Figuring or weighing trailer tongue weight?

[ShadowsPapa]

I had my other trailer pretty much figured out - and even if I was wrong, my other truck could deal with it. I traded for an Aluma 8218 tiltbed trailer and the thing is 850 pounds lighter, the axles sit a tad differently. I need to find a way to weigh (HAHAHAHA) the tongue when loaded so I know where to stop my cars and strap them on. The Eagle SX4 is VERY front-end heavy as it has the front differential, transfer case, heavy skid plates up front under the engine and steering stuff, with weight of the axles and 4 CV joints, and so on. The front of that car is heavy. The Javelin, better balanced but a MUCH looonger car, likely at least 2 feet longer than the SX4.
So I need to figure out where to position the cars - the Eagle will have to sit further back I'm sure compared to either Javelin and figure out when I'm at about 450 pounds tongue weight or so.
How is anyone doing that - or is anyone even bothering, maybe loading up a trailer until the back of their Jeep just starts to sag a bit?
Want to tow the trailer LEVEL to keep the load even on the axles, but want to have the right balance of tongue weight and am not seeing an easy way to do that............. if I use my wife's bathroom scale, I die, it's a fancy glass one anyway, wont' handle abuse and it won't go up that high.

Sponsored

 

[futzin']

I have a small tilt trailer. Steel, 5x8, single axle. Very different from yours, but . . . because of the tilt feature the axle is further forward than usual, effectively lowering tongue weight. Recently put my new side by side on it and couldn't get it quite right. I've used the trailer for years with no issues until this load.

So maybe load em up and see how it looks, feels.

 

[Whiplash2130]

I had my other trailer pretty much figured out - and even if I was wrong, my other truck could deal with it. I traded for an Aluma 8218 tiltbed trailer and the thing is 850 pounds lighter, the axles sit a tad differently. I need to find a way to weigh (HAHAHAHA) the tongue when loaded so I know where to stop my cars and strap them on. The Eagle SX4 is VERY front-end heavy as it has the front differential, transfer case, heavy skid plates up front under the engine and steering stuff, with weight of the axles and 4 CV joints, and so on. The front of that car is heavy. The Javelin, better balanced but a MUCH looonger car, likely at least 2 feet longer than the SX4.
So I need to figure out where to position the cars - the Eagle will have to sit further back I'm
sure compared to either Javelin and figure out when I'm at about 450 pounds tongue weight or so.
How is anyone doing that - or is anyone even bothering, maybe loading up a trailer until the back of their Jeep just starts to sag a bit?
Want to tow the trailer LEVEL to keep the load even on the axles, but want to have the right balance of tongue weight and am not seeing an easy way to do that............. if I use my wife's bathroom scale, I die, it's a fancy glass one anyway, wont' handle abuse and it won't go up that high.

Try this
[/https://www.etrailer.com/Hitch-Ball/Weigh-Safe/WSUN-1.html[

 

[giskard]

I second the weigh safe hitch. Mine's got 6" or 8" of adjustment, looks cool, and has a handy gauge right on the side that takes away all of the guesswork. A little on the pricy side, but very high quality.

https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Weigh-Safe/WS6-2.html

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah, thanks, but holy cow - 300 bucks? Was hoping for half that - only need to weigh, don't need to raise or lower, and then weigh only once for each car.
I have a half dozen or so mounts and a collection of trailer balls already that just lay around in the garage gathering dust.
I hate to buy yet ANOTHER trailer ball and another mount to add to the collection.

I'll only pull that trailer with that vehicle, and likely won't pull anything but that trailer with that vehicle. Once the thing is set up - it will always stay that way. Once I figure out where each car needs to be on the trailer, I mark the spots on the trailer bed and put stops on the bed.

I tow the smaller stuff with my 04 WJ or my wife's 2018 Grand Cherokee and I have ball and mount for each of those vehicles with the vehicle.
There's got to be a cheaper way, not so bulky, and not redundant since I already have a shelf full of mounts and trailer balls.

 

[the-dude-abides]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007REJTGI/ref=cm_sw_r_em_apa_i_XSlUDbA14VMS3

Or a local CAT scale and some math

Or DIY:

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I can't keep any of my cats on a scale long enough to get a weight so never bothered with a cat scale. I think Pickle is heavy enough he'd break it.
I have wondered about the Sherline Trailer Tongue Scale
Anyone around here use one? I see people say that if you pick it up by the top it comes apart LOL - geesh, they didn't even put a 2 cent stop in it? Maybe epoxy a stop chain to it so the top can't pull out.
Anyway, wondering if anyone has used anything like that? It could be used with any trailer, any vehicle, but like I say, I'd typically use it a couple of times to mark my trailer for MY cars and only use it again if I hauled home something else (much to my wife's dismay, of course - already have two parts cars besides my driveable classic show cars.

Did someone say cat scale? Where?

 

[giskard]

Cat scale is a company that has truck scales available for use nationwide. I haven't used one myself, but they are popular with truckers so they know exactly what they weigh (fines can be pretty steep if you're caught with an overloaded truck).

https://catscale.com/

Regarding the cost of the weigh safe - I haul diverse loads and borrow/rent other trailers on occasion so it was worth the cost to me. The one @Whiplash2130 linked is just a ball with a gauge and is a lot cheaper (though still not cheap). Everyone has different needs.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah it's interesting and more inline with my budget on this type of item, but the Amazon customer ratings scare me......... it rains and snows here, and worn out after one trip? I dunno...........
https://www.amazon.com/Weigh-Safe-WSUN-1-Drop-Hitch/dp/B078BR583L

 

[Whiplash2130]

Yeah it's interesting and more inline with my budget on this type of item, but the Amazon customer ratings scare me......... it rains and snows here, and worn out after one trip? I dunno...........
https://www.amazon.com/Weigh-Safe-WSUN-1-Drop-Hitch/dp/B078BR583L

I agree the reviews on Amazon are not stellar. Think the weigh safe one has better reviews, but I don’t think it’s worth the money to me.

 

[GunnersJL]

I tow a camper, and invested in a Sherline scale. Not expensive. Pretty accurate. It has never come apart, though I suppose it is possible if mishandled. If it does, there is a method for re-assembly and re-setting it for accuracy. Load up your trailer then set the scale under the tongue before attaching to the vehicle to get your tongue weight. Adjust weight as needed. I’m comfortable I’m within 5% of actual weight. I have a tongue light camper. It has paid for itself several times over.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I tow a camper, and invested in a Sherline scale. Not expensive. Pretty accurate. It has never come apart, though I suppose it is possible if mishandled. If it does, there is a method for re-assembly and re-setting it for accuracy. Load up your trailer then set the scale under the tongue before attaching to the vehicle to get your tongue weight. Adjust weight as needed. I’m comfortable I’m within 5% of actual weight. I have a tongue light camper. It has paid for itself several times over.

So this is roughly what you got?

https://www.amazon.com/Sherline-LM-1000-Trailer-Tongue/dp/B007REJTGI

 

[GunnersJL]

Roughly, yes. I'm not at home so cannot cross check for you. Be cautious here. You need to pick the model that falls properly into your approximate estimated tongue weight. You size the Sherline based on an estimate of what you believe your tongue weight will be. In my case I figured around 600 lbs, so I picked the appropriate one for that. If you over or undersize, it may be off a bit. Give it your best guess, and you will be in the ballpark. It will give you numbers you can work with.

1000 lbs might be a little high.

It's a bit of a learning curve. If I drop the trailer tongue onto the Sherline, I get a baseline number. If I drop it again it might be 10 or 15 lbs off. But overall it is trivial. Don't expect perfection. Just near perfection!

 

[PyrPatriot]

I second the weigh safe hitch. Mine's got 6" or 8" of adjustment, looks cool, and has a handy gauge right on the side that takes away all of the guesswork. A little on the pricy side, but very high quality.

https://www.etrailer.com/Ball-Mounts/Weigh-Safe/WS6-2.html

"Note: This hitch ball is not designed for use with weight-distribution systems. There is not enough clearance below a typical weight distribution head for the scale portion of this ball to attach without interfering with the system's spring bars.

What does that mean?

 

[the-dude-abides]

"Note: This hitch ball is not designed for use with weight-distribution systems. There is not enough clearance below a typical weight distribution head for the scale portion of this ball to attach without interfering with the system's spring bars.

What does that mean?

I read that to mean you can't use that ball with a weight distribution setup. If you look up "weight distribution hitch", you should see what they are talking about.

Sponsored