I picked up my new trailer this week and I'm trying to figure out how far forward the car should be tied down, to be properly balanced in it. With my other trailer it was trial and error, till I found the best balance, but it took a while. Like my other trailer, I will be screwing chocks to the floor that stop the car in the same /correct position every time. This trailer is longer so it's gonna be a totally different set-up. I guess the question would be, how do you measure tongue weight. I've heard 3 to 4 hundred pounds is adequate, but I can just see the dirty looks I'm gonna get, when I try to slip that $100.00 glass top scale out of the bathroom, down the stairs, and out to the driveway.
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/trailer-1.jpg
http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/data/500/trailer-2.jpg

The way I do it is I pull up untill my truck squats about 2". If you have a inclosed, Have someone stand outside and watch for you.

Bill, You're not allowed to tow a Chevelle with a Ford truck!!!!!!!!!!! :eek:

its not really a weight per say that needs to be on the tongue . its a forward or rear balance over the wheels of the trailer.. if you load enough weight .. say like a early 60's caddy you can get the 400 lbs of tongue weight but might not have the center of mass forward of the trailer wheels the balance is what makes the trailer tow stright or if weight is to far back it will "hunt" the tail wagging the dog syndrome !! save your self the problems with the Mrs & leave her scale out of this one ;) .. I've loaded lots of cars onto my flat bed & always just watched to make sure the weight was balanced to the front... drive it over the duels till its level then forward till you see truck taking weight ... once you've found sweet spot tie down & test... if right install you wheel chocks :)

Bill, I have always heard that the weight in the trailer is supposed to be 60/40 with the 60 being on the front part of the trailer. If you do have any questions about the weight distribution, I would contact the dealer where you got the trailer from. If anyone knows, I bet they would.

I've alway's wondered something? How do you get in and out of the car when it's in the trailer?

Bill: This is how I did mine. Weigh your truck no tlr attached, Truck weight is XXXX LBS. This number will not change. Add your weight of tlr.??3500 LBS.
Your car----??3500 LBS
Total-------7000 Lbs
Now hook up trailer to truck with car inside trailer, Park your TRUCK on the scale and position the car so your Truck gains 10% of gross of what you are towing. such as Truck alone weights 6000 LBS-- Trailer and car weights 7000 LBS. With truck parked on the scale move the car in the trailer untill the truck GAINS Appx. 10% of gross tlr. weight. Now the truck should weight 6700 LBS. You can go 200 LBS light with the gross truck weight and fine tune with spring bars. The more load you put on the bars, They will put more weight on the truck steer axel and lift the rear of the truck. Too much weight on the spring bars and you will spin the drive wheels on your truck and crash!!. When the car is in position in tlr. mark floor with masking tape using center line of all 4 wheels, for wheel chalk aligment. CAUTION First time using escape door make sure the bottom of drivers door will clear and not hit or scrape. I made two 12"X12" X 5/8" plywood parking pads to raise the left side to clear the escape Door. Any questions 724-527-3088 Bob

I've alway's wondered something? How do you get in and out of the car when it's in the trailer?

It ain't easy but it can be done dependinng on your girth ;-)

Bill: This is how I did mine. Weigh your truck no tlr attached, Truck weight is XXXX LBS. This number will not change. Add your weight of tlr.??3500 LBS.
Your car----??3500 LBS
Total-------7000 Lbs
Now hook up trailer to truck with car inside trailer, Park your TRUCK on the scale and position the car so your Truck gains 10% of gross of what you are towing. such as Truck alone weights 6000 LBS-- Trailer and car weights 7000 LBS. With truck parked on the scale move the car in the trailer untill the truck GAINS Appx. 10% of gross tlr. weight. Now the truck should weight 6700 LBS. You can go 200 LBS light with the gross truck weight and fine tune with spring bars. The more load you put on the bars, They will put more weight on the truck steer axel and lift the rear of the truck. Too much weight on the spring bars and you will spin the drive wheels on your truck and crash!!. When the car is in position in tlr. mark floor with masking tape using center line of all 4 wheels, for wheel chalk aligment. CAUTION First time using escape door make sure the bottom of drivers door will clear and not hit or scrape. I made two 12"X12" X 5/8" plywood parking pads to raise the left side to clear the escape Door. Any questions 724-527-3088 Bob


Basically the same method I've used, my dad used, my grandpa used. 10% of the trailer wieght works good. I usually run 500lbs on my open trailer with a car on it.

Bill, That's a beauty! If it's 24', I'd be happy to measure where the chocks are on mine to give you a starting point. I did lot's of trial & error.....sometimes stopping several times on a long trip to tweak it a bit. I've got it perfect now. ;)

Thanks for all the feedback. I decided to call the manufacturer of the trailer (Pace American) to get their thoughts as well.
Bob, you nailed it right on the head. They said the best way to determine tongue weight/trailer balance, is to figure on 10% of the trailer gross weight on the truck. They also recommend load levelers, which are already on the trailer. Not sure how much the trailer weighs yet. I'm guessing about 2500-3000 pounds. The car weighs 3600 pounds. Total = approx 6350. So 10% would be 600 to 700 pounds of tongue weight. Seems like a lot to me, but I'll try that figure first. We have a metal recycler here in town with a scale. Maybe I can slip them a few bucks and check the tongue weight with the car in the trailer. Bottom line: 10% on the trailer hitch, keeps all the truck and trailers tires on the ground with the load levelers installed.
Mark, The new trailer is 22 ft long, so measurements from your 24 would be different. It's strange how moving the car a few inches, can change the tongue weight a few hundred pounds.
Herb, the car door will open in most trailers about 7 inches, enough to sneak out. This new trailer I bought has a left side door, low enough to open the car door outside the trailer, which makes the process a little easier, and less of a chance of scratching the car.

If its a 24' Pace, I bet it weighs closer to 3700 lbs. Just making the truck level or squat shouldn't be how you judge where you put the car. Not enough weight on the tongue will cause it to sway. I would check with some of the RV dealers in your area, there is a scale that is made for measuring tongue weight. With a frame hitch 10% of the total weight is a good figure. Your weight distrubuting hitch will make a world of difference too. http://www.sherline.com/lmbook.htm#refrn1 is the link to the scale I am refering to.

Yep, 10% is the "book" amount.
Now if I could just figure out an easy way to tell 10% on mine . . .

Do you have a weight distrubuting hitch? If not, GET ONE !!!!!! With a set up like that you really need a weight distributing hitch, then it doesn't matter as much where you put the car because the hitch will move the weight around for you. The other reason for a W/D hitch is it will take a lot of the sway out of the trailor for you. I don't know the law where you are, but here in Iowa once you get to like 23' you have to have one of those by law. In my opinion, if you don't have one you are risking your life and others lives by not having the proper hitch system. I used to work at one the biggest RV dealerships in the country so I kinda know a little about hitches and have seen a lot of scarry stuff.
P.S. I would also recomend you get a sway control. If you have a W/D hitch and need help setting it up, I would be more than happy to help with it.

They also recommend load levelers, which are already on the trailer. .
Yes, as I stated above, it has the system already. I've used it for many years on my other trailer. I've never used the sway bar set-up, but it's on the list with 5 other trailer things I need.

Good, now just put the car in the trailor where you think you want it, go outside and use the bars to try and get the trailor AND truck level. One thing to watch for, don't let your bars get so high that they are to the bottom of the trailor frame. If that does happen there is a couple things you can do. One: is raise the head on the hitch 1 or 2 holes, Two: put more tilt into the head on the hitch. If you do either one just make sure you get the spacers for the top bolt on the head installed correctly. The weight you were refering to in the original post is not really what you are concerned about, it's if the whole package is level. Try doing it my way, then go the scales and see what happens.

One thing I forgot, once you have it set up, try to leave some adjustment room on the bars for when you load more stuff into the trailor.