I'm buying a Burro 17' and was wondering if anyone knew its actual tongue weight and trailer weight? The current owner doesn't know. I'm not so concerened about the trailer weight since my truck can tow 5000lbs but I'd hate to see the the rear springs get too squished. I'm hoping it's no more than 300lbs.

Of course every one of them would be different based on equipment levels but I'll give you near worthless anecdotal info that may help anyway.
I bought a 17 widebody Burro which was gutted. I towed it home several hundred miles with my 4CYL Escape and it towed almost as well as a 13 of several other brands in my experience.

After a complete remodel with wooden cabinets and a front dinette and a full compliment of appliances , including A/C, propane and battery box. I delivered it with my Ford Ranger which proved excellent for the task.
My GUESS would be around 200-250# tongue weight and a total weight around 2500#. pure guess work .
I'm sure you will do just fine, and have "Squat" for Squat... hehehe

Our 17 fully loaded and weighed at a scale (on the truck) was 2800 lbs fully loaded with water and all our gear. No tongue weight, though.
cheers
Ian

Weight of ours varies, but averages somewhere around 2900 lbs fully loaded, with two heavy batteries, two propane tanks, full freshwater tank and various mods. Add to that tongue weight of about 270 lbs. Tongue weight varies somewhat depending on where the water is located in the tanks, etc.

Mine weighed in at 2020 lb, with a tongue weight right about 300 lb. That's pretty close to empty but did include a small battery and 1 propane tank on the front. Holding tanks were empty. (This is the one Floyd mentioned, I bought it from him after the rebuild... so now you know the actual numbers.)

You could always get a load leveling hitch if you're worried about squatting your tow vehicle's back end too much.

Per, I would like to know how you are keeping your tongue so light if you have 2 batteries and 2 tanks on the front. Is it all in the way you load, are you putting heavy stuff in the very back or what?

Michael:
There is little mystery to it, because I moved the batteries into two sealed boxes mounted in the cabinets under the bed, which puts them immediately behind the wheel wells. They are vented to the outside.
The net result is that they tend to lighten the tongue weight just barely instead of adding almost all their weight to the tongue weight as would be the case if they were in front. This makes the tongue weight roughly 9-10% which is somewhat in the middle between what most recommend here and the slightly lighter weight reputedly common in Europe.

Well, the mfgr says 1800# & 125# which is about 7% tongue weight.

http://www.burrotrailers.com/burro_17.htm

But that is probably completely empty, no water, nothing in the holding tanks, etc.

Last time I weighed mine it was 3k on the axle.. fully loaded for my longest trip ever. I didn't do the tongue, and that weight was pretty much stock. I hadn't started extensive mods yet.

This one isn't a 17' so it weighs considerably less ...
Click to view attachment

Thanks everyone, sorry, I just got around to checking this thread again. We bought and towed our 17' yesterday, it was a 430 mile or so drive and our Honda Ridgeline towed it exceptionally well even up the steep hills. I had to check every now and then to make sure it was still back there. The only time I felt it was when we went through a big dip in the road and the burrow tugged and pulled on the truck.

Gina 3000lbs sounds like a lot of weight. They list it as 1800lbs dry and my guess is our's is around 2200lbs (without water etc).

Brian, is that your burro? I hear they're great animals to have around the farm. They're not as skittish as the horses and tend to protect the other farm animals from coyotes etc.

Russel, Pers and mine are *almost* identical models from the factory.. we are both mod crazy as well..SO.. his is 2900 and mine at 3k sounds about right when loaded.

We both have glass shower doors, AC, Fridge, Furnace, etc. There isn't an option available that was left off our models. We upgraded to larger custom wheels and tires, and we both have a LOT of added electronics.

As far as loading....Pers wife has him, and I have 2 dogs and a cat.. so, the personal item split is about the same

I think you'll find yours is a bit more than your guess once you actually weigh it.

Fred will be here on weds with his scales.. I am going to have it weighed and I will post what it is 2 years later. I suspect a lot more than the 3k I got at the Oregon scales. This will help me decide if I want to pull the furnace and AC. I am going to lay a new subfloor and add some heavy vinyl strip flooring. I got birch ply for the floor to lighten the load (and my wallet) but I am guessing myself here, that the furnace and floor will weigh about the same.

When I re-axled the '87 I had, I put a 3500 lb axle under it. It had a 2200 lb axle from the factory, and it failed after only about 15 years. The actual weight can vary widely dependent on equipment. The weight of the Burro 17 is much lighter without a bath or roof A/C, and an icebox weighs a lot less than a 3 way refrigerator. Remember that with the bath comes freshwater and sewage tanks, and a water heater, plus the weight of the shower stall and commode themselves. 2800 lbs is a pretty average weight for the Burro 17 with the bath and A/C, and something around 300 lbs plus or minus would be pretty average for tongue weight for a Burro 17 with one battery and two propane tanks.

Roger

99 BURRO WB 17'
Trailer axle 1: Left=1540, Right=1280
TOTAL AXLE WEIGHT=2820
TRAILER HITCH WEIGHT=440
TOTAL TRAILER WEIGHT=3260

so I can keep my furnace, but have to lighten the tongue load. My WDH is only rated for 400 lbs.

I will be installing a second battery.. in the back under the bench (Vented, of course) should balance me out.

This weight was without travel gear tho.. no food and personal articles, but I travel light.

wow! so much for a light weight fiberglass trailer Actually compared to the regular travel trailers I'd say that's still about 1000lbs lighter.

Since ours doesn't have any Marriot style luxuries I hope it's sub 2500lbs