Tongue weight

locknut · Sep 21, 2013

I have a new trailer that weighs 440 lbs.My old trailer weighed 820 lbs,but the tongue weight on this new one is heavier,@ 80 lbs.I have to move it by hand about 30 ft after unhitching to place it where it needs to be parked and it's a little uphill.The new trailer has a jackstand with a wheel on it but that feature is no help with a loose crushed stone pad.I can add weight to the back and remove the jack,so how much do I dare lighten this tongue and not get in trouble pulling it empty down the road?

Turbys_1700 · Sep 21, 2013

Rule of thumb I think is 10% minimum tongue weight of the loaded trailer for bumper pulls...15% to 20% for fifth wheels...
If you move the axles back I do not know what the dynamics are based on the length of trailer versus placement of axles...
It is better to be a little heavy on the front versus a little heavy on the back...
If you move those axles back I would not go less than 50# tongue weight for the empty trailer...

locknut · Sep 21, 2013

So,theoretically I can take it down to 44 lbs.That would be a lot better than 80 bs on this old back.I'll try it and see how it pulls.Thanks.

RWK in WI · Sep 21, 2013

I have found a "trailer dolly" works much better for moving a trailer than a jack wheel. Try Northern Tools for a trailer dolly.

Diamondpilot · Sep 22, 2013

10% is good but why not just try some weights on the rear when ready to move?

Chris

bdog · Sep 22, 2013

Two possible solutions for you.

1) Use your tractor to move it. Mount a ball on your bucket and push the trailer where it needs to go. I have 7 trailers and move them around this was all the time.

2) Add some weight the back of the trailer when you are moving it by hand. Nothing permanent. I was thinking maybe an 80lb bag of quickcrete that you could just set on the very back of the trailer while you are pushing it by hand.

Gary Fowler · Sep 22, 2013

Rocks are not good when pushing a trailer but I don't see the tongue weight being excessive. As Diamondpilot suggests, just put some weight on the rear to lighten the load, maybe have your wife or kid balance the tongue weight by moving to the rear to the correct point and just taking a seat. If you have a golf cart, ATV etc, put a hitch on the front and use that to back the trailer into the spot. I use my Kubota RTV and you can really pin point the position of the trailer when pushing it with a motorized vehicle from the front. It does take a bit of getting used to the steering (move left for the trailer to go right) but it beats pushing them for sure.

locknut · Sep 22, 2013

Diamondpilot said:
10% is good but why not just try some weights on the rear when ready to move?

Chris

It's a tilt bed with no endgate.I'm thinking of using barbell weights bolted under the back as I have plenty of them and would be low profile/hidden from sight.I'm taking it to the fab shop in a couple days to see about making an endgate so loose items won't roll off the back and fab up a light weight foot under the tongue.

Harold_J · Sep 22, 2013

Bolting permanent weights on the rear would be a bad idea. Maybe if you have the gate added it will lighten the tongue enough for your needs.

aczlan · Sep 22, 2013

I would get a trailer dolly long before I added weight to the rear. Here is an example of one: Ultra-Tow Trailer Dolly — 600-Lb. Capacity, Pneumatic Tires | Trailer Dollies| Northern Tool + Equipment

Aaron Z

Diamondpilot · Sep 22, 2013

Harold_J said:
Bolting permanent weights on the rear would be a bad idea. Maybe if you have the gate added it will lighten the tongue enough for your needs.

I agree. Just use the weights as a temporary thing sitting on the deck.

Chris

kevin37b · Sep 22, 2013

Are you serious? .

hlyautey · Sep 22, 2013

The reason you want a minimum 10% tongue weight is to prevent the trailer from jack-knifing if you hit the brakes hard. If the trailer is heavy in the back it will try to spin and pass the tow vehicle under heavy braking. With an empty trailer this is not an issue. Load it right when you load it, don't worry when it is empty.

Harold_J · Sep 22, 2013

hlyautey said:
The reason you want a minimum 10% tongue weight is to prevent the trailer from jack-knifing if you hit the brakes hard. If the trailer is heavy in the back it will try to spin and pass the tow vehicle under heavy braking. With an empty trailer this is not an issue. Load it right when you load it, don't worry when it is empty.

It's not just due to what can happen when you hit the brakes. A trailer that is light in the front is more likely to start swaying at highway speeds.

hlyautey · Sep 22, 2013

True, I have seen that many times on the highway and I give those guys PLENTY of room. Especially going downhill.

Texomahog · Sep 25, 2013

I just had a bad experience with too little tongue weight. I was pulling my new tractor home from the dealer. Not having a FEL previously, I dropped it on the front of the trailer, and dropped the very heavy finishing mower on the tailgate. This put most of my weight from the two axles to the tailgate. At about 50 mph my rig started swaying so bad I thought I was going to turn it over. I knew better but was not thinking. I guess I was too excited to get my new toy home?

jb62901 · Sep 26, 2013

Why not just leave it hooked up and back it up where you park it.

Gary Fowler · Sep 26, 2013

jb62901 said:
Why not just leave it hooked up and back it up where you park it.

some folks just have trouble backing up a trailer and then sometimes there just isn't any room to maneuver with the tow vehicle. Just about everyone has a lawnmower, so put on a ball hitch and use that to back up your trailer (or ATV, UTV, tractor with FEL mounted ball hitch). Just about any lawnmower hitch would handle an 80# tongue weight and the weight would help with traction.
Trailer dolly with big pneumatic tires sounds like it would work well also as long as you are not pushing uphill, that small trailer should be easy to push thru gravel

Bird · Sep 26, 2013

Harold_J said:
It's not just due to what can happen when you hit the brakes. A trailer that is light in the front is more likely to start swaying at highway speeds.

I was 16 years old, pulling a little utility trailer with a clamp on bumper hitch on a 1946 Chevrolet, hauling some trash to the dump, when I learned that lesson. Scared the daylights out of me at about 50 mph, but at least I knew to not hit the brakes until I got it slowed down and straightened out. No harm done, but those kinds of lessons stay with you for life.

namyessam · Sep 26, 2013

Texomahog said:
I just had a bad experience with too little tongue weight. I was pulling my new tractor home from the dealer. Not having a FEL previously, I dropped it on the front of the trailer, and dropped the very heavy finishing mower on the tailgate. This put most of my weight from the two axles to the tailgate. At about 50 mph my rig started swaying so bad I thought I was going to turn it over. I knew better but was not thinking. I guess I was too excited to get my new toy home?

This question was just brought up in this forun as tractor towing 101 along with how to properly load a tractor on a trailer. I responded to go look at the thread in the massey classic vintage on page two there is a thread massey 65 field find. On page three of that thread the OP goes on to describe his misfortune with pictures of an improperly loaded tractor on a trailer likely caused by insufficient tongue weight. Had a similar experience with a load of OSB on a utility trailer and will never forget it. I thought I was going to be thrown in the ditch by the swaying trailer. A real scary experience.

namyessam