Trailer Weights in the Real World

[Jon Vermilye]

I don't know if it will make a difference in the links to the trailer weight spreadsheet, but I upgraded it from a .xls to a .xlsx file format. 193 trailers in the spreadsheet!

http://lakeshoreimages.com/spreadsheets/Weight.xlsx

[gordon2]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

I don't know if it will make a difference in the links to the trailer weight spreadsheet, but I upgraded it from a .xls to a .xlsx file format. 193 trailers in the spreadsheet!

http://lakeshoreimages.com/spreadsheets/Weight.xlsx

Appears to still work just fine with https://www.libreoffice.org/

Which by the way is free so anyone who does not want to feed the Microsoft machine can use it to view and sort the data.

[Radar1]

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

I don't know if it will make a difference in the links to the trailer weight spreadsheet, but I upgraded it from a .xls to a .xlsx file format. 193 trailers in the spreadsheet!

http://lakeshoreimages.com/spreadsheets/Weight.xlsx

Thanks for keeping that list updated and sortable. Still works for me on my Planmaker free edition.

[jeffminnesota]

So we finally got our 13' Scamp weighed (at a metal recycling place, only cost $5)
it is: 13'Scamp, 2002, bunk bed, no toilet or shower, regular size battery on tongue, half full metal propane tank on tongue, nothing in the water tank, nothing in refrig, minimal personal stuff in trailer.
Weighed on scale of size to accommodate truck or pick up with trailer, I parked trailer on scale, removed my vehicle, weighed. Gross weight was 1360. Drove home, used bathroom scale to weigh tongue: 172.8. should be 10-15%, 10% is 136, 15% 204.

[Borden]

Originally Posted by jeffminnesota

So we finally got our 13' Scamp weighed (at a metal recycling place, only cost $5)
it is: 13'Scamp, 2002, bunk bed, no toilet or shower, regular size battery on tongue, half full metal propane tank on tongue, nothing in the water tank, nothing in refrig, minimal personal stuff in trailer.
Weighed on scale of size to accommodate truck or pick up with trailer, I parked trailer on scale, removed my vehicle, weighed. Gross weight was 1360. Drove home, used bathroom scale to weigh tongue: 172.8. should be 10-15%, 10% is 136, 15% 204.

Hi Subaru and Toyota told us that 8% to 9% is best for pulling with a car so your trailer is very light and the weight would be low if pulled by a car.

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by Borden

Hi Subaru and Toyota told us that 8% to 9% is best for pulling with a car so your trailer is very light and the weight would be low if pulled by a car.

Boat trailers can be safely towed with lower tongue weights, but many travel trailers- including my Scamp- will start to exhibit a tendency to wag the tail at highway speeds (60-65 mph) with less than 10% tongue weight. Tail-wagging can easily turn into full-blown sway with a sudden gust of wind, hitting the brakes, or swerving to avoid road debris.

I have found 12% TW to be a very good target for a 13' Scamp.

The folks at Subaru and Toyota are either misinformed or unaware of the type of trailer involved, maybe a little of both.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by Jon in AZ

The folks at Subaru and Toyota are either misinformed or unaware of the type of trailer involved, maybe a little of both.

I'm surprised you got any sort of answer from Subaru or Toyota, other than what is fully vetted in the instruction manual. Who were these "folks"?

[John in Santa Cruz]

those boat trailers tend to have a long tongue with the weight towards the bakc of the trailer near the axle. our campers do not. I used to tow a 16 foot Hobie Cat, whole trailer weighed a bit over 1000 lbs, but I could pick up the tongue with one hand and drop it on the tow ball, guessing 50 lbs tongue weight, which is like 5%. it was totally stable, because the length of the tongue to axle relative to the CoG, also the fact that it had a very low CoG.

[Radar1]

My Subaru Outback stated the tongue weight should be between 8% - 11% in the owners manual for my 2700 lb tow limit. Interesting that they limit tongue weight to 200 lbs, so realistically, anything over 2,500 lbs would not be able to meet their tongue weight limits and recommendations. 8% of 2700 lbs = 216 lbs.
Fortunately the new 2020 Outbacks allow a 270 lb tongue weight with that 2700 lbs, and you can even go as high as 3500/350 with the 2020 turbo engine.

[k0wtz]

first of all someone knew what they were doing when they added about 18in to our 13ft trailer tounge!

it tows perfectly with around 120lb of weight on the ball no movement at all as it moves down the road!

13ft scamp no b/r doesn't matter if water in the tank or not!

bob

[bradster]

Thank you to Frederick and all the individuals who have contributed to this thread. I am using Jon Vermilye's .xlsx version. This is great information. I will contribute the data for my 2020 Casita Spirit Deluxe when I get to a public scale.

[kontiki]

Originally Posted by Frederick L. Simson

This is a spreadsheet of all of the weigh-in results that I have from the past several years.
Several trailers were weighed multiple times.
8 trailers were weighed by others and reported in this thread.

I am new to this forum and to investigating fiberglass trailers. It looks like you have done a lot of work to pull together this information. Please explain why the same trailers are weighing different amounts. Confused here. Thanks

[bradster]

Originally Posted by kontiki

Please explain why the same trailers are weighing different amounts. Confused here. Thanks

Hi kontiki: The largest contributor to the weigh-in difference is the cargo, water tank levels, and weight balance. Even the contents of the refrigerator have an impact on the trailer weight.

[CarlD]

For example:

When I am 'loaded up and truckin' my weight is about 500 lb greater that empty and I haul 25 gallons of water (200 lb).

[Jon in AZ]

Originally Posted by kontiki

I am new to this forum and to investigating fiberglass trailers. It looks like you have done a lot of work to pull together this information. Please explain why the same trailers are weighing different amounts. Confused here. Thanks

Because these are loaded weights, and you don’t always pack the same way on every trip. Sometimes you bring the bicycles, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes you carry fresh water in the tank, sometimes you don’t. In some cases, there may have been modifications to the trailer itself.

I tend to look at averages (which the spreadsheet in post #401 will calculate for you, after filtering by make and model). That gives you a reasonable ballpark towing weight. Some models have a pretty low sample size., which makes the average less reliable.

Another approach is to simply go by the GVWR. For example, the average weight of a 16’ Scamp in the spreadsheet is about 2650# The GVWR is 3500#. A tow vehicle with a 3500# rating gives a comfortable margin. Based on the spreadsheet, you might get away with less, but you’d need to weigh your particular unit, loaded for travel, to be sure.

Never rely on base dry weights published by manufacturers. The base dry weight of a 16’ Scamp is only 1750#, but that doesn’t include options (wet bath, fridge, A/C, water heater, battery, propane, awning...) or any of your supplies and gear.

[bradster]

I forgot to mention that two filled #20 propane tanks weigh almost 80 pounds and those are almost directly over the tongue. Same thing with a WDH or sway bar. The Anderson WDH is more than 40 pounds.

[thrifty bill]

Originally Posted by kontiki

I am new to this forum and to investigating fiberglass trailers. It looks like you have done a lot of work to pull together this information. Please explain why the same trailers are weighing different amounts. Confused here. Thanks

Besides the above comments, there are a lot of options on trailers. For instance, the Scamp 13 could be bought with no AC, no furnace, no awning, no refrigerator, no gray water tank, on and on. Older ones battery, propane, electrical system could all be optional. On my 1977 Trillium, upper shelves and door and kitchen windows were options, as was tip up counter extension.

Then you have owner installed options like shelves and drawers, counter tops, ceiling vent fans, extra lighting, fancy wheels, and more. Guy I bought my Trillium from told me it weighed 800 pounds which I knew was ridiculous. So I did not use his number to make my decision (it weighed double what he said). I see so many wrong weights on ads,, always low, sometimes half of reality. As a buyer it is up to you to get real information.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by kontiki

I am new to this forum and to investigating fiberglass trailers. It looks like you have done a lot of work to pull together this information. Please explain why the same trailers are weighing different amounts. Confused here. Thanks

Here's some more examples of why these figures can vary so much.

Our 2017 Escape 21 had a published dry weight of 3,210 lbs. The factory-installed options which we ordered added an additional 525 lbs. These options included a range/oven instead of a cooktop, air conditioning, a microwave, dual 6-volt batteries instead of a single 12-volt, solar panel and controller, surge controller, additional insulation, one over-sized cabinet, and a storage box on the front A-frame.

Those additions added 525 lbs., resulting in an actual dry weight of 3,735 lbs. as delivered; more than 16% over the published dry weight. I was told at the time that Escape did not actually weigh our trailer to arrive at the final weight, but added published or estimated weights for each option.

I have seen on this forum that it's very common for trailer models to get heavier over the years. The current published dry weight on the Escape web site for this model (21C) is now 3,465 lbs. I quickly reviewed the new model specifications just now and the standard equipment does not appear anything more than was standard in 2017, except the addition of one more roof vent. I don't know why the figure is now 255 lbs. higher.

So, the answer to your question includes changes through model years, additional options, accessories and equipment, plus whatever folks are carrying including different quantities of fresh water, wastewater, and propane.

This is the reason I basically now look more at the published gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) than the dry weight. This way I am looking at the rated maximum weight of the trailer and everything you are supposed to put in it or on it.

[Jon Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

Here's some more examples of why these figures can vary so much.

Our 2017 Escape 21 had a published dry weight of 3,210 lbs. The factory-installed options which we ordered added 525 lbs. These included a range/oven instead of a cooktop, air conditioning, a microwave, dual 6-volt batteries instead of a single 12-volt, solar panel and controller, surge controller, additional insulation, one over-sized cabinet, and a storage box on the front A-frame.

Those additions added 525 lbs., resulting in an actual dry weight of 3,735 lbs. as delivered; more than 16% over the published dry weight. I was told at the time that Escape did not actually weigh our trailer to arrive at the final weight, but added published or estimated weights for each option.

I have seen on this forum that it's very common for trailer models to get heavier over the years. The current published dry weight on the Escape web site for this model (21C) is now 3,465 lbs. I quickly reviewed the new model specifications just now and the standard equipment does not appear anything more than was standard in 2017, except the addition of one more roof vent. I don't know why the figure is now 255 lbs. higher.

So, the answer to your question includes changes through model years, additional options, accessories and equipment, plus whatever folks are carrying including different quantities of fresh water, wastewater, and propane.

This is the reason I basically now look more at the published gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) than the dry weight. This way I am looking at the rated maximum weight of the trailer and everything you might put in it or on it.

While the GVRW make far more sense than going by the dry weight, there is nothing to prevent an owner from overloading a trailer.

The only accurate way to tell if you are within the limits of your tow vehicle (and trailer) is to load it for a trip & take it to a scale. There are both free & inexpensive (such as CAT scales) available all over the place. It makes sense to find the actual weight of your trailer & also check the payload on your tow vehicle before a trip.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Civilguy

This is the reason I basically now look more at the published gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) than the dry weight. This way I am looking at the rated maximum weight of the trailer and everything you might put in it or on it.

Originally Posted by Jon Vermilye

While the GVRW make far more sense than going by the dry weight, there is nothing to prevent an owner from overloading a trailer.

The only accurate way to tell if you are within the limits of your tow vehicle (and trailer) is to load it for a trip & take it to a scale. There are both free & inexpensive (such as CAT scales) available all over the place. It makes sense to find the actual weight of your trailer & also check the payload on your tow vehicle before a trip.

Yes, this is true. I changed the word "might" to "are supposed to" in post #418 above.

The last trip to the CAT scale while loaded had us with margins for each of the tow vehicle's axle weights, curb weight, payload, as well as the trailer's axle weight and tongue weights.

It was quite the exercise to dig up all the ratings and set up the spreadsheet, though it would have been easier if I only had a brain.