Trailer Weights in the Real World

[Jared J]

Originally Posted by Loyce

Hit a weigh station on the way home from the Oregon Gathering. 1974 Hunter 1 with new cabinets in the rear loaded to the gills with gear 1800 lbs. No tongue weight available at the time but my husband (250 lbs) was able to climb in the back without jacks or it being hooked up and it didn't flip up on him. 2010 Subaru Forrester towed it with no problem.

Is that 1800 lbs with the trailer unhooked?

[Loyce]

Originally Posted by Jared J

Is that 1800 lbs with the trailer unhooked?

Yes, I was surprised it was so heavy.

[Donna D.]

Originally Posted by Loyce

Yes, I was surprised it was so heavy.

THIS STATEMENT is very common when folks finally weigh their OWN trailers.

[SeansmomSandy]

Hi,
Now that the fridge and furnace have been installed, I finally got the Dolphin to the scale. With one propane tank and the battery, everything else empty, it weighed in at 1700 lbs. The tongue weight was 172 with a bathroom scale.
Sandy

[Nate R]

Originally Posted by boley

I weighed my 1982 Casita 13' at certified truck scales yesterday: 1,220 pounds.
Checked tongue weight at home and it was 138 pounds.

This weight was empty of everything removable; such as cushions, water, jacks, cords, battery, etc. I had left the full propane tank on the front.

Not sure I understand....is the 1220 lbs the weight of the trailer axle when hooked up? (ie: total weight is about 1360?)

[Nate R]

Weighed our 1981 13' Casita yesterday on a certified truck scale while hooked up to our TV, and then the TV itself. They also had seperate axle weights, so we were able to see what the weight of the trailer axle was when coupled, and thus were able to find the real world tongue weight as we tow it now.

Weighed the Casita with our usual traveling gear in it. (No water in tanks, nothing in fridge, but dishes, blankets, etc in trailer. Propane tank was on and nearly full, but battery is carried in Tow Vehicle.)

Total weight: 1380
Axle weight: 1220
Tongue weight: ~160

It's hard to tell, but the trailer has looked like it could be raised a bit. Had a 1" taller hitch ball on order already, so hopefully that takes some weight off of the tongue.

While the 1981 Casita still has an inside height around 5'10" unlike most newer FGRVs, it weighs a lot. (About the same as new Scamps, it seems?) From what I can tell, the old Casita has a much more substantial frame than many of the newer FGRVs. (Overkill?) Not surprised that's changed in the last 30 years. Taller shells now are likely heavier, and the single tube ladder frames are lighter.

Also: My 1981 Casita is pretty much all original (No A/C added or somethign like that), and has 3-way fridge and the furnace as well.

[Jon Vermilye]

With Frederick's permission, I have been adding trailer weights to an Excel spreadsheet as people post them, however it would help if the weights were clear as to how they were determined. The headings are: Trailer Length, Make, Model, Axle weight, Tongue weight, Total (the spreadsheet does this by combining axle & tongue weight), Event (I use Shared for self reported figures), Year weighed

For example, the thread lists Axle weight (how much weight is on the axle of the trailer while attached to the tow vehicle), Tongue weight, and Total weight (the sum of Axle weight & Tongue weight). If anyone posting their results could use these terms it would make the spreadsheet (and this thread) more accurate.

Thanks!

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Thomas G.

Yes, they agreed and then they didn't. The problem was phasing it in such that one manufacturer did not have a perceived advantage in towing capacity during the phase in.

I'm sure eventually everyone will use the SAE J2807.

Standardized Tow Ratings: Why Automakers Aren't Using Them -- Edmunds.com

Just an observation....
In just about every parameter, we are told to defer to the manufacturer as the ultimate authority.
Now we are to accept the idea that they are either incompetent or deceptive or both!
Apparently Toyota is the only one willing to admit it.
It looks as if common sense is gradually becoming illegal with almost no chance of a violation!
As the venerable Ronald Reagan said..."Trust but verify"
This applies to both trailer weights/capacities and to trucks.

[Lora]

We weighed Larry at the local transfer station while enroute home from our cross-country trip.
Weights were as follows:
Still attached to truck: 2860 (axle weight)
Not attached to truck: 3234 (total weight)
Tongue weight: 374

We had about 1/2 tank of fresh water, unknown amount of propane in two tanks on tongue with battery. The overhead cabinets had been removed from our trailer by a PO.

[Borden]

Our trailer is light but almost empty: we travel without water or much food.
> Unfortunately the WD system adds to the total limit with car
Hitch wd weight of 100 lbs. plus 370 lbs. for us and our dogs; 180 lbs. for tongue weight; with 825 lb. limit of car that leaves only 170 lbs. for clothing, food, kitchen aids, etc. in the car. So the trunk and floor is used only for dog treats, cameras, or travel needs the rest is in the trailer.
Trailer empty but (full water tank and propane tanks) 2190 off of car. add bedding, clothing, some food, think 2300 plus, we travel with the water tank empty. Just added to the weight with a 6 gal water tank, bigger than wanted but will give us more hot water will have to check the new total weight when done the changes will try to remove some weight with lighter materials in other areas.

[VW Kamper]

I didn't see the Minit trailer on the very comprehensive list of REAL trailer weights. I notice it's a lot like the Boler - should I use the weight listed for the Boler as a reference? We need to get the lightest one possible and it looks like the first 5 on the list we could pull without a problem. Thanks!

[Bob Miller]

You won't find the Minit Camper on the list because there were very few built and that was long-long ago. Most of the weights Fred has listed were of a collection of trailers that appeared at different events. He works in the scale business and can bring along a set portable scales with him.

I can see any reason whatsoever why the Minit should weigh any less than an early 13' Scamp and would use that as a close match. If a seller claimed much less, I would ask that a certified weight certificate be included as a part of the sale.

If that is the one in the Lake Elsinore area feel free to drop us a note and come to nearby Diamond Bar and look at a Hunter Compact-II.

Although ours, with substantial updating, is now at 1225 or so, base weight is/was a tad under 900 lbs.

[VW Kamper]

Hi Bob -
Yes, it's the one in Elsinore - hope they call - I'd like to see it. Thanks for the offer to see your Compact Jr. We need super light as we will be pulling with a VW Bus with a 1640 or a Honda Element.

[Bob Miller]

Ouch, IMHO: a 1640 + a bus + a FGRV = a short lived engine.

Years ago my family and I ran the VW Thing/Type-181 Registry with about 2600 members world wide. While visiting at a Kubeltreffen in Germany I encountered several Thing/Type-181's that were pulling Caravans'. Three things I remember from that about towing with an aircooled VW:

In Germany you could tow only with the rare and hard to find factory built trailer hitch that extended under the engine and attached to the frame horns, the torsion bar tube and the rear coachwork. At that time they were worth close to $500 if you could find one.

That most of the European Caravans seemed to be constructed of double wall Masonite like stuff, were very flimsy, and could get blown over in a slight wind.

And, most important, that maximum loaded weight was 500 kg, just a bit over 1100 lbs and were subject to weight checks the same as trucks are here. If you were found overweight you were fined and taken off the road, then and there.

The point is that if a 1200 lb loaded FGRV will overload a THING, think of what will happen with a bus. I suggest sticking with the Element, and at least it will still have brakes after the second stop.

BTW: I did personally know a retired engineer from VWoA that worked at VWoA's CA emissions evaluation center. He built up a 1974 THING with a rear mounted VW diesel and towed a 24' Airstream cross country twice with the same engine. But then again his engines and parts were all new and all free to him.

[VW Kamper]

Bob - that's why we were really looking for a Eriba Puck - people pull those with Bugs and Buses, but they are WAY too expensive. I think we'd be OK with one of the lighter fiberglass trailers. We will most likely be using the Element though. Still need light weight as it's front wheel drive and has a low tow rating. Don't want to go near the high end of the rating - want to keep it as low as possible.

[Ian G.]

I felt it was time to accurately weigh my trailer.
If anyone has been following my build you will know the extensive modifications that have been made, from the frame to the entire enterior. Although weight savings were taken into consideration during the build, function and reliability did take priority.
The trailer is a 1974 Boler 1300
These weights are fully loaded including full propane, supplies, battery, and wine in the wine rack.

Total weight - 1880 lbs
Axle weight - 1600 lbs
Tongue weight - 280 lbs
% total weight on tongue - 14.9%

[Paul O.]

Originally Posted by semievolved

My math is rusty but it seems to me the error introduced by a few inch side-to-side difference is minimal. Assuming 4" of height difference and a 6' axle gives an angle of about 3 degrees. The sin function indicates that at 3 degrees, the weight differential would be 0.9986, in other words at most 1.4% error. Somebody ought to check me though, I could easily have messed up! Since the weighing method was pretty similar for all trailers, the error would be consistent and can be ignored I think.

Basically the trailer has three supports: two wheels and the hitch. Raising any one of them has no effect on the total weight, but raising one at a time will shift the Center of Gravity toward the others and that scale reading will be always lower. The error goes up with the sine (not cosine) of the angle (in direct proportion of the angle for small values). If the CG is high off the ground, because of roof mounted AC, big refrigerator, awning, stuff on the loft, raised axle, etc., then the shift is high as well. The scale errors will be larger side to side since the wheels are closer to each other than the tongue. The Scaleman was doing it perfectly, using two scales and blocks and taking advantage of gentle the slope of the ground. I just happened upon this semi-dormant thread, it was very informative. My Scamp 19 Deluxe must be also somewhere in the 3000 to 3800 lbs. range when traveling, I should weigh it some day. Thanks.

[John Linck]

We picked up our 2014 front bath Scamp 13' Deluxe Oak Jan 9 in Backus. ($15k) A truck stop certified scale showed 1460 pounds on the tires and 230 pounds on the tongue making the total 1690 pounds with one full propane bottle and a group 27 battery. Pretty much all the options except awning and AC. No cargo or water aboard. Salesman said the deluxe wood adds 3-4 hundred pounds. Our 4cyl Outback performed very well towing.

John

[Hman66]

Hey John...just curious as to what your sales tax was on your 13 ft Scamp as you have to pay it after pick up!. Mine was $1,191.05. Thx H

[John Linck]

Minnesota doesn't collect out of state taxes. I will have to pay 5.5% when I buy plates in Wisconsin.