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[RC] tongue weight - Dawn Simas
<<How do I find out the tongue weight of my trailer? >>
Some manufacturers have it listed, but if they don't:
Take your truck to a scale (feed stores often have one they'll let you drive onto) and weigh it, this is your "tare weight". Then get your trailer and drive the truck on the scale again with the trailer attached, but only the truck on the scale. The difference in weight, after subtracting the Tare, is your tongue weight. Make sure you don't change anything, such as adding a human, a large dog, filling the fuel tank, that will change your Tare weight when you return with the trailer.
Also, consider that tongue weight can change drastically depending on the load in your trailer and where it is placed. I had a 3 horse slant. Empty tongue weight was 250#, but shot up to 900# when one horse was loaded in the front stall. I brought my horse to the scale and weighed it empty, and again each time with the horse in different stalls. Full water tanks in the tack room add a lot to the tongue weight too... It's best to get as much weight over the wheels in a trailer to keep it balanced. If that's not possible and you have a lot in the front, try checking the weight if you load your horse in the back stall to counterbalance. But it's just as important to not have too much weight behind the CG (center of gravity/wheels) either, as that can actually cause the tongue to *lift* your truck's rear end.
A balanced rig is a safe rig.
Ms. Dawn Simas
Director - Wild About Cats
Wild Feline Conservation, Education, and Rescue
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