Measuring my tongue weight?

[Shep546]

Hey guys,

I have a 2018 Ram 1500 Outdoorsman, 5.7 crew cab, 6.5 bed, 4x4, 3.92gear ratio, 8spd tranny and tranny cooler, I believe my towing capacity should be around 10,000lbs with the lower gearing.

I am going to be doing a very long trip towing my wifes honda civic (roughly 2300lbs) on a 1700lb car hauler.

Because the total load isn't really that heavy I was thinking of measuring my suspension sag to set the position of the car on the trailer for optimal tongue weight.

Am I correct in this? If my total trailer weight is 4000lbs I should put about 400lbs on the tongue... can I have 2, 200lb men stand on the receiver, measure how much the suspension sags on a level surface, then hook up the trailer and move the car forward/back to get the same sag?

Thanks in advance.

 

[lpennock]

It works but not extremely accurate. Works better with coil suspension as coils are mostly linear. Leafs are progressive so non linear height change.

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[Shep546]

It works but not extremely accurate. Works better with coil suspension as coils are mostly linear. Leafs are progressive so non linear height change.

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

I'm on coils, I figure I don't have to be terribly accurate as it's only a 4,000lb load?

 

[lpennock]

Error on side of too much tongue weight. I've used the method and it works. I wouldn't use on my dually as the suspension is stiff. When I did it I used a grand Cherokee as it had very flexible suspension compared to my 3500.

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[Travelin Ram]

Search for “etrailer how to measure tongue weight” and read their article on how to do it with bathroom scales. The same information is in other places as well.

I tow enough that I spent the money for a Sherline tongue scale myself.

There’s also gadgets that plug into the OBD and calculate weight based on suspension sag. There’s a recent thread on this site about that. Not very costly either.

PS it’s this one : https://www.ramforum.com/threads/curt-better-weigh-results.162711/#post-2293726

 

[DILLIGAF]

Just go to you local weigh station.

 

[crash68]

Find a CAT scale and weigh the truck by itself then with the trailer loaded to get an accurate weights. Knowing just the truck weight and then with the loaded trailer you can calculate the tongue weight regardless of trailer weight. You can adjust the car if needed and reweigh the set up.
You might want to check the weight of your Civic, 2300 lbs seems a bit light.

 

[tron67j]

Could buy a Weight Safe hitch.

 

[Shep546]

Unfortunately I live in the Arctic and don't have access to weigh stations.

I was considering buying a weight safe hitch but I don't think if I ordered one online it would arrive in time before I have to leave.

 

[dhay13]

With only 4000lbs you should be fine doing what you mentioned. But I agree to error on the heavier side. If you were closer to your limits then I would say to weigh it to get an official weight but if possible use the bathroom scale lever method that can be found online. If that isn't possible you should be good with your idea. I have towed for 35 years without ever checking tongue weight. I was just careful how I set them up and never had any issues with any of them. I do have accurate weights on my current boat though (8800lbs with trailer) but knew I was too light on tongue weight by the feel of it so made some adjustments and got it perfect.

 

[Firetruck41]

You want 12-15% or more tongue weight or you will get a wagging tail for a trailer. Definitely err on the side of more tongue weight than less.

 

[dhay13]

Boats are typically less than 10% tongue weight since the engine is in the rear. I'm at about 8% with mine and it tows perfect. Even when I was at about 6-7% it still towed pretty good. But yes, typical trailers should be around 10-15%

 

[SOLER]

Search for “etrailer how to measure tongue weight” and read their article on how to do it with bathroom scales. The same information is in other places as well.

I tow enough that I spent the money for a Sherline tongue scale myself.

There’s also gadgets that plug into the OBD and calculate weight based on suspension sag. There’s a recent thread on this site about that. Not very costly either.

PS it’s this one : https://www.ramforum.com/threads/curt-better-weigh-results.162711/#post-2293726

Yep, this method works. I've done it many times.

SOLER

 

[MADDOG]

Here's the link to eTrailer's tongue weight calculation page:

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

 

[JFV1134]

I bought a tongue weight scale. It works for bumper pull and gooseneck trailers. Makes it nice to be able to dial in exactly what tongue weight you want.

 

[Eric Troup]

You can actually use a bathroom scale to measure the tongue weight using a fulcrum as shown in this video"