Tongue weight
 

Hello,

Wondering what % of loaded trailer weight do you have for tongue weight.

I read you should have between 9-15% but wondering what some of you have. My trailer/boat is 12k, so that is around 1500 tongue weight....seems like a lot. Unsure what I have but only squats my dually 1 inch.

Edit, for a frame mounted bumper style hitch, not gooseneck or fifth wheel.

Thanks!

Need to weigh it.

I have about 10% or 800lbs. I confirmed this by weighing the trailer and then the tongue on some cat scales!

Thanks, I always thought 10% was the rule of thumb.

Curious to what others have as well.

Trust me tongue weight is very important, I have very little and if I had a video from this weekend (trying out new WD hitch and moved boat forward and new tires for tow vehicle) you`d be wondering how my boat and truck are not rolled over in a ditch. Thank God traffic was light.
Currently my set up allows me to take side streets thou so I guess it`s not a total loss :traurig001:

I agree, that's why I am inquiring on what % people have. Is it truly around 10, more, less, ??

Looking for people that know what they have.....

There is a place off Groesbeck where you can weigh it. I have the name somewhere in my boat file.

Yea, great lakes recycling. I already weighed the boat/trailer but didn't think to do the tongue weight.

I did it in my driveway using a bathroom scale, brick, 2x4 and it was only 4.75%. I am pretty close with this method.

It's not that I need to weigh, I want to know what the recommended is. I read 9-15 and also read on a boat trailer 5-7.

I'll call manning and myco tomorrow.

With the boat and trailer at 12,000 I would like at least 750-800 I think.

Correction, I just took my buddies 91 dually out to see what would happen and no more sway.. none , ZERO. So in my case anyway it seems tow vehicle makes a big difference
I am now in the market for a dually.

Oh god please tell me you didn't just say that! This thread is about to go so far off topic! :angry-smiley-038:

Haha , speaking of off topic I was finally able to put to use the switches you turned me on to. I like em a lot hope they hold up



http://33outlaw.zenfolio.com/img/s9/...61653428-4.jpg

check the capacity of hitch/vehicle.. too much will sway and too little could affect traction on launch and cause tongue to bounce on ball also...

I would say 600 - 1000lbs depending on hitch/truck.

Duallies can mask a lot of trailer not-set-up-right problems. Not arguing against a dually for a heavy 38' boat, it is the right truck, but your trailer is not set right whether you have a dually or not. So for your own sake, and those on the road with you, please keep dialing in your trailer.

Used to hear that boat trailers needed 5-10% tongue weight. Now you usually hear aim for 10%. I think somewhere between those is probably going to be fine.

Boat trailers are a little different from most other trailers, in that the axles are pretty far back, and the bulk of the weight is close to the axles. There is less tail-wagging-the-dog on a boat trailer than most other trailers because of that. Other trailers aren't going to endorse 5%, but that was followed by boat trailers for years without significant problems.

If you have a choice, try to get close to 10%.

Ok, this morning I called Manning and MyCo.

Manning said 5-10%
MyCo said 6-10%. He also said their sweet spot is 6-8 but never less than 6.

Hope this helps others like me that are trying to get set up properly.

Very nice! I like it :)

Thank you for posting this, good info.

I tow a 9,500 pound travel trailer with the burb and I am set up at 10% tongue. it tows fantastic, so well you have to remember it is back there. On travel trailers I was told 10%, maybe a bit more is the goal.

Boats I am new to but had heard the same thing, below 10% down to 5%. 6 to 8% sounds great. I am redoing my trailer right now and have a full scale at work, so weighing and calculating it out is nice and easy.

Can't recommend running it across the scales enough and getting all the axle weights.

Brian