Tongue Weight

[gaucho10]

For the past 15 years I have been towing a 24' trailer with my 1500 Chevy, GMC or Dodge Ram which have a class 3 tow hitch with an allowed tongue weight of 500 lb. I have just purchased a 2007 Forest River 27' trailer which weighs more than my previous trailer. Now for my question: If my new trailer tongue weight is 600 lb but my truck hitch is only 500 lb TW can I just add ~100 lb of weight in the rear of the trailer to take some of the tongue weight off the hitch?

[Should_Have]

I suspect you where overweight before and probably even heavier than the 600lb advertise dry weight of your new camper. I could be wrong

[dustman_stx]

Do that and the best possible scenario is that you’ll have one of the scariest towing experiences of your life by the time you hit 45mph. Worst case scenario is that AND you end up with a totaled truck and trailer and a few casualties. You need at LEAST 10% tongue weight, but 13-15% is better. Get a good weight distribution hitch and have it setup by someone that knows what they’re doing. This last requirement will exclude many dealerships unfortunately.

[gaucho10]

Should Have, I asked the sales people at the dealership if the 1/4 ton trucks would be able to tow a 24' trailer and (Chevy, Dodge, GMC) dealers said that the trucks were designed to tow such trailers...Maybe not???


BTW, I never had a problem with sway with the 24 footer but this 27 footer is not only longer but also has a bottom clearance of about 18" and is around 18" taller than my 24 footer. When I brought the 27' trailer home I noticed some sway but when I took a one week vacation down to Cape Cod (~230 mi.) I was deffinitely fealing the sway. I will see if I can measure the tongue weight of the trailer. I saw some technique for using a house scale and some planks to accomplish that short of going to a public weight scale.

[gaucho10]

dustman_stx, I do have a good weight distribution hitch that I got with the trailer but the sway control arm was missing so I just purchased one that fits the holes on the trailer frame

[Should_Have]

1/2 Ton can tow your trailer. I haven't look up class 3 hitch, but went off the 500 lb tongue weight limit you supplied. Not sure if class 3 can accept weight distribution hitch but you stated you have one on your set-up. As someone previous noted correct tongue weight is important for sway control. Hopefully you reset your weight distribution set-up for your new camper. And per the internet be careful backing up with the sway arm setup on the old style sway control arm.

[bikendan]

Originally Posted by gaucho10

Should Have, I asked the sales people at the dealership if the 1/4 ton trucks would be able to tow a 24' trailer and (Chevy, Dodge, GMC) dealers said that the trucks were designed to tow such trailers...Maybe not???


BTW, I never had a problem with sway with the 24 footer but this 27 footer is not only longer but also has a bottom clearance of about 18" and is around 18" taller than my 24 footer. When I brought the 27' trailer home I noticed some sway but when I took a one week vacation down to Cape Cod (~230 mi.) I was deffinitely fealing the sway. I will see if I can measure the tongue weight of the trailer. I saw some technique for using a house scale and some planks to accomplish that short of going to a public weight scale.

I'm betting that your 2016 Ram 1500 may be out of payload, from the larger trailer's heavier tongue weight. Your Ram probably has a low payload capacity. That model truck was infamous for low payload capacities and weak rear coil springs.
And NEVER believe what a dealer tells you.

[Mike134]

My hitch receiver has a dual rating Max 500lb just dropped on the ball and 1300lbs if using a weight distributing hitch

[BigH]

Originally Posted by Mike134

My hitch receiver has a dual rating Max 500lb just dropped on the ball and 1300lbs if using a weight distributing hitch

I'm not sure if you just could have worded this better or if you don't know...

Its not really your receiver that has a dual rating...its your truck. Anything above 500lbs caused enough of a handling issue during testing that weight above that requires a wdh.

[gaucho10]

BigH, In my case I do have a weight distribution hitch. I just got back (30 minutes ago) from an RV supply house and spoke with the man-behind-the-counter...LOL. After I told him my situation he told me that it is not what is stamped on my hitch that matters but how I use my weight distribution hitch. So...again...I am not an expert on this, but what "Mike134" has posted might have some truth to the discussion.

[BigH]

Originally Posted by gaucho10

BigH, In my case I do have a weight distribution hitch. I just got back (30 minutes ago) from an RV supply house and spoke with the man-behind-the-counter...LOL. After I told him my situation he told me that it is not what is stamped on my hitch that matters but how I use my weight distribution hitch. So...again...I am not an expert on this, but what "Mike134" has posted might have some truth to the discussion.

What is stamped on your hitch (receiver) absolutely matters!

What Mike posted is not about truth...its about understanding. His receiver has exactly what he said it has on it: 500 weight carrying and 1300 weight distributing but it is not because the receiver has a dual rating...its about the truck's handling ability. That 500lbs number without a wdh was determined during testing (SAE J2807).

[D W]

That guy should probably stay behind the counter. Every "receiver" (not hitch), "receiver" that I have seen is type classified and rated for a certain TW with and without a WDH, as well as max towing capacity. The GCWR of the TV is determined by the vehicle manufacturer.

[BigH]

Originally Posted by D W

That guy should probably stay behind the counter. Every "receiver" (not hitch), "receiver" that I have seen is type classified and rated for a certain TW with and without a WDH, as well as max towing capacity. The GCWR of the TV is determined by the vehicle manufacturer.

My last truck wasn't. It was rated to 2000lbs tongue weight with or without a wdh.

I haven't looked at my current one...

[Mike134]

Originally Posted by BigH

My last truck wasn't. It was rated to 2000lbs tongue weight with or without a wdh.

Likely a 1 ton truck no?

[AZ Pete]

I believe the following specification of a class III hitch receiver may help.

Class III

For larger trailers, a Class III or IV hitch is recommended. The Class III hitch has a sturdier attachment and a larger, 2-inch receiver tube, and is often found on full-size pickups. It can handle up to 8,000 pounds, with 800 pounds of tongue weight.

[BigH]

Originally Posted by Mike134

Likely a 1 ton truck no?

2017 Chevy 3/4 ton DC Long box. The same configuration in a short box had a weight carrying limit of 1500 and weight distributing of 2000.

Interestingly I just went outside and looked at the truck in my signature and the only rating on it was 20,000lbs...

[Mike134]

Originally Posted by BigH

It's really your receiver that has a dual rating..

deleted

[gaucho10]

Originally Posted by AZ Pete

I believe the following specification of a class III hitch receiver may help.

Class III

For larger trailers, a Class III or IV hitch is recommended. The Class III hitch has a sturdier attachment and a larger, 2-inch receiver tube, and is often found on full-size pickups. It can handle up to 8,000 pounds, with 800 pounds of tongue weight.

Well, thanks for that AZ Pete. That makes me feel a little better and that is possibly what the people at the RV shops were trying to tell me.

[AZ Pete]

gaucho, I towed similar sized trailers with 1/2 ton trucks. I used Equalizer WDH that was specified for the tow weight/tongue weight. Equalizer has sway control built into the WDH, and gave me very satisfactory service over about 100,000 miles towing through the Western US and Canada.

[gaucho10]

while discussing similar topic as here.





So I guess that if I have a Class III hitch that is good for 5,000 lb. towing and 500 lb. TW if you use a weight distribution hitch the weight allowance increases.