How Important Is Tongue Weight?

trailer tongue weight scaleSherline trailer tongue weight scale assists in keeping your trailer weight at an acceptable level. Proper tongue weight is important to improve the towing experience of any trailer or vehicle through perfection in performance. If the tongue weight is not enough on the tow or hitch ball, it can cause the trailer to sway from side to side, thus making it difficult to control. On the contrary, too much tongue weight can overload the back tires of the towing vehicle, which can lead to mishandling of the vehicle.

Without a proper tongue weight, the performance is compromised, as your trailer might not be able to reach around the corners and curves effectively. Your vehicle may also not stop quickly when you push the pedal brakes.

 

The 3 Best Trailer Tongue Weight Scales 2022

 

Sherline LM 1000 – Trailer Tongue Weight Scale – 1000LB

Sherline LM 1000 travel trailer tongue weight scaleThe Sherline LM 1000 trailer tongue weight scale is designed and manufactured so that users can easily obtain a proper tongue weight on their trailers. With Sherline LM 1000, you can be sure that your trailer is ready to tow safely before heading out to the highway.

Let us discuss some of the main features and properties of this product:

 

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CURT 51701 BetterWeigh Mobile Towing Scale with TowSense Technology (OBD2) Apple, Android Smartphones, Tongue Weight, GCW, Weight Distribution, BLACK PLASTIC

BetterWeigh is a mobile-friendly vehicle and trailer scale that installs in seconds and wirelessly connects to your smartphone to display real-time vehicle and trailer weights, including gross weight, cargo, payload, tongue weight, pin weight, and weight distribution.

This compact, Bluetooth-enabled device plugs into your vehicle’s diagnostic port (OBD-II) under the steering wheel, requiring no wiring, splicing, or installation modifications. Just plug it in, wirelessly connect to your phone and start getting active readouts of your towing and hauling weights.

It’s perfect for towing a bumper pull trailer, 5th wheel trailer, gooseneck trailer, or accurately measuring the weight of your cargo. BetterWeigh also makes the brake controller and weight distribution hitch setup a breeze. Unlike other tongue-weight scale products, BetterWeigh is smartphone-ready. The app is available for download on Apple or Android devices.

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Sherline 5th Wheel Trailer Hitch Scale

Sherline trailer tongue weight scale was launched for all their users with fifth-wheel trailers. This scale is an advanced and modified style of the company’s original trailer tongue weight scale.

But why is it one of the best tongue-weight scales out there?

 

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How Do I Know The Tongue Weight Of My Trailer?

You can use several ways to know the tongue weight of your trailer. You can use the following:

Sherline trailer tongue weight scale– They are the easiest way to measure the tongue weight of any vehicle. Many weight scales are available in the market that you can easily use to measure tongue weight along with gross combined weight, pin weight, and even payload.

Bathroom scale– For small trailer owners, using a bathroom scale to measure tongue weight is a good option. They must put the trailer’s coupler over the scale at an average towing height and determine the readings.

Commercial-scale– You can also take your trailer and tow vehicle to a truck shop scale or material supply center.

 

Can You Exceed Tongue Weight?

Most trailer manufacturers suggest 10-15 percent of total tongue weight, but it is ok to have a little more tongue weight than not having enough. However, when you exceed the tongue weight, you can transfer the weight to the tow vehicle, which may overload the rear axle and lead to a light steering condition.

Therefore, it is better to set this up beforehand within your hitch arrangement and increase the weight distribution bars to adjust the weight in the front vehicles.

 

What Happens If Tongue Weight Is Too Heavy?

If the tongue weight is too heavy, it can affect the tow vehicle’s steering. If you accidentally increase the tongue weight of the trailer, it may go over to the rear axle GAWR (gross axle weight rating) and the total payload. This can raise serious safety concerns. If it happens, the axle spring may compress fully, and the truck may start swaying side-to-side.

Also, the extra sag may point to the front of your truck in the air, compromising the trailer’s braking and steering ability. Your ride will become extremely uncomfortable, and you might not be able to handle the situation sensibly.

 

How Do I Reduce The Tongue Weight Of My Trailer?

You can adjust or reduce the tongue weight of a loaded trailer by modifying the position of the riding mower and other articles over it. If your trailer is long, you can keep the mower away from the trailer tongue and reduce tongue weight to some degree.

You can also use weight distribution systems to shift some of the tongue weight on the tow vehicle’s front axle. It will help you keep the vehicle and trailer at a level and decrease the sag in the rear end of your tow vehicle.

 

Do Weight Distribution Hitch Reduce Tongue Weight?

Weight distribution hitch only works to distribute the trailer’s tongue weight to the front axle of your tow vehicle so that it can sit more level and better.

The system, under no circumstance, can reduce the tongue weight or allow you to tow the vehicle beyond the abilities of the vehicle. The tension or force on the spring bars fundamentally increases on the tongue while holding/keeping a certain amount of tongue weight. It may cause a sudden shift in the distribution of the load off the back axle of the vehicle within the entire arrangement.

However, the hitch has a subsequent high capacity if the weight distribution system is utilized. You must research to find out that capacity and ensure that the loaded tongue weight cannot surpass the limits if you install a weight-distribution hitch.

 

How do you figure out the towing capacity?
How to Pick the Best 5th Wheel Hitch in 5 Easy Steps
Reese Weight Distribution Hitches
10 Picks for Trailer Tongue Toolbox