Weight math

[Kevin D Pem]

If a manufacturer quotes the (dry) tongue weight of their trailer as 350 lbs, you can bet the real world tongue weight is going to be much heavier than that even before you've loaded up the trailer.

Heaver yes but 300 percent? The trailer has to be towable empty, and clearly that one is not!

What comes to mind is the claim that equalizer systems are the cause of frame failures, clearly in this case the cause would be the build!!!

 

[Rosy]

Heaver yes but 300 percent? The trailer has to be towable empty, and clearly that one is not!

What comes to mind is the claim that equalizer systems are the cause of frame failures, clearly in this case the cause would be the build!!!

I agree there's something off with this trailer. I'm just thinking that OP is unlikely to find a travel trailer with a loaded tongue weight less than 350 lbs and, if he did, I'm not sure I'd want to tow it with any vehicle.

Maybe the OP needs a boat.

 

[Bigblockyeti]

Instead of calculating the tongue weight, why not actually measure it? You need only a 4' length (or greater) of 4x4, a bath scale and a brick just barely taller than the bath scale. A simple 5:1 ratio will be well within the limits of the bathscale and give you a number that's pretty darn accurate. I understand not wanting to disclose a 4 cylinder SUV but if it meets specs, don't worry about it. FWIW, if it were my owned tow vehicle, I would do this infrequently, if it's leased, drive it like you stole it (or poured a bunch of money into a vehicle with zero equity at the end). A cooked transmission 15K miles after it's turned in is someone else's problem.

 

[Voyageurs]

Our tongue weight decreases as we load the trailer. Almost all the storage both inside and outside is behind the rear axle. So are the two 6 volt AGM batteries. But our trailer is a European trailer built under license in the US. Lighter hitch weights are common there.

Our loaded weight with full fresh water is 3385 pounds.

Our loaded hitch weight with fresh water full is 340 pounds. The water affects it a tiny bit but the tank is pretty much over the axle.

2022 T@B400. Tow vehicle is a tesla model Y. Excellent well balanced combo. No need for a weight distribution hitch.