Scoob237
Atlanta, GA
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Joined: 06/10/2006
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I have a travel trailer that is a couple hundred pounds shy of tongue weight which I know can lead to instability. I have been trying to figure how or what to add to the tongue to offer more weight but I have a question for you all. I tow with an empy bed on my truck, would there be any difference in adding more weight to the bed of my truck than adding weight to the tongue of my travel trailer?
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boogie_4wheel
SLC, Utah
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Add it to the trailer.
You will not accomplish what you want (tongue weight) buy adding the weight to the truck bed directly.
A storage box with batteries, cinder blocks, pack your clothes in the front, maybe even filling your fresh water tank if it is located forward of the trailer axles... Tons of ways to distribute the weight, we just don't know what you have. What trailer?
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VintageRacer
Dundas, Ontario
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Adding weight to the truck bed will not affect the stability of the trailer at all. The point of the recommended ratio of tongue weight to total trailer weight is to get the center of gravity of the trailer ahead of it's axle line. That creates a self-steering effect where the hitch helps to control sway, like a tripod created between the tires and the hitch - a tripod is a fundamentally stable thing. 10% is a fine number to aim for - more is also fine, but less does indeed lead to some major sway that can easily get out of control.
Note that the tongue weight is always before the effect of any weight distribution hitch arrangement that you may have.
Brian
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skipnchar
Topeka or somewhere else
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Rather than ADDING weight to the trailer, why not just move some of the weight behind the axles to a more forward position? Never makes any sense to carry unnecessary weight for the purpose of making an unstable trailer tow better. Adding weight ANYWHERE to the truck will have no effect on the trailer.
2011 F-150 HD Ecoboost 3.5 V6. 2550 payload, 17,100 GCVWR -
2004 F-150 HD (Traded after 80,000 towing miles)
2007 Rockwood 8314SS 34' travel trailer
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beemerphile1
I'm only 57, I'm not yet a
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Like already said, adding weight to the bed will not add to the stability of the trailer.
Some options would be more or larger LPG cylinders or more batteries.
Tim
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Peg Leg
Anderson, IN
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Weight in the bed of the truck will not help.
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gmw photos
midwest
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I too had insufficient tongue weight. I moved my spare tire from the rack on the back of the trailer to the front storage compartment. This storage area is huge, far bigger in volume than I have any need for normal things I take.
After taking the spare off the back, I removed the tire bracket also, and threaded bolts with washers with a gob of dicor on them to be sure to seal them from water entry.
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