Does anyone in the Bradenton area of FL have a tongue weight scale my father could borrow? Or know of someplace to rent one?
He's looking to get a more accurate measurement of the tongue weight on his travel travel before ordering new bars for the weight distribution hitch.
He did the bathroom scale method, but that seemed to read low. He currently has 1000lb bars and they are maxed out even though the scale read approx 800 lbs.
Thanks
Wouldn't it be easiest to put in on a CAT scale attached then unattached?
In reply to chandler :
Because you are near a CAT scale most every day of the week... Most people might not know what a CAT scale is.
CAT Scale:
In short answer form, these are the Semi Truck scales you see at the big truck stops. The scales have 3 zones. It will provide you an answer of how much weight the front wheels are carrying (zone 1), how much weight the rear wheels are carrying (zone 2) and how much weight the trailer axle is carrying (zone 3)
Chandler suggests to weigh the combination and see how much the rear axle is carrying then detach trailer and reweigh just the truck to see how much weight the rear axle is carrying without the trailer. The difference is your tongue weight.
$10-ish for the service.
I did it at my local landfill when they were not busy and happy to help. Three weights. A. Pull just the truck on with the trailer attached. B. The truck and trailer together. C. Just the truck.
A - C = tongue weight
B - C = weight of trailer
FWIW, I picked up one of these to use as a tongue scale a while back. Works great, though unfortunately not enough capacity for OP's need unless you do the lever trick.
Thank you for the suggestion of using axle weights to calculate the tongue weight.
The theory proposed is good, as long as the total truck weight is used and not just the rear axle since the weight on the steer axle actually will get lighter, unless using a weight distribution hitch.
I'd have to sketch out a free body diagram to say for sure if weights alone are sufficient or if moments also need to be calculated to figure out tongue weight. The calculating the force and moment created by the tongue weight to lighten the front axle might be more accurate than trying to use axle weights directly.
The main challenge for him is that with the weight distribution hitch it's not a quick task to disconnect (especially at 71 and still recovering from some of the effects of cancer treatment). Doing it at home with a scale let's him pace himself.
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