[VAC] Re: Correct Measurement of Tongue/Hitch Weight

["Richard P. Kenan" <as5368@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

If you cannot get to a scale - which is surely the best thing to do - you 
can get an estimate by using a bathroom scale and a wooden plank of, say, 5 
foot length.  Put one end of the plank on a firm footing, like a brick, and 
the other on the scale. Now, move 1 foot from the brick end, and use a 
4"x4" block of the right length to support your trailer tongue.  Read the 
scale, and multiply the reading by 5 (the ratio of plank length to the 
distance from your tongue to the brick).  That should give you a good 
estimate of the tongue weight.  I say 'estimate,' because bathroom scales 
are notoriously inaccurate (at least the cheap ones).  But, this estimate 
should be good enough to set a tongue weight.  If you want, you can use a 
different length plank (L) and a different position for your tongue jack 
(d).  If your scale indicates W pounds, then your tongue weight will be 
(L/d)W pounds.  Airstream used to describe this procedure in their manuals.

A pricier alternative is to buy (about $100 at Camping World) a tongue scale.

- Dick
(5368)