Share Your Real World Tongue Weights & Trailer Weights

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by switz

When I showed up at the dealership to tow our new 2013 25FB International Serenity home, the factory literature tongue weight of 833 pounds was actually 1,150 pounds on my Shureline scale. That was a basically empty trailer with a single solar panel on the roof and street side and rear awning options with a Hensley hitch head attached.

After getting the unit home and loaded for camping, the tongue increased to 1,175 and about 6,900 pounds trailer weight unhitched.

Originally Posted by m.hony

Cat scales ticket ready to camp-
Still don't know the tongue weight or truck and trailer weights unhitched, but i am with all known limits- front GVW, rear GVW, Payload, Towing Capacity- so I am thinking I am within the limit on tongue weight as well. I am guessing the trailer weighs about 8,400# with a 900-1,000# tongue weight.

After all the discussion in the multiple Tow Vehicle threads, and seeing some folks who post this kind of detailed information, and others with cat scale numbers, I thought that a thread where folks shared their trailer model and their real world hitch weights and trailer weights could be beneficial to new members/owners shopping for both Airstreams & Tow Vehicles. I know it's been helpful to myself for my own research.

[SteveH]

We are traveling now so can't post the scale ticket but the tongue weight on ours is 1150 with trailer axle weight of 8950. Our combined gross weight is just under 19,000.

[Buck944]

Good idea! But people should include their rig description in the post.

I have a 1998 safari SS, 25',

6000 lb including a 600 lb thong


Envoyé de mon iPhone à l'aide de Airstream Forums

[AirHeadsRus]

Here you go. My rig, F-150 Larriott 6.2 gasser 145" Super Crew. In January when everything was camp loaded full including water, fuel, propane and about half a grey water tank. Tongue weight (1200 LBS) taken on Shurline without weight distribution connected.

[BoldAdventure]

Good stuff so far guys! Hopefully others will share as well.

[andreasduess]

1984 34' International. 7500lbs camp ready (factory 6250lbs) with a tongue weight of just under 800lbs. As far as I know this is the lightest 34' model Airstream has ever made.

[robert claus]

I checked the tongue weight of my 2000 19' Bambi in my driveway, using the bathroom scale and lever method. With full water and LP tanks, it came in right at 500#, just as stated in the specs. Keep in mind that the early reintroduced Bambis have a single battery. I was surprised that it was that heavy - hardly moves the Sprinter when attached.
I don't have actual trailer weight

[rostam]

Originally Posted by andreasduess

1984 34' International. 7500lbs camp ready (factory 6250lbs) with a tongue weight of just under 800lbs. As far as I know this is the lightest 34' model Airstream has ever made.

Unimportant detail: the 1983 34 ft Excella's have 5800# and 5500# factory weight in rear-bath and center-bath configurations and are the lightest 34 ft ever built.

[A W Warn]

2000 Safari SS (Six Sleeper = floor plan C)
Tongue weight ranges 580 empty to 675 loaded heavy (I've weighed it 4 times)
The trailer has 6300 GVWR.
It's 5800 to 6,000 when loaded to camp, including 20+/- gal of fresh water.

It tows well with a 1/2 ton PU.

Hope someone post weights of their 99 34' Excella. I have not been to the scales with mine yet.

add edit: Tongue weight needs to be adjusted for calculating load on truck. In order to get the actual load on the truck's hitch receiver, I need to add the weight of my hitch and anti-sway bar, 87 lbs, to the tongue weight. When I weigh the truck separately from the trailer, the hitch stayed in the receiver and the anti-sway bar was in the truck bed.

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by switz

When I showed up at the dealership to tow our new 2013 25FB International Serenity home, the factory literature tongue weight of 833 pounds was actually 1,150 pounds on my Shureline scale. That was a basically empty trailer with a single solar panel on the roof and street side and rear awning options with a Hensley hitch head attached.

After getting the unit home and loaded for camping, the tongue increased to 1,175 and about 6,900 pounds trailer weight unhitched.

So the initial tow vehicle that I had owned for years was not really up to the task in terms of exceeding the front axle rating and the GVW of the tow vehicle let alone the trailer's weight.

I researched the 1/2 ton arena including the Eco-Boost and realized that I needed more payload, axle and trailer weight capacity and ended up with the Dodge 3/4 ton diesel. I now have a load in the bed of the truck, a 9,200 pound trailer unhitched weight and a 1,345 pound tongue weight. The numbers all work and there is amble power to pull the mountains with not much effort.

Real scale numbers get posted to the forum and helped me with getting into the proper frame of mind for the tow vehicle decision. Wishful thinking does not overcome the designed engineering limitations.

This sort of thing is encouraging, let's see if we can keep this thread going.

[SteveSueMac]

I started a thread called "Calculating Tongue Weight at the CAT Scales" and through the help of many kind folks here who interpreted my scales tickets and process, we came up with 1080# for my 2012 27FB Flying Cloud with ProPride hitch. This is considerably higher than the published weight in the user manual but is real world fully loaded for camping and with a very heavy hitch system.

[BoldAdventure]

Good info Steve

[Rollster]

The actual weight of our 2006 25' was 6460 and the tongue was 960. It was loaded for camping (propane, clothes, some food, dishes, other belongings, etc.).

[ghaynes755]

2015 FC 25 Rear Bedroom, Trailer weight 6440 and tongue 1040. 2015 Sierra 2500 Duramax and ProPride.

[SteveSueMac]

Note that ghaynes and I have ProPrides and high tongue weights...

[Wayne&Sam]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

I started a thread called "Calculating Tongue Weight at the CAT Scales" .

Can you provide a link please?

[SteveSueMac]

Originally Posted by Wayne&Sam

Can you provide a link please?

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f464...es-105930.html

Hope that works...was never good at links in this app...

[dznf0g]

Originally Posted by SteveSueMac

Note that ghaynes and I have ProPrides and high tongue weights...

Remember, not all, of PP nor HAHA installed hardware is calculated in tongue weight. It is all calculated in receiver weight...plus the stinger.

[Wayne&Sam]

Thanks SteveSueMac.

[switz]

We have a 2014 31' Classic model 30 with an Airstream catalog tongue weight of 733 pounds, empty weight of 7,365 pounds and a GVW of 10,000 pounds. The actual label at the factory said the trailer weight was 7,133 pounds (we omitted the two twin mattresses as we had goon ones from Rocky Mountain Mattresses awaiting the trailer's arrival).

Here are the weights at the Cat Scales where I weighed the rig and then detached from the trailer and crossed the scales again. This was before loading the truck and trailer with the camping gear. I have two sets of four wheel scales that generated the individual wheel weights the next day. The ProPride hitch was attached to the trailer and the stinger was left in the truck for the weighing.

The trailer tongue weight was also increased by four 92 pound Lifeline batteries mounted in a custom stainless steel battery box between the front of the trailer skin and the propane tanks as well as a much heavier Magnum MS 2812 inverter under the front sofa. We also have eight 100 watt solar panels on the roof. The original battery box is housing the hydraulic brake pump for the disc brake conversion.