a little algebra question

[rr retired]

some numbers.
front axle loaded 3100 just truck 3200
rear axle loaded 3640 just truck 2620 truck weighs 5820
total weight of both camper and truck 13000
trailor axle 6260 loaded and ready to go,
so i figure camper weighs 7180 and i have 920 tongue wieght.
am i right or crazy
thanks folks.
ford f 150 11300 towing cap.
17000cvwr

[Batts-toy]

(3100+3640)-5820=920, (6260+5820+920)=12,990, (12,990-5820)=7170 this part looks good to go, (920/7180)=12.8% tongue to TT weight ratio. Get going and happy camping.

[Bill n Diana]

The concept of torque arms comes to my mind because of weight on the bumper versus weight over the axle and the distances between all the point in this problem... I would say you have roughly 920 pounds of tongue weight. But to really figure this out requires physics and not algebra. Specifically you would need to know the length between all axles and how far the hitch is set back from rear axle...

And I don't even want to think about if this is a weight distribtuion systems with all those arms and torque/tension efforts...

I am not trying to be nit picky or an ***** but again think you are close to answer you got but probably off a bit one way or another...


Happy Travels,

B n D

p.s. Ideally, one could weigh the tongue weight with the trailer at the same degree of being level as your truck and trailer are when connected (Assuming their is no WDH involved that is...)

[Bill n Diana]

My post above reminds me about a hs problem I had once about supporting the weight of a one pound weight.

If you supported it with one string that was vertical that string would have to be able to not break at one pound...

If you supported it with two strings and both strings were vertical and both at each end of the weight then each string would have to be able to not break at one-half pound...

NOW if you support the one poiund weight with two strings and they were not vertical, the force on each string would be MORE than one-half pound... I forget the formula but it might have also involved sine/cosine/tangent or some other trigonometry....

Boy how I hated physics class some days....

B n D

[jeeplj8]

Originally Posted by rr retired

some numbers.
front axle loaded 3100 just truck 3200
rear axle loaded 3640 just truck 2620 truck weighs 5820
total weight of both camper and truck 13000
trailor axle 6260 loaded and ready to go,
so i figure camper weighs 7180 and i have 920 tongue wieght.
am i right or crazy
thanks folks.
ford f 150 11300 towing cap.
17000cvwr

your numbers are correct. Note that your 920 tongue weight is actually putting 1020 on your rear axle. Not sure what WD set-up you are using, but your rig might drive better with more weight transferred to the front.

[MtnGuy]

If the OP's weights were taken with the WDH spring bars in place, then the 920 lb. weight is incorrect. And with just 100 lbs. taken off the front axle with a trailer with a heavy trailer tongue, it appears that the WDH was in place. Tongue weight needs to be figured with trailer hooked up without the spring bars in place, compared to the truck alone weights.

920 lbs is the weight added to the truck with the trailer hooked up and the WDH spring bars in place.....but it is not the actual tongue weight. I have mistakenly called it "adjusted tongue" weight in previous posts......my bad. When using a WDH, weight is also transferred back to the trailer axles.....in the case of a trailer with a tongue weight in the 1150 lb. area (my best guess), maybe as much as 200 lbs is transferred to the trailer axles. So, in the case of using only the weights when the WDH spring bars are in place, the trailer weights are not correct, either.

Cofused yet ??

[Bill n Diana]

Yes, this and physics both confuse me...

LOL

B n D

[Batts-toy]

Dang I shoulda thought about the weight police before I answered.