What is Trailer Tongue Weight & How Is it Measured  

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Expert Reply:

Tongue weight, or TW for short, refers to the downward force applied to a hitch by either the trailer or accessory that is installed in it. For example, if you installed a hitch-mount bike rack in your hitch and loaded up two bikes the TW on the hitch would be the sum of the weights of the two bikes and the bike rack itself. If you were towing a trailer the TW would be the downward force on the hitch ball from the trailer's coupler.

In a trailer that is properly loaded the TW will be around 15-percent of the total trailer gross weight. This amount of TW is important to good handling. If a towed trailer has too little TW this will usually mean more trailer sway because of the higher weight at the trailer's rear; if a trailer has too much TW then the tow vehicle can suffer rear-end sag.

We offer a scale # e99044 for measuring TW easily and accurately but other methods for measuring are outlined in the linked article.

expert reply by: Adam R

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