ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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jerem0621 wrote:As to knowing the actual tongue weight, not everyone can just run out and get a tongue scale, an extra 300$ right now is hard to find for some folks to use just one time. It would be nice to have but how many RV'ers actually own one.
I think for most folks the just try to do best guess. It's not by any means a best practice but it's probably reality.
Thanks
Jerem
This can be done at a truck scale for less than $20. If the OP wrecks because the sway gets out of control, will it cost more than $20?
ERS
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Gman22
Burlington, Ontario
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It sounds to me that you need to find and fix the cause of the sway which could be a number of things e.g. tires, alignment, loading. A better hitch may control things better but that's really the wrong approach. Masking the condition does only that, hides it. The problem is still there and underlying. Find the cause which may be simple and cost you nothing. Stop the bleeding, don't just use a bigger band-aid.
Do you have a pal with a suitable TV that could hook up and take the trailer for a spin? If no sway exists than I'd look more towards your truck and/or it's dynamic in connnection to your trailer. If it does sway, at least you've ruled out your truck.
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mkirsch
Rochester, NY
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ExRocketScientist wrote:This can be done at a truck scale for less than $20. If the OP wrecks because the sway gets out of control, will it cost more than $20?
No, it can't. Not unless you want to get beaten/shot by a line of angry truckers waiting to weigh their rigs while you fiddle around unhooking your trailer on the scale.
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edited 01/31/12 06:58pm by an administrator/moderator *
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BarneyS
S.E. Lower Michigan
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mkirsch wrote:ExRocketScientist wrote:This can be done at a truck scale for less than $20. If the OP wrecks because the sway gets out of control, will it cost more than $20?
No, it can't. Not unless you want to get beaten/shot by a line of angry truckers waiting to weigh their rigs while you fiddle around unhooking your trailer on the scale.
I have weighed my rig numerous times at a Cat Scale and have never held up a line of truckers. It only takes a couple of minutes to lower the jack, unhook the chains at get a weigh. You watch to make sure that there are no truckers coming towards the scale before you begin. If there are, you pull around and try again. I agree about holding up the truckers. They are "on the clock" and we shouldn't delay them.
To the poster that said it would cost $300 for a tongue scale, I, and numerous others on this forum have purchased a Sherline tongue weight scale for about $125. I personally know at least a dozen people that have one so it is not unusual. I use mine frequently to make sure that my trailer is loaded correctly, especially when we are loaded to go South for the winter or any other extended stay longer than a couple of days.
Barney
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edited 01/31/12 06:58pm by an administrator/moderator *
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ExRocketScientist
Laurel, MD
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BarneyS wrote:mkirsch wrote:ExRocketScientist wrote:This can be done at a truck scale for less than $20. If the OP wrecks because the sway gets out of control, will it cost more than $20?
No, it can't. Not unless you want to get beaten/shot by a line of angry truckers waiting to weigh their rigs while you fiddle-fart around unhooking your trailer on the scale.
I have weighed my rig numerous times at a Cat Scale and have never held up a line of truckers. It only takes a couple of minutes to lower the jack, unhook the chains at get a weigh. You watch to make sure that there are no truckers coming towards the scale before you begin. If there are, you pull around and try again. I agree about holding up the truckers. They are "on the clock" and we shouldn't delay them.
To the poster that said it would cost $300 for a tongue scale, I, and numerous others on this forum have purchased a Sherline tongue weight scale for about $125. I personally know at least a dozen people that have one so it is not unusual. I use mine frequently to make sure that my trailer is loaded correctly, especially when we are loaded to go South for the winter or any other extended stay longer than a couple of days.
Barney
And I figured out how to get individual wheel weights with my Sherline Scale. IIRC I paid around $125 for it late last spring.
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Desert Captain
Tucson
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mkirsch wrote:ExRocketScientist wrote:This can be done at a truck scale for less than $20. If the OP wrecks because the sway gets out of control, will it cost more than $20?
No, it can't. Not unless you want to get beaten/shot by a line of angry truckers waiting to weigh their rigs while you fiddle-fart around unhooking your trailer on the scale.
I too would never hold up a working man at the Cat scale. If you want to measure tongue weight stop short of the scale (not blocking the approach), and disconnect everything except the ball (WDH bars, chains, power cord, anti sway bars), then roll onto the scale. All you have to do is lower the jack until the ball comes free and pull up a couple of feet to the next scale platform. You now have tongue weight and your TV gets weighed as well. Punch the button to activate the scale and then reconnect and drive off. Pull clear and reattach everything. Should take all of about 2 minutes tops.
Most Cat scales charge around $10 but they will allow for a reweigh for another two bucks. When you have finished reattaching, drive the whole rig back onto the scale for your $2 reweigh. Now you know exactly what your rig weighs. Worked for me. 
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Classic88
Burleson, TX
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Turtle n Peeps , Gunpilot77 .....YES I GET THE POINT? All I asked for was some suggestions, not sarcasim!!
I assure you two that I have a positive tongue weight on the trailer to tow vehicle. Just because I can't give a number value doesn't mean I am not listening to the suggestions.
To all the other folks who have given positive ideas and thoughts.
Thanks
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Gunpilot77
Killeen, Tx
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Classic88 wrote:Turtle n Peeps , Gunpilot77 .....YES I GET THE POINT? All I asked for was some suggestions, not sarcasim!!
sarcasm; 1. harsh or bitter derision or irony. 2. a sharply ironical taunt
irony; 1. the use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite of it's literal meaning.
Not guilty. We were conveying the exact meaning of our words. Without knowing the tongue weight of your trailer, which will give you the percentage of tongue wt/trailer wt, everything else you do is spinning in the wind.
Just to let you know, I have logged over 200,000 miles of towing travel trailers of all shapes and sizes, most of them new but a lot of them were loaded with the owners belongings. I have NEVER seen a need for anti-sway devices. That is why, in my first post, I talked about the trailer when it was new. Perhaps you should unload all your stuff, drain the tanks, and go for a drive. My money says the trailer won't sway.
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jerem0621
SE Tennessee
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I also hear a lot of posters call the suck-pull motion from passing vehicles sway.
This natural oscillation is not sway.
Not sure if I am communicating this effectively or not.
Thanks
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Gunpilot77
Killeen, Tx
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jerem0621 wrote:I also hear a lot of posters call the suck-pull motion from passing vehicles sway.
This natural oscillation is not sway.
Not sure if I am communicating this effectively or not.
I know what you mean, but to be more precise; When a vehicle is overtaking you the first thing you feel is the bow wave of air pushing the rear of the trailer towards the shoulder of the road. The trailer pivots on it's axles and the tongue pushes the rear of the tow vehicle toward the centerline. The tow vehicle is then aiming for the shoulder which makes the driver to have to steer to the left to stay in his/her lane. Soon after the bow wave is pushing the front of the trailer and the tow vehicle is now aiming at the centerline, and the driver now has to steer to the right. I feel it in my duelly, so a 2wd must be worse. That is not sway.
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