Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[goeduck]

I'll admit that's pretty cool. But my God... $300 - $500 for a hitch that can't even take WDH?!? That's awful high.

I'll have to dig into this, since if they had a WDH variant at similar pricing, that'd actually be something I might use. But as it stands there, I can do the same with a $15 bathroom scale, a piece of timber, and a jack stand... all of which most of us already have. That Weigh Safe hitch definitely saves time, so it has a place, I'm just not sure I'd want to spend $500 to save 10 minutes on those rare occasions my hitch weight is actually high enough that it warrants weighing.

There's also jack-stands topped with trailer balls and integrated scales on Amazon, which if I recall mostly ran $50 - $100. Set them at desired truck ball height, drop trailer onto them, voila! Not as convenient as the Weigh Hitch, but definitely much cheaper.

I just checked 2" x 8" size, and it's only $364, but there's no 1-7/8" ball option. Some of my trailers are 1-7/8", as that was a very common size in the 1970's and 1980's, and I tow a lot of vintage boats/trailers. I think the hitch I use now for those boats cost like $20 - $30, and the ball was probably another $20... so $40-$50.

I didn't have a bathroom scale that would read the 15% of my 10,000 lb. load (1500 lbs.) which is what I consider proper loading. What are you towing that a bathroom scale would weigh a proper tongue weight? I got my hitch on a promotional deal that included a 2" drawbar in addition to the 2-1/2". So, I can use it on either of my pickups. I can't recall what I paid, but I think it was in the upper $2 hundreds. Well worth it to me. One accident or broken something and that is a cheap price.

 

[ning]

I didn't have a bathroom scale that would read the 15% of my 10,000 lb. load (1500 lbs.) which is what I consider proper loading. What are you towing that a bathroom scale would weigh a proper tongue weight? I got my hitch on a promotional deal that included a 2" drawbar in addition to the 2-1/2". So, I can use it on either of my pickups. I can't recall what I paid, but I think it was in the upper $2 hundreds. Well worth it to me. One accident or broken something and that is a cheap price.
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You don't drop the load right on the scale - you place it partway over on a beam such that the distance from the hitch to the scale (call that D¹) is a multiple of the distance from the hitch to a static block on the ground (call that D²); then you multiply the reading on the scale by D¹/D² to get the actual weight.

Obviously if your scale tops out at 300# and you're expecting a tongue weight of 1500#, you need a D¹/D² that's at least 6 in case your estimate is off.

 

[ning]

Re: Weigh Safe hitches - has anyone seen a third-party test, by a third party that has no relationship to the manufacturer, that measures the accuracy of the hitch?

A quick search shows many posts and a number of "shoot-outs" that mention 1.25% accuracy, with is quite impressive, if true. But that's obviously coming from the seller.

Anyone here have one *and* have an accurate scale who's compared them?

 

[WinterDeere]

I didn't have a bathroom scale that would read the 15% of my 10,000 lb. load (1500 lbs.) which is what I consider proper loading. What are you towing that a bathroom scale would weigh a proper tongue weight? I got my hitch on a promotional deal that included a 2" drawbar in addition to the 2-1/2". So, I can use it on either of my pickups. I can't recall what I paid, but I think it was in the upper $2 hundreds. Well worth it to me. One accident or broken something and that is a cheap price.
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Ning already described the procedure, which is why I mentioned "a piece of timber" in my original post. My trailer's tongue weight usually runs under 1000 lb., so a simple 4:1 on the beam puts weight on the scale at a manageable 250 lb. or less.

It's not complicated, but it is slow enough that it's not something you'd want to do everyday. @BigBlue1's hitch definitely wins, for anyone having to frequently check tongue weight.

 

[goeduck]

You don't drop the load right on the scale - you place it partway over on a beam such that the distance from the hitch to the scale (call that D¹) is a multiple of the distance from the hitch to a static block on the ground (call that D²); then you multiply the reading on the scale by D¹/D² to get the actual weight.

Obviously if your scale tops out at 300# and you're expecting a tongue weight of 1500#, you need a D¹/D² that's at least 6 in case your estimate is off.

I understand the math and thought that might be where WinterDeere was going, but the setup was not described in any detail. So fair game. Didn't really matter anyway. Who is going to set up the arrangement you describe on a bathroom scale while someone is loading their trailer with a fairly large loader which, mind you, is going to shift the trailer around and knock the silly arrangement "off the scale"? I'd like to see a video of you or WinterDeere at a commercial loading yard with your bathroom scale contraption. In the video, please include how you are going to get the trailer back on your hitch after it hits the ground with 1500 lbs. on it. Maybe, just maybe spend a few bucks instead of critiquing those that want to do it right? I make sure I am efficient in loading yards so that I don't slow up the line.

 

[WinterDeere]

I'd like to see a video of you or WinterDeere at a commercial loading yard with your bathroom scale contraption.

lol... no, you're not going to see that! It's a good method for checking something at home, but it probably takes a good 10 minutes to set it up, do the measurement, and then tear it down. I have used this to check a trailer when setting it up with new equipment, or to see how a new truck sags under a given tongue weight, but that is about it.

When I take the trailer with me to retrieve material or equipment, I use my experienced eye to gauge whether the tongue weight is where I want it. But that experienced eye was developed in part by previously checking how the truck sits under a given tongue weight in my own driveway... with a timber and a bathroom scale!

 

[Topzide]

Maybe this would help, www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tongue_Weight_Scale.aspx

 

[goeduck]

Maybe this would help, www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tongue_Weight_Scale.aspx

That would work, but there is $200 bucks right there and then you have to un-hitch and re-hitch.

 

[bcp]

My jack scale - Shoptalkforums.com

Bruce

 

[RjCorazza]

I never thought of modifying a bottle jack with a gauge... Interesting!
I split the difference between a bathroom scale and the integrated scale / hitch by using a small hydraulic scale made by Sherline.