Tongue Weight

[Mandelon]

Yesterday afternoon I brought home my utility trailer from a job. A couple of my caucasian, Bakersfield native, SDSU student, part time workers had loaded it. I popped the latch on the hitch and had to jump back as the trailer tounge lurched up towards my head.
http://www2.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/24trailer_002-med.jpg
This just shows what life experience does for ya. These boys have zero clue about tongue weight, or balancing a load. The light stuff is in the front, the heavy stuff, obviously in the back... :notam:
They set their work up by logically moving the light stuff further, and the heavy stuff not so far. Makes sense......sorta. I didn't watch it get loaded so more supervision was obviously in order....(My bad)
I guess my point is that we shouldn't expect others to know as much as we do. We've all learned these things over the years, some by trial and error, some by watching others and even reading articles or web sites like this. I assumed that everyone knew this..
Luckily no one got hurt and nothing was damaged. I will 'splain to them again how to load a trailer.....FYI put the heaviest stuff over the wheels, or slightly ahead of them. I believe the tongue weight should be 5 to 10 percent of the load...

[Jordy]

That's much more critical on a single axle trailer as you found out. Single axles always scare me. I'm a big fan of overkill, especially when it comes to trucks and trailers. ;)

[Dave C]

I bet they have enough skills to tap a mean keg of beer though. :wink:
A couple of my caucasian, Bakersfield native, SDSU student, part time workers had loaded it.
.
well look on the bright side... at least they didn't give you the "no habla english" routine afterwards! :hammer2:

[Racer277]

Bakersfield native, have zero clue
What more needs to be said? :notam:
Managing kids is the most challenging thing I've ever done. Was I ever as clue-less as them, yes I was. Fortunately I kept my mouth shut, and tried to quitely learn.
Aint it fun?

[Lightning]

Glad to know that you did not get hurt, luckily you were not straddling the tongue or had your head in the wrong spot.

[phebus]

Tongue load is more important to women then men. :D

[lucky]

touge weight = fat chicks :2purples:

[WYRD]

Tongue load is more important to women then men. :D
I don't know about that................ever had a two ton o fun sit on your face :idea: :jawdrop: :D

[WYRD]

, luckily you were not straddling the tongue .
What kind of thread is this? :p

[Mandelon]

I like to see the difference in replies.
Jorrdy knows safety is important,
Dave remembers his college days fondly, if somewhat clouded by alcohol,
Racer laments the difficulty of parenting,
Lighting is concerned for my safety, (Thank You)
and Phebus and Lucky just think about sex. :p :p

[Rock-A-Bye-Baby]

Beavis, he said tongue .....and load....

[ROZ]

Is he the same guy who broke the killer countertop? :supp:

[Mandelon]

No. That guy is the best....except for that.
Here is a $1200 paperweight.....ya just can't force these things...travertine is pretty weak. They should put in a piece of rebar but it wasn't done....the weak areas are pretty obvious. It traveled 40 mile in the back of a truck alright, just didn't quite fit in the opening. One extra push and >>>CRACK<<< You know how they did it..... :eat:
http://www2.***boat.com/image_center/data/520/24trailer.jpg

[ROZ]

That's not that bad! A little duct tape, liquid nails, and tan grout will fix'r right up :D

[JackieV]

Tongue load is more important to women then men. :D
You got that right! :D

[Rock-A-Bye-Baby]

Mandy- i think you may want to reconsider this guy's employment status....

[dbddbd]

LOL, love that avatar Mandelon!!! Hips wiggle and wake... :wink:

[Starloans]

Mandelon,
Your trailer is like your boat, you can't let just anyone load em or drive em. :jawdrop:

[MagicMtnDan]

The following photo came out of the DrawTite Hitch Owners Guide. With most typical bathroom scales it can measure trailer tongue weights to 900 pounds. It's pretty straight forward on construction and usage. I would make sure the lumber you use is capable of holding the full trailer tongue weight (4X4) and that the trailer is on level ground and the wheels chocked before trying to weigh the tongue. Also make sure that your scale is capable of at least 250 pounds, preferably 300 pounds. You should be able to measure 2 or 3 times that with this setup which should be applicable for most travel trailers up to 28' in length.
http://www.rverscorner.com/pics/tonguescale.gif
http://home.earthlink.net/~cybergrunt/rv/TongueWeight.jpg

[MagicMtnDan]

PLACING THE LOAD
It would be overly simplistic to say, "put the heavy items over the axles". Sometimes a lot of little items can far outweigh one big one. I believe the value of an item should be one of the first considerations of where it is put in a trailer. Arrange the load so that these items are protected by their location. Don't put big, heavy items in a place where they can't be securely tied down. A glued down rug makes a great floor for a cargo trailer. Things stay put and don't slide around. Of course, it would be easy to say everything should be securely tied down but it would be also unrealistic. Start with top heavy items if you have them. That's usually a good place to start because you must have plenty of room available to properly tie them down. Tying them straight down is not secure enough. They need to be tied off at several angles or they could fall over in an abrupt change in speed or direction. You need room to accomplish this. Smaller items can be used to fill the spaces around them later.
Once you have the heavy items located, check the tongue weight with your Sherline scale. If the load is radically off, make the changes necessary to get close. The smaller items can be loaded in such a way that they balance out the load. They should be located so that they will stay put. Placing them next to items that have already been tied down helps, but your main concern should be to not lose the balance of the trailer. Don't forget you can also get one side of a trailer a lot heavier than the other without a little planning. This can cause a very serious problem when cornering, even causing the trailer to turn over in a sudden turn.
Top heavy loads can cause problems not only in cornering but also in hard braking. They have a tendency to make the trailer "dive" in hard braking conditions. This suddenly increases tongue weight and can decrease front axle loading just when you need steering and those big front disc brakes the most. Center top heavy items or arrange the remainder of the load to act as a counter weight to minimize this effect.
Top heavy loads can cause trailer "dive" under hard braking, possibly reducing steering and braking control.
Never place heavy objects on add-on devices hung on the rear bumper or placed across the tongue frame. A bicycle may be fine to hang out in back, but not a motorcycle. This places heavy objects where they will dramatically effect handling in corners or bumps. Heavy weights placed well behind the axle can also aggravate swaying in turns.
It is not possible in this booklet to cover every conceivable loading or trailering situation. The best advice I can give is to use good common sense and to always allow plenty of margin for safety. The purpose behind the Sherline scale and this booklet is to try to give you the necessary information to make intelligent, informed decisions when loading. The ultimate responsibility for using that information correctly lies with you and you alone.
Source: http://www.sherline.com/lmbook.htm#refrn10

[MagicMtnDan]

tongue load is important for women too
http://www.thrust1.com/pict/qs3/lick.gif
http://www.strangecelebrities.com/images/content/102893.jpg

[Mandelon]

Dan, you are always so informative.. :wink: :cool: