!).

Pete

[chorizon]

Please recognize that this is an assumption based on the picture and could be totally wrong. (But, if I were a betting person..... )
Can someone please give their opinion of my idea/suggestion?

<Pirate Captain sez> "Even if it be not filled with gold and treasure as it appears, it still could likely weigh 100 pounds, Yarrr!"

-Cap'n Joshie

[retnavycpo]

I removed the battery and the wooden box. I checked the tongue weight again, and it is still 229 pounds, and that is with the battery placed in the back hatch area.

The box is super light weight construction.

Pete

[planovet]

(The wheels do look a little far back, too.)

It looks that way to me also. It doesn't look like there is much in the galley to weigh down the back end.
In my humble opinion, you aren't going to lighten the tongue weight much without moving the axle forward and that doesn't look like an option for your trailer.

[S. Heisley]

Thanks for humoring me, Pete and Mark.

Pete, at 860 pounds, you could easily add some weight to the back of the trailer and maybe that would make all the difference you need. So, why not experiment a bit?!

By testing the added back weight with the tongue on the scales, you may find that you can turn your believed difficulty into an opportunity! (My fingers are crossed....,) If nothing else, you could try adding a 50 lb. bag of sand (or 2) in the back and see what that does for ya.

Try adding the things that you will be using on your camping trips. Add as much of that into the back as you can.

...Do you carry an ice chest? Put it in the back and keep it full of either ice or fill it with water for the return trip. See if that helps.

...Do you use cast iron pans or a cast iron Dutch oven? If not, it's a good opportunity to start and to learn how to use that Dutch oven. We have some good cooks and excellent teachers on the forum.

You really have little to loose by trying this and it might keep you from having to make modifications or having to sell it. Did the previous owner keep something heavy in the back that he didn't sell with the TD? If you aren't certain, you might call him and ask.....

That's my last idea; so, I hope it works!

...Wishing you the best.

[retnavycpo]

Hey Sharon,

The previous owner had a fairly large truck, and didn't have the tongue weight problem I'm faced with. I will try loading some weight in the back of the teardrop. You're correct; I have nothing to lose at this point by trying.

Really can't think of anything I would take camping that would weigh that much, but will give it a try anyway!

Pete

[CJflyer]

Its late so I may have missed something here but, have you looked into adding some lead ballast bolted to the frame aft of the axle? Seems to me this is a just a weight shift equation not unlike what we do for aircraft. Yes, your total weight will increase but if your distance aft of the fulcrum (axle) is sufficient, then you may have a chance at transferring significant weight from the tongue. For instance, by adding 100 pounds to a point 30 inches aft of your axle, you would move your trailers center of gravity (balance point) about 23 inches further aft (closer to the axle rather than the tongue). Hope this helps and good luck.

[Creamcracker]

Use the spreadsheet "Trailer Balance" in the "Design Library" at the top of the page.....plug in what you have as regards weights and distances and then plug in what you'ld need to have to get the tongue weight down to below 100lbs.........I'd be interested to see the figures.....
Philip

[retnavycpo]

I'm going to do a quick test by putting some concrete blocks in the back. Have a few of those laying around.

Since I have a HHR Panel truck, I have plenty of room to put my camping supplies!

Pete

Will report back with results.

[CPlater]

I'm sure you've thought about it but what about upgrading the suspension to handle full hitch weight. I believe one of the reasons the factory rating is only 100 pounds is that most American vehicles tend to have soft suspension for a smoother ride. While your HHR sits level when not moving, on the road bumps could bottom out the springs and that's never a good thing. Helper springs, heavy duty shocks and whatever suspension toys are available for the HHR should be able to improve things to the hitch limit of 200. It would be much easier to reduce the tongue weight 40 than 140 pounds.