Palomini 180FB tongue weight concerns...

[Wankrl7]

Digging further into the numbers I see that the empty weight is

UVW - 2821
Hitch weight - 443

PaloMini Travel Trailers by Palomino

So hitch is 15.7% of tongue out of the gate. The factory sticker on my trailer says 3100 lbs dry but is silent on the new tongue weight.

I am towing with a 2005 Tundra V8 that can tow 7100lbs but I am away from the truck and not sure what the max tongue weight is.

My concern is that the trailer's 19 gallon water tank is located under the bed well forward of the axle. I also had dreams of adding two 6v golf car batteries to the tongue. However, the rear bathroom does have a lot of storage. Heavy things can go back there like tools and the rock climbing gear to help take the weight off of the front. Additionally, the black and grey tanks are mounted aft of the rear axle.

I have already accepted that I will most likely need a WDH...but this is all theoretical. I have never towed anything this large, never owned an RV, and didn't know what a WDH was up until about 2 weeks ago


Thoughts?

[Airdale]

The regulations the trailer builder must follow require them to establish a hitch weight and publish it.

Look at the specs in your reference. Add the UVW to the CCC. It equals the GVWR. For a single axle trailer you probably have a single 4000# GAWR axle or two 2000# GAWR axles in a dual axle configuration.

By regulation the published hitch weight when added to the total GAWR must equal or exceed GVWR. So the published hitch weight is based on a fully loaded and perfectly balanced trailer. From that point on the hitch weight is the owners responsibility.

IMO the percentage you have figured-out should always be your target hitch weight.

[Phil1]

I've never had trouble with tongue weight with my 180 FB. I tow with a WDH and friction sway control. My tow vehicle is a Nissan Frontier with a 6,100 towing capacity. We've had our TT a year and really like it. The only complaint I really have is the flat roof. You have to setup not quite level so rain, AC water will drain off. If you don't the roof sags down a little. This was discussed in a thread last year. For what we paid for it and the features it has we are well pleased. Hope you have a great time camping in yours.

[Wankrl7]

Originally Posted by Phil1

I've never had trouble with tongue weight with my 180 FB. I tow with a WDH and friction sway control. My tow vehicle is a Nissan Frontier with a 6,100 towing capacity. We've had our TT a year and really like it. The only complaint I really have is the flat roof. You have to setup not quite level so rain, AC water will drain off. If you don't the roof sags down a little. This was discussed in a thread last year. For what we paid for it and the features it has we are well pleased. Hope you have a great time camping in yours.

Thank you for the reassurance.

This is my first RV and I think I am over researching things

I did notice today how flat the roof is...is that common in TTs?

What WDH did you go with? Any interference from the battery mount?

[Total Loss]

I towed with a Tundra without a wdh. (2000 4wd V8)
My tongue weight was about 320 and with 2 dirt bikes and gear in the bed- I would occasionally bottom out the rear springs. (single axle TT- 14 ft box @ 3k gw))
Air bags became a necessity and worked great after that.
A wdh would take the place of the necessity for air bags.
I chose to not run a wdh for ease of unhooking since I did it on every trip.

[BooBoo23]

Originally Posted by Wankrl7

I did notice today how flat the roof is...is that common in TTs?

If you are concerned about water standing on the roof just park it with a slight up angle pitch on the front so it won't accumulate on the roof.

[Phil1]

I'm still using the Husky WDH and friction sway control I got with my first TT. I've never had trouble with it and saw no reason to update it. This is my 4th TT the other 3 had a rolled roofs. I just setup a little out of level so water doesn't puddle on the roof and cause it to sag. You mentioned 2 6 volt batteries I'm using the stock 12 volt so I don't know if you'll have trouble with the hitch.

[keith_h]

The only time I really worry about standing water on the roof is when the trailer is parked at home. I just raise the front so the roof pitches towards the back and have never had any problems. I will bring at back to level when I cool the fridge for a trip.

I use an Equal-i-zer hitch for our trailer as I needed the WDH when we were towing with our old Explorer. Since we have it I still use the hitch with the new truck for its sway control but don't really need it for the weight distribution. No matter what you should have some type of sway control. Whether you go with it built in the hitch or you get friction bars it is up to you. I would base the decision about which way to go on how much you lift you end up with in the front end.

[Wankrl7]

Well, lightly loaded with no water my tongue came in at 620. Granted I installed 130 lbs of batteries on the tongue.

Too heavy for my TV...taking too much out of my payload.

I am moving the batteries to about 6 inches behind the axle.

Picked up this to play with weight shifts.



Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scale - Sherline Products