Tongue Weight

[Redboat]

New Wolf Pup 16FQ . Got a weigh safe ball mount . Empty trailer except for water / sewer hose , electric cord , power jack , lp tank and single 12v battery . Empty fresh water tank , no black or gray water . Specs say 444lb tongue weight , scale says 650lbs . Yikes . Max receiver weight 500lbs .

Now what ? Fill black water tank partway ? New truck ? Currently a 2007 Toyota FJCruiser that I don't want to leave behind .

[Virginian]

Don't know about the FJ Cruiser, but the label on my truck hitch receiver says Max tongue weight 500 lbs. weight carrying, 1,050 lbs. w/weight distribution. Does your receiver have such a label? My solution to the same situation was to add a weight distribution hitch.

[Redboat]

Only info comes from owners manual . Factory tow package . Only 6 bolts hold receiver to rear frame cross member . Haven't done any research on weight distributing hitch yet . More expenses . Lol

Moved up from a popup to this new trailer cause I'm getting old !

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by Redboat

New Wolf Pup 16FQ . Got a weigh safe ball mount . Empty trailer except for water / sewer hose , electric cord , power jack , lp tank and single 12v battery . Empty fresh water tank , no black or gray water . Specs say 444lb tongue weight , scale says 650lbs . Yikes . Max receiver weight 500lbs .

Now what ? Fill black water tank partway ? New truck ? Currently a 2007 Toyota FJCruiser that I don't want to leave behind .

I believe the max tongue weight for a FJ Cruiser is 500lbs, WDH or not.
Website/brochure weights are fictional. Usually based on a stripped down version of the trailer.
Using a WDH won't change the car's max number.

[Virginian]

Look underneath for a label on the receiver. May save you a new tow vehicle.

[Redboat]

All the storage for this trailer is up front too . More weight .

Can I put a swivel tire under the tongue to carry some of the weight ?
Guess Camping World is going to get a call on Monday and see what can be done . Too bad too , I really like this trailer and got a great deal on it .

[Tom 2424]

I had never even HEARD of a weight distributing hitch until watching some YouTube videos and reading posts here. (We had previously owned boats up to 22 feet and 6500 pounds, but I understand now that they tend to be more stable to tow than TT's.)

I had the dealer install a WDH on our new TT, and it was amazing. We were towing a 26 foot Rockwood Mini-Lite just one time with a Tundra TV that was right at max payload (6900 lbs), and 70% of towing capacity (5600 lbs being towed versus a 7900 rating), with the trailer weighing just over 90% of what the truck does.

On my way home, I gradually increased speed as I got the feel of things, and I soon was going 55 MPH on a 2-lane highway with semis gong the other way at 60-65 MPH. The trailer didn't even twitch when they blew past.

Also, during the process of unhitching, after I removed the stabilizer bars it was really something to see how much the TV sagged when the full weight shifted onto the rear of the truck (vs. being dead-level with the WD hitch on).

We are very fortunate to have an ag business nearby with a commercial scale that they leave turned on all the time and you can use for free as long as you don't need a certified printout and are OK just to read the number off of the display screen.

[Virginian]

Yeah, I weighed mine on scales at 570 lbs. although advertised weight was 444. Internet research tells me that the weight won't harm the receiver, but is all about the weight removed from the front axle. In my case, the F-150 requires that at least 25% of the weight needs to be returned to the front axle.

[Fish N Farm]

When I bought my PUP I had issues with the tongue weight. Things that can effect it is was the spare mounted on the back, Water tanks behind the axles. Just stupid stuff. A 15" belted radial spare in the cargo basket in the front not on the back can change your tongue weight up almost 200 lbs. Depending on where the water tanks are some manufactures have a minimum of gallons that has to be in the tank for the tongue weight to be where they say it is. Some dealers don't know that. call the manufacture. Also if the trailer frame is not level and down in the front makes a big difference and the same goes for a high in the front. No matter what looks or measures level look at the spring equalizer it should be pretty close to equal distance to the frame at both ends. The extremes front and rear can effect it to the heavy side with a tandem axle trailer, if you get the tongue to high give your soul to Jesus.

[Redboat]

Spare tire mounted on rear bumper .

Fresh water tank in front of single axle , black water tank behind axle .
Looking at eTrailer web site , for me to add wd , FJCruiser will need a new frame mounted receiver . They claim it will add 100lbs to tongue weight max . Sounds like snake oil .

[bikendan]

Single axle trailers have much higher tongue weights than comparable tandem axle trailers.
The RV Industry is pumping these trailers out because the public is fooled by them being marketed to those with smaller tow vehicles. And by bogus dry numbers.
You aren't the first to discover how much heavier the real world loaded tongue weight is.
And yes, I just confirmed that the FJ max specs are 500lbs hitch weight and 5000lbs towing weight.

[IvoryHemi]

Unfortunately it looks like you need either a different trailer or a different tow vehicle.

WDH on a FJ isn’t going to increase your max tongue weight

[Virginian]

Originally Posted by Redboat

Looking at eTrailer web site , for me to add wd , FJCruiser will need a new frame mounted receiver . They claim it will add 100lbs to tongue weight max . Sounds like snake oil .

No, that doesn't sound like an acceptable solution.
I agree with IvoryHemi's post above, sounds like you're going to need another tow vehicle.

[Tom 2424]

I agree with the others, the TV is really not something you want to skimp on. It's just too much of a safety thing. Also, when towing up long grades, you'll potentially be straining your engine and transmission.

We just bit the bullet and traded up our TV. We used the old TV just once to bring our new TT home, and even at 71% of towing capacity, the truck was working hard to climb even modest grades. Our new TV brings us much more capacity so that we'll be at only 56% of maximum.

In the end, we feel good about the decision. And there is lots of good advice on this web site regarding tow vehicle selection.

[retdocj]

This is all scaring me, I tow with a 2917 Ford Edge 3.5 l V6 rated to tow 3500 lbs with the factory tow package. It seems to tow my 2018 Wolf pup with no problems. I have an E2 WDH. I am unable to find out the max hitch weight. What to do??

[hobienick]

My 2014 Edge w/ factory tow is rated at 350lbs TW.

[retdocj]

I just found out that it is 350 lbs for my model. Good thing that I tow in flat Florida

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by retdocj

I just found out that it is 350 lbs for my model. Good thing that I tow in flat Florida

If the max Towing capacity is 3500lbs, then the max tongue weight is 350lbs, even with a WDH. Not only are you probably over the max tongue weight, you're probably over the Edge's max payload capacity.

[Virginian]

FWIW, my last scale trip with the 16FQ showed a total weight of 3560, with a tongue weight of 580.

[Tom 2424]

@retdocj

Can you hook up your trailer and bring it to a commercial scale? (Maybe look on Google.) Most truck stops have scales, and some commercial businesses will. For no more then $10-15, you can weigh your rig. First, pull just your tow vehicle onto the pad and get its weight (which will include the weight on your tongue). You compare that to the max gross vehicle weight for your car (see sticker on driver's side front door jamb). Then, pull forward so that you weigh your entire rig, then subtract the two to get trailer weight. If you have time, unhitch the trailer and drive just your TV onto the scale, then you will also know how much tongue weight you have by comparing that to your TV weight with trailer hitched to it.

You may even be able to do this for free at a local business, or your local landfill. Just call. I am lucky that we have a scale close by that you can use for free.

As others have posted, this is the ONLY sure way to know your load, as the mfr's tend to disclose low numbers based on stripped-down models, etc.