We've been wanting to do this for a long time. Who knew that the numbers would be so surprising?

There is usually a little dial on the front side of your scale to set it back to zero when it gets off.

Gr8 video and edu! Cheers, Eric

@LuvSubbin

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@elguapo3527

2 ай бұрын

Thanks. Love the teamwork.

Awesome, thank you. My dad always weight his small camper luggage trailer tongue weight with a bathroom scale. Glad to see the genius idea to use leverage and still use a bathroom scale but on a large trailer. Calibration checks are easy. Again thank you! Saved me few buck to spend on other gear. Cheers!

@LuvSubbin

11 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching and we're glad it was helpful. I did make one small error so make sure you watch my correction video as well.

Enjoy your videos keep up the great work

@LuvSubbin

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! We have fun making our videos and always appreciate it when others find them interesting or enjoyable.

Very helpful. Thanks!

Excellent video, thanks!

@LuvSubbin

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! It's a good method and straight out of our owner's manual. However, I did make a minor error that influenced my number. Make sure your check out the correction video...

@NomadicNeighborhood

2 жыл бұрын

@@LuvSubbin will do!

I bought a Weigh-Safe hitch last year. I use it to check my tongue weight on my travel trailer and when towing our utility trailer.

@LuvSubbin

4 жыл бұрын

I'm sure that is much easier than my contraption! Nevertheless, I thought it would be fun to try what was in our manual...

@marklundeen1025

3 жыл бұрын

Do you use that weight safe hitch when you tow? Or just to weigh?

@Todd_S

3 жыл бұрын

@@marklundeen1025 I just use it to weigh my travel trailer tongue. But I do tow our small utility trailer with it. I use an Equalizer weight distributing hitch with the travel trailer.

In the interest of accuracy, the 'apparatus' should be under the coupler, not the jack. Also water tanks may add weight or remove it based on whether they are in front of the axles or behind them.

@LuvSubbin

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I performed the weighing exactly as Airstream described it including placing the weight on the jack. Based on some comments, I did the calculation and I estimate that moving the scale to the coupler would add about 31 lbs. to the weight as measured on the jack. Our water tank is in front of the axles and was full for the test.

@williamlkaufman

2 жыл бұрын

@@LuvSubbin Moving the apparatus to the coupler should decrease the measurement, since the end of the lever would be further from the fulcrum.

I borrowed a hitch scale and weighed the hitch of our 2018 30RQ and it came in at 1100lbs. We were camping at the time with all or gear and a full tank of water. To say the least I was surprised, I was expecting to see the hitch weight come in around 800lbs.

@LuvSubbin

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! It's crazy how off the actual versus specified weights are.

I saw your other video where you discovered why your weight was so far off. One thing to also consider is that the weight at the jack is going to be more than the weight at the tongue. For example, my popup currently has a tongue weight of 405 lbs but when I weigh it at the jack which is about a foot closer to the trailer, it's 440 lbs.

I have a 2019 Coachmen Apex Nano 208BHS travel trailer. The manufacturer says the hitch weight is 516 lbs. I weighed mine with the fresh water tank empty at 625 lbs. With the 30 gallon fresh water tank full, my hitch weight is 700 lbs.

@LuvSubbin

4 жыл бұрын

Amazing how different the numbers are? People probably make tow vehicle payload capacity decisions based on the published weight versus actual...

In looking at another method to measure tongue weight it was mentioned that the weight at the trailer ball and the weight at the jack may differ by 5% as the ball is further forward. In your case the weight at the ball would be 5% heavier than at the jack.

@LuvSubbin

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! You are correct. I think I tried to do the exact calculation but the numbers escape me. If you haven't make sure you watch my correction video as I made a mistake with this one...

was wondering on the difference of manufacture spec on tongue weight and yours, dont they do it dry and unloaded would you have had anything in the front of your RV

@LuvSubbin

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Great question as I hear many posts of people's actual hitch weight being much great than the manual's specification. Page I-1 of my manual states that the specified hitch weight is 400 lbs. With the revised Sherline hitch weight of 450 lbs. that's not too far off and is probably accounted for by the optional spare tire.

@ 6:33 That’s not level. But probably close enough. @ 7:22 So apparently he doesn’t trust his wife to read a scale. Past experience? 1) Since the trailer’s center of gravity (CG) is quite a bit higher than the axle, the CG moves forward or back when the tongue is raised or lowered. The tongue weight will vary significantly with a slight tilt forward or back. 2) Weight under the jack will be greater than the weight under the ball coupler (think about leverage). Those two factors, along with your sketchy, non-certified, nonadjustable bathroom scale, make the results next to worthless. Weigh your rig on a Catscale. It has three separate pads (steering axle, drive axle, trailer axles). Weigh the truck without the trailer first. Then weigh the truck and trailer together. The difference is the total weight of the trailer. Truck-trailer combo (steering + drive) minus truck only (steering + drive) = tongue weight. This will take less money and time than a jerry-rigged non-certified bathroom scale of questionable accuracy.

@LuvSubbin

3 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching. We have multiple videos of us weighing the rig on a CAT Scale - something we do every year. This video was something we took from our Airstream manual and thought it would be a fun exercise. Probably close enough...

You should take your setup to a Cat scale for a video. You will be surprised. I was towing a tractor with a “weight” of just over 6000 lbs. it felt heavy so I wanted it weighed. I had my trucks front axle on one scale, the rear axle on the other, and the trailer on the third. To my surprise the weight at the trailer tires was over 11,000 lbs. then the weight on the rear axle was 6500 lbs. my total weight was over 21000 lbs 🤯 thanks to the weight being distributed on my truck the trailer was not overloaded but by itself it was massively over weight. The tractor that the manufacture said was 6000 was actually 13000

@LuvSubbin

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Dave. Sorry I missed your comment. I take my rig to a CAT Scale every year. All numbers check out. I'm close on RAWR but still within specification.

Did you use a weight distribution hitch given that your tongue weight is way over F150 500lb capacity? With weight distribution hitch you can get 1000+.

@LuvSubbin

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yes, we use an Equal-i-zer weight distribution hitch which puts us well within the capability of the F-150.

One thing that I never hear people talk about is GVWR of their tow vehicle (F-150 in your case). I don't know about yours, but my F-150 GVWR is 7200#, so by the time I add in the driver and passenger, dogs, gear in the truck bed, etc.... a tongue weight of around 600# is about the max I can get away with without exceeding my truck's GVWR. Usually if you're maxing out your hitch's weight rating, you've probably already overloaded your truck. How close are you to exceeding your truck's GVWR?

@LuvSubbin

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I do talk about our vehicle's GVWR in our "How We Chose Our Tow Vehicle" video. To summarize, we weigh our rig every year at a CAT Scale. The most recent was on November 8th fully loaded for a one month trip including some heavy items like our generator, solar panels, full fuel, etc. The GVWR for our F-150 is 7,050 lbs. Hitched (so that the hitch weight is on the truck), we weighed 6,860 lbs. We're close but still 190 lbs. short of the limit.

Just a quick, dirty, and only partially accurate technique is to measure the tongue height with no trailer, the stand on the hitch and measure the height again, and then attach the trailer and measure the height a third time. That gives you a set of numbers you can use to calculate trailer tongue weight. First, is the trailer more or less than your weight? Second, since spring deflection is proportional to force, you can then get a rough approximation.

@LuvSubbin

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and I love that idea. Because I know my actual hitch weight I'm going to give that a try just for mathematical fun!

Tongue weight is a subject that is hotly debated subject that with the introduction of weight distribution hitches (WDH) I believe is sort misunderstood. My understanding that this spec was developed to address the weight the rear axle and tires can support.. a simplistic overview. If one properly installs and sets up a WDH the weight is distributed over the axles including the tow vehicle. Now, we're pulling a Airstream 25 foot Flying Cloud that has two axles with a tongue weight of 800 pounds which means that is distributed at 200 pounds per axle! So, regardless how you measure the weight a the tongue at front of the RV with a WDH installed I'm not convinced this number has any relevance Much like Dante's depiction of hell this is a lesser sin were more important conditions such GVW, load capacity and such are really critical. Hopefully more learned viewers can offer their input on this subject.. our safety and those who share the road is of prime importance..

@LuvSubbin

4 жыл бұрын

Sorry for the delay in responding - we've been in a campground with no internet. I agree entirely with you. I would add that the most important facet of the tongue weight is to not be below the 10% of the trailer's weight. As you know, too much weight in the rear will induce sway...

@rustyfairmount

2 жыл бұрын

Actually, having precise tongue weight is VERY important. A friend of mine bought his trailer from a large "reputable" RV dealership. They sold him a Blue Ox Sway Pro hitch with bars that are suitable for 550lb to 750lb tongue weight. The bars are designed to flex, which is how that WDH achieves anti-sway. But he's been having some stability issues when towing and we sat down to do the math. His trailer manufacturer says that the tongue weight is 610lbs. But that doesn't include propane, battery, or other cargo. When we did the math, we estimate he's actually running close to 850lbs of tongue weight. I called Blue Ox, and the gentleman on the phone explained that overloading their flexible Sway Pro bars will result in very poor performance. He recommended that we ACTUALLY measure...which is how I found this video. If the tongue weight is actually over 750lb, my friend will need to buy the 1000lb bars to effectively stabilize his ride. It seems that even RV dealerships, including the large "reputable" ones have no idea what they're doing when it comes to WDH setup. I'm building the apparatus, collecting data, doing the math, and trusting the science. Great video. Thank you.

ya trailer tongue weight definitely does not include water weight. they want that number to be as low as possible so its on paper "feasible" for more buyers... but you sounded like you figured it out at the end.

@LuvSubbin

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! We did make a minor error in the video but posted an update.

A tongue weight scale costs about $150.00. Much easier to use and probably safer too.

@LuvSubbin

4 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yes, I'm aware of those but thought it would be fun to show a different method using stuff around the house. In hindsight I probably should have mentioned that these scales exist...

@Todd_S

4 жыл бұрын

This. www.etrailer.com/Tools/etrailer/e99044.html

@shanereynolds5971

3 жыл бұрын

I can build this for basically nothing with stuff around the house.

@margaretglover1867

3 жыл бұрын

Yep just bought one from etrailer for $250

My trailer's tongue weight was often times over 10,000 pounds, it's funny seeing all you guys worried about these tongue weights under 1,000 pounds.

@paulhunter9613

2 жыл бұрын

We aren’t driving a semi trailer around so,,

@Kyle-ut4jg

2 жыл бұрын

@@paulhunter9613 I was driving a Dodge Ram 3500.

I just have to say, if you can afford a camper, a truck, the gas to put into it, then you can afford a real tongue scale for $150.00. Don't be cheap, do it right, get the proper gear. You will use the scale more than once.

@LuvSubbin

10 ай бұрын

I was repeating the procedure outlined on page B-5 of my Airstream's Owner's Manual. Maybe Airstream Engineering should have saved me the effort and just said "Use a real tongue scale. Don't be cheap. Do it right".

It's not a lot...

The reason your weight is so high is because you are doing it wrong 747lbs,, LOL you are supposed to measure (place the support where the ball is) not where the electric jack goes down. Try that in the next video. All the best. The manual is probably more accurate :O)

@LuvSubbin

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching. I will say that the manual specifically states to use the jack. Regardless, I learned something very important about how the hitch weight is reported by the manufacturers (no optional equipment or variable weights).

I'm still shaking my head,, lippert sells a proper scale to weigh in the ball coupler far more accurate then this!!!

@LuvSubbin

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and we agree. We re-weighed on a Sherline hitch scale. Still, it was fun to replicate what is in our owner's manual.

This is an old video. The 400 lbs tongue weight AirStream posted (time 9:54) is the approximate dry tongue weight when the camper left the factory. It is the only time it will every be this low. Your real tongue weight is based on your actual loaded TT and the distribution of stuff inside. Your GVWR rating (5000 lbs) is the critical number. This is max weight the TT should ever weigh when fully loaded. For this TT, when fully loaded your tongue weight should be between 500 lbs (10%) and 750 lbs (15%). As I recall your hand calculation was about 750 lbs. I would say you are close to max load. Might be worth a trip to the cat scale, and reviewing what you have inside the TT, and maybe remove a few things that you do not need.

@LuvSubbin

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! I issued a "Correction Video" because I leveled the trailer on a slope which falsely increased the tongue weight. I then weighed my tongue weight on a Sherline Tongue Scale and it came out to exactly 450 lbs. I also weigh my rig every year at a CAT Scale. In 2022 it weighed 4,680 lbs. fully loaded with propane, full water tank, and empty waste tanks. I am well withing specifications.

Add a hundred pounds for the hitch that you left on the truck

@LuvSubbin

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and good point. My Equal-i-zer hitch weighs exactly 78 lbs.

@SKANK_HUNT49

3 жыл бұрын

@@LuvSubbin cool

@bwhit707

3 жыл бұрын

The weight of your WDH hitch is not tongue weight it is weight on the tow vehicle's payload and rear axle loading and the hitch (tube) weight rating spec. My Husky 12000 lb WDH is 40 lbs and 65 lbs with bars.

@bwhit707

3 жыл бұрын

BTW my Epro 19fbs has a dry hitch weight of 473 (includes lp) ; mine with dual 6volt batteries and 5 gals Fw in the tank was 640lbs.

@SKANK_HUNT49

3 жыл бұрын

@@bwhit707 wow study up man your wrong

Contradict with what I study at school. This violate Newton's 3rd law. Why there is "taring" involving in it, I don't see any logic behind. You weight it 261lbs it should be weight 522 lbs. Why I time 2x? This have to do with distance of wooden beam, you devide by ratio 2 to 1.

Can afford an Airstream but won't buy a real $150.00 tongue scale.

@LuvSubbin

10 ай бұрын

Thank you for repeating your comment. Every comment goes into the KZread analytics and helps our channel. We appreciate it.

Yea but your not even on the tongue coupler to weigh it smh

@LuvSubbin

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! You are correct. It's interesting because I did it exactly as per the Airstream manual which shows distinctly using the jack and not the coupler. Being a geek I did the math and calculated that the 9" difference between jack and coupler would equate to an extra 30 lbs.