weight on hitch?

[yuskis1]

how do u figure out how much weight should be on the hitch? im trying to figure out how to balance out my trailer but not sure where to place the wheels. im using the trailer balance spreadsheet to help but just dont konw what my goal numbers should be for weights. pls help!

[teardrop_focus]

Hey. How're you doin'. Welcome to the forum. :-)~

You want between 10% and 15% of your trailer's total weight on the tongue (hitch).

If your tug is a compact car and therefore more softly sprung, use 10%-12%. If towing your trailer with a larger sport utility or large pickup, you can lean more towards 15%.

Say you have a 1000-pound teardrop (that's fully-loaded, ready to go) and are towing it with a Honda Accord or PT Cruiser. Try to keep the tongue weight to 100 - 120 lbs.

[sdtripper2]

Trailer Tongue Weight

Andrew's Trailer Balance Spreadsheet Formula
http://www.angib.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/t ... tear81.htm
My correlation of data used to plan a trailer build ~ Read from the top
http://tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?t=11178

Here is a rudimentary way of measuring Tongue Weight



Here is another suggestion on measuring Tongue Weight


***

Steve

[teardrop_focus]

^

Steve is the man...


I'm glad to see charts indicating just 10% tongue weight... I think the 15% too high/too heavy for some tugs.

I understand that in Yurp (Europe) they use 8% tongue weight. That's what I'll really be shooting for come tug time.

[Gerdo]

With all that said...

If you have too much tongue weight on a light vehicle it will squat the rear of the tow vehicle but worse than that it will unload the front wheels causing light steering and loss of control.

Too light of tongue weight and the trailer will have a tendency to fishtail.

[angib]

I understand that in Yurp (Europe) they use 8% tongue weight. That's what I'll really be shooting for come tug time.

But remember that us Yurpeens (mostly) tow at lower-than-normal speeds - a 50mph or 60mph towing limit is usual .vs, 70mph not towing - plus we expect to be nearer the onset of sway than Merkans.

But then 8% is the top end of the scale for Yurpeen hitch weights - as low as 4% is quite common.

Andrew

[teardrop_focus]

angib

But remember that us Yurpeens (mostly) tow at lower-than-normal speeds - a 50mph or 60mph towing limit is usual .vs, 70mph not towing...

In most states here the U.S.; specifically here in California the towing speed limit is 55 MPH versus everyone else doing 80+. I've seen large, lifted, privately-owned 3/4 ton Chevrolet and Ford pickup trucks hauling boats or other personal watercraft, motorcycles, etc at 70+. That doesn't mean, of course, that I recommend it.



I plan to haul my tear at 60... which is 5 over posted and is informally allowed (for lack of a better way of saying it).

- plus we expect to be nearer the onset of sway than Merkans.

The bulk of European drivers are certainly more focused on the job at hand than most Americans, that's for sure.



And in most cases, that's not a laughing matter. :-\

[Wild Bill]

I am building on a boat trailer and can still unbolt the u bolts and slide the axle forward or back. I have a trailer that from the hitch ball to the rear bumper is 20' long. I plan to have a long tongue to have propane, a truck tool storage box and battery. the bed will be in the front ahead of the axle. Still flexable on that. The box itself will be 14' long including the galley in the rear. Finally my question. when you measure for the % I assume you measure from the ball hitch to the tail, not the box size. Or are you caluclating the area just over the box itself??? I have the axle set at 32%. When it was a boat it had a very large motor hanging on the tail and the axle was way back. I want to get this set so I can move forward. Bill

[Creamcracker]

I understand that in Yurp (Europe) they use 8% tongue weight. That's what I'll really be shooting for come tug time.

But remember that us Yurpeens (mostly) tow at lower-than-normal speeds - a 50mph or 60mph towing limit is usual .vs, 70mph not towing - plus we expect to be nearer the onset of sway than Merkans.

But then 8% is the top end of the scale for Yurpeen hitch weights - as low as 4% is quite common.

Andrew

As a native Welshman now living in the US my trailer ended up with a total weight of 720lbs and atongue weight of 60lbs....I think that's about as closeto 8% as I could have got. Some things you just got to do the Yurpean way!
Philip