Confused about tongue weight

[lando50]

i went to the Florida rv super show,the Rockwood geo pro 19fd is my foavorite small TT,the problem that i have is with the tongue weight,after you get two 6v batteries,around 130 lb and two full tanks of propane,40 lb,it is going to be over the 15% recomended,i asked, and the answer was ,to get a WDH,i just want to know if that would be safe,My Tow truck can handle this TT,to the many owners out there any recommendation,and how are you handling the tongue weight,really confusedPS:sorry for asking again

[67L48]

You're overthinking this a bit. Based on the GVWR, your trailer will weight around 2,700 lbs. Tongue weight is 10-15%. I usually use the middle 12.5%. But, if you're going to throw an extra battery on the tongue, then it's smart to use the more conservative 15%. That will be about 400 lbs on your hitch.

And, I'd highly recommend getting a WDH with any hard sided trailer, regardless of the above calculations.

Good luck.

[HangDiver]

Its not clear what you're unsure of with regards to tongue weight. What tow vehicle do you have?

For comparison, my Micro-Lite 19fd (slightly heavier than the Geo Pro) has an advertised dry tongue weight of 398lbs. Loaded up with batteries, propane and water and tongue weight is slightly over 500lbs. Yes, I generally use a WD hitch except for short trips around town.

[lando50]

Originally Posted by HangDiver

Its not clear what you're unsure of with regards to tongue weight. What tow vehicle do you have?

For comparison, my Micro-Lite 19fd (slightly heavier than the Geo Pro) has an advertised dry tongue weight of 398lbs. Loaded up with batteries, propane and water and tongue weight is slightly over 500lbs. Yes, I generally use a WD hitch except for short trips around town.

My truck is a Chevrolet colorado diesel,payload 1409,tow rating 7600,tongue weight rating 760,the geo pro 19fd at the show with the exact same extras that i want had a dry weight 2980, and ccc was 898,tongue was 390, as you can see 390+130(2 batteries,the show trailer had 2)+40(propane) nothing more, tongue is already 560, so is the trailer is almost at full capacity,3800,15% of 3800 is 570 so any weight that you add is going to get the tongue weight over the 15%,to much math for tonight,PS: maybe overthinking i see that a lot of people have this set up and no problems reported

[HangDiver]

Well, you're right about it being late and doing math... Yea I see what you're saying about tongue weight and your trucks tongue weight rating. And while you do have to add another 75lbs for the weight of a WDH, I think you're over thinking this and that you'll be fine. I have the same floor plan; all your food, drinks, hot water heater, waste tanks (grey and black) are behind the axle. As you load the TT to go camping you're not adding much additional weight to the tongue from whats already on there (batteries/propane).

Those Colorado diesels are nice trucks and a Geo Pro 19fd is a good camper for that truck.

Go Camping!

[Was]

Originally Posted by lando50

My truck is a Chevrolet colorado diesel,payload 1409,tow rating 7600,tongue weight rating 760,the geo pro 19fd at the show with the exact same extras that i want had a dry weight 2980, and ccc was 898,tongue was 390, as you can see 390+130(2 batteries,the show trailer had 2)+40(propane) nothing more, tongue is already 560, so is the trailer is almost at full capacity,3800,15% of 3800 is 570 so any weight that you add is going to get the tongue weight over the 15%,to much math for tonight,PS: maybe overthinking i see that a lot of people have this set up and no problems reported

I believe you are overthinking it. I think you’re worrying too much about the 15% tongue weight . As long as you’re not exceeding the payload on your truck you’ll be fine. I’d rather be a little heavy than to light on the tongue. Not sure where the storage is in in that model, but any weight you place in the rear of the trailer may lower tongue weight.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by lando50

My truck is a Chevrolet colorado diesel,payload 1409,tow rating 7600,tongue weight rating 760,the geo pro 19fd at the show with the exact same extras that i want had a dry weight 2980, and ccc was 898,tongue was 390, as you can see 390+130(2 batteries,the show trailer had 2)+40(propane) nothing more, tongue is already 560, so is the trailer is almost at full capacity,3800,15% of 3800 is 570 so any weight that you add is going to get the tongue weight over the 15%,to much math for tonight,PS: maybe overthinking i see that a lot of people have this set up and no problems reported

The issue with the trailer is the single axle.
That puts more weight on the tongue, especially for the bigger Geo/E Pro trailers.

[rockfordroo]

You don't need to include the 40 lbs for LP gas (unless you're adding extra tanks), it's already included.

From the Geo Pro brochure:

UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight)* - is the
typical weight of the unit as manufactured at the
factory. It includes all weight at the unit’s axle(s)
and tongue or pin and LP Gas. The UVW does not
include cargo, fresh potable water, additional optional
equipment or dealer installed accessories.
*Estimated average based on standard build optional
equipment.

[Scottnweeze]

Originally Posted by lando50

i went to the Florida rv super show,the Rockwood geo pro 19fd is my foavorite small TT,the problem that i have is with the tongue weight,after you get two 6v batteries,around 130 lb and two full tanks of propane,40 lb,it is going to be over the 15% recomended,i asked, and the answer was ,to get a WDH,i just want to know if that would be safe,My Tow truck can handle this TT,to the many owners out there any recommendation,and how are you handling the tongue weight,really confusedPS:sorry for asking again

Lando50: I weighed the tongue on my Geo Pro19FD. With two batteries, tanks mostly full, bike holder removed I was at 560lbs... that is not including the hitch. I think TW is important info to keep in your back pocket, as others have mentioned it can creep up pretty quickly with single axle trailers. Great choice in TT and we've had 0 issues to date.

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by rockfordroo

...
From the Geo Pro brochure:

UVW (Unloaded Vehicle Weight)* - is the
typical weight of the unit as manufactured at the
factory. It includes all weight at the unit’s axle(s)
and tongue or pin and LP Gas. The UVW does not
include cargo, fresh potable water, additional optional
equipment or dealer installed accessories.
*Estimated average based on standard build optional
equipment.

I'm actually impressed that the UVW is defined that well.

[2thdr]

Originally Posted by clarkbre

I'm actually impressed that the UVW is defined that well.

It was purely a fictional number in my experience. Even the label on the trailer (UVW) was lower than my true unladen trailer weight. Measured unladen tongue weight was 300# over published. You never know until you weigh it apparently.

[rsdata]

You can be over the 15% of total trailer weight by any number of pounds that you want if the tow vehicle will handle it, just be sure you are never under 10%... at 10% or under sway will become a big problem... ALSO, your trailer is a teeter-totter with the wheel as the fulcrum... load stuff behind the trailer axle and it will subtract pounds from TW...

[BjceyzF]

All,

Probably over-thinking this, but its not evening yet, so here goes from a noob:

Data:

1) I have a GeoPro 19FBS ... very happy with it so far ... but current tow vehicle is close to (but under) its GCWR and GVWR.

2) There's a different tongue weight for the travel trailer and the tow vehicle. The TT has a tongue weight of 360 lbs and the TV has a tongue weight of 350 lbs.

3) I weighted the unhitched (with no weight distribution hitch attached) tongue weight and measured about 420 lbs. (Extra battery and bike rack installed).

4) The WD hitch, when in use with the trailer hitched to the TV, will add another 40-50 lbs of weight putting me way over both tongue weight ratings.

Questions:

1) Since the WDH shifts some of the gross tongue weight back to the TT axle and to the front axle of the TV, does that distributed weight then "effectively" reduce the tongue weight.

2) Bur another way, do the tongue weight ratings apply to the "effective" weight on the tongue (after WDH shifting weight to TT and TV axles) or the "gross weight" ignoring the effect of the WDH?

Be kind to the noob ... thoughts?

[CincyGus]

Originally Posted by rsdata

You can be over the 15% of total trailer weight by any number of pounds that you want if the tow vehicle will handle it, just be sure you are never under 10%... at 10% or under sway will become a big problem... ALSO, your trailer is a teeter-totter with the wheel as the fulcrum... load stuff behind the trailer axle and it will subtract pounds from TW...

What he said.

You will be surprised how much different a trailer will pull based on WHERE you load your heavy stuff. My last TT if I didn't haul the fresh water tanks full or didn't purposely load my heavier items near the front of the trailer to compensate, It would get a little sway/wiggle. After one such episode, I decided I would be loading my case of bottled water, 3-4 gallons of water for coffee and drinking/cooking, softdrinks, cooler, anything heavy I had, in the bedroom on the floor as far forward as I could. I also started traveling with at least half a tank of fresh water if I was traveling light by myself. NO MORE SWAY. This was with a WD setup and a friction sway bar.

Do the math on the payload and make sure your not exceeding that but as far as TW, the heavier side of 12.5%-15% is your friend when it comes to eliminating sway.

[BjceyzF]

Originally Posted by CincyGus

What he said.

You will be surprised how much different a trailer will pull based on WHERE you load your heavy stuff. My last TT if I didn't haul the fresh water tanks full or didn't purposely load my heavier items near the front of the trailer to compensate, It would get a little sway/wiggle. After one such episode, I decided I would be loading my case of bottled water, 3-4 gallons of water for coffee and drinking/cooking, softdrinks, cooler, anything heavy I had, in the bedroom on the floor as far forward as I could. I also started traveling with at least half a tank of fresh water if I was traveling light by myself. NO MORE SWAY. This was with a WD setup and a friction sway bar.

Do the math on the payload and make sure your not exceeding that but as far as TW, the heavier side of 12.5%-15% is your friend when it comes to eliminating sway.

Nice YouTube demo of this concept!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2fkOVHAC8Q

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by BjceyzF

Questions:

1) Since the WDH shifts some of the gross tongue weight back to the TT axel and to the front axel of the TV, does that distributed weight then "effectively" reduce the tongue weight.

The WDH does not change or reduce the loaded tongue weight.
So if it's over the tow vehicle's max hitch weight, WDH or not, it's too heavy.

[clarkbre]

Originally Posted by bikendan

The WDH does not change or reduce the loaded tongue weight.
So if it's over the tow vehicle's max hitch weight, WDH or not, it's too heavy.

And to piggyback on this statement, you do have to be aware of weight bearing and WDH load ratings on a hitch.

My old F150 could take something like a 5000 lbs trailer and 500 lbs tongue weight without a WDH. But, with a WDH, it jumped to 10000 lbs trailer and 1000lbs tongue weight.

[Trawlerphil]

Over thinking can make you old. I've got 35,387 miles towing a 9,000 lb 5er with my 1/2 ton Tundra from sea to shining sea.

[JohnD10]

Originally Posted by Trawlerphil

Over thinking can make you old.

I've got 35,387 miles towing a 9,000 lb 5er with my 1/2 ton Tundra from sea to shining sea.

And not thinking can also cause a lot of grief for a lot of people...

[JohnD10]

Watch this video...two links to the same video:

http://www.doityourselfrv.com/trailer-flipping/

https://www.facebook.com/nicholas.br...7334037427451/