How do I reduce the Hitch weight on my trailer

[GrizzlyTaco]

Today I wanted to find out what the front hitch weight of my PU was, so when i weighed it it was 280lbs. I dont have alot of stuff loaded in the PU. Its just pots, pans and little things and I have them spread throughout the trailer. The hitch on my Santa Fe is rated for 3500lbs with a hitch weight of 315lbs the trailer weight is 2100lbs with a max of 3000lbs. Do i need to put more weight towards the back of the PU to bring down the weight of the front. There is'nt a lot of stuff loaded towards the front of the PU. The brochure for Jayco says the PU hitch weight is 195 lbs. Even If I hadn't put anything into the PU the front hitch weight would still be high. Any suggestions? ............Ed C.

[tlhdoc]

Do you know how much your trailer weighs?  The tongue weight should weigh between 10 to 15 percent of what the trailer weighs.  Empty the trailer weighs 2100 pounds an empty trailer should have a tongue weight between 210 (10%) and 315 pounds (15%).  With stuff in the trailer it should weigh more.  I think you are ok or a little light.  How does the trailer handle when you tow?

[TheViking]

Don't put the weight to the back of the trailer, you will have a sway issue.  They say you need more weight on the tongue, and less weight in the rear.

[AustinBoston]

tlhdoc and TheViking are right; you need enough weight on the tongue.  Taking weight off the tongue is only a good idea if you have significantly more than 15% of the trailer's total loaded weight on the tongue.

If you are having specific issues (such as handling problems or a sagging hitch) there are specific ways to correct them that work and are safe.

Taking weight off the tongue without a very good reason is a very bad idea.

Austin

[JimQPublic]

You definitely need weight on the hitch ball, you don't need mass on the tongue though.  I think that as long as you're within the tow vehicle tongue weight rating, the hitch rating,  the coupler rating AND you don't have excessive sag at the rear of the TV you're fine.  It's probably under 15%.  According to European towing practices, as little as 5% tongue weight can be stable- but that only applies if the trailer was designed with that in mind.  Your trailer would probably NOT be stable at 5% unless you modified it with a longer tongue, lower ride height, and a different mass distribution.

Ideally heavy loads in the trailer would be low and directly over the axle.  For safety (venting) reasons though the battery and propane tank go on the tongue, and the axle is placed with consideration of this loading.

(In my opinion of course)

[wavery]

Today I wanted to find out what the front hitch weight of my PU was, so when i weighed it it was 280lbs. I dont have alot of stuff loaded in the PU. Its just pots, pans and little things and I have them spread throughout the trailer. The hitch on my Santa Fe is rated for 3500lbs with a hitch weight of 315lbs the trailer weight is 2100lbs with a max of 3000lbs. Do i need to put more weight towards the back of the PU to bring down the weight of the front. There is'nt a lot of stuff loaded towards the front of the PU. The brochure for Jayco says the PU hitch weight is 195 lbs. Even If I hadn't put anything into the PU the front hitch weight would still be high. Any suggestions? ............Ed C.

Are you experiencing any problems while towing? Why do you want to reduce your tongue weight?

Your tow vehicle seems to be quite adequate for the job:
http://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/portal/alias__carpointau/tabID__6485/ArticleID__7957/DesktopDefault.aspx

Most hitches that I have seen are rated with the tongue weight as 10% of the towing weight. That may put you at 350#. You might want to double check that.

[GrizzlyTaco]

Right now i have the trailer loaded for an up coming trip and it weighs about 2200lbs. The weight of the trailer empty  1870lbs.  The reason I'm asking is I wasn't sure how much weight should be on the front of the trailer.....Ed

[wavery]

Right now i have the trailer loaded for an up coming trip and it weighs about 2200lbs. The weight of the trailer empty  1870lbs.  The reason I'm asking is I wasn't sure how much weight should be on the front of the trailer.....Ed

Gotcha

Sounds like you are good to go. I think that you could tow that pretty comfortably. You probably won't even know it's back there. Just watch out for those trucks and concrete dividers :p

Where ya goin'?

Can I come??

[GrizzlyTaco]

Thanks Everyone for all the good imput. I wont be so nervous now. This is our first time out and I want it to be a SAFE trip...........Ed  :sombraro:
  :-()   Happy Dance   :-()

[AustinBoston]

You definitely need weight on the hitch ball, you don't need mass on the tongue though.  I think that as long as you're within the tow vehicle tongue weight rating, the hitch rating,  the coupler rating AND you don't have excessive sag at the rear of the TV you're fine.  It's probably under 15%.  According to European towing practices, as little as 5% tongue weight can be stable- but that only applies if the trailer was designed with that in mind.  Your trailer would probably NOT be stable at 5% unless you modified it with a longer tongue, lower ride height, and a different mass distribution.

An example of what you are describing would be a small boat trailer.  There may be ony 5% of the trailer weight actually on the tongue, even though 65% or even more of the total weight is in front of the axle.  But notice where the axle is - waaay in the back of the trailer, in order to compensate for the fact that the motor, the heaviest part, is in the very back of the boat.  That turns the tongue into a lever so that only a small portion of the tongue weight actually makes it onto the tongue.  Boats are generally very stable to tow.

Austin

[JimQPublic]

Right.  Not quite so extreme as an outboard but that's sort of the idea.  An inboard jet boat is probably extremely stable to tow as the engine is mounted low and most likely right over the axle of the trailer.  (In my head I have a design for a trailer that will have over 50% of the mass within 3' of the axle- it should be rather stable)

Austin I seem to recall a LONG time ago (3+ years) back when I spent more time here you made a long dissertation on the forces involved in the stability equation.  Things like moments of inertia and lever arms.  Do I recall correctly?  If so do you have it posted somewhere?

Jim

[AustinBoston]

Austin I seem to recall a LONG time ago (3+ years) back when I spent more time here you made a long dissertation on the forces involved in the stability equation.  Things like moments of inertia and lever arms.  Do I recall correctly?  If so do you have it posted somewhere?

I did do that, but it was more descriptive than analytical (i.e. not a lot of numbers).  It was more of a thought experiment than anything else.

It went on and on because I had no way of displaying diagrams, so i would not be surprised if it was on a previous board and just ain't out there any more.

I'll see if I can rustle it up, but no promises.

Austin