Getting the trailer weighed

[georgia g]

You can weigh for free...if you have a large enough dump!

Most every municipality has a landfill. Ours has a scale upon which every vehicle must stop before making a dump deposit, and be told by the person monitoring exactly where to go to offload. Go through and weigh tow vehicle and trailer. Drive around outside and unhook the trailer and return with just the tow vehicle for it's weight. For tongue weight you are going to have to use your own scale if it is a 16 footer and shorter or either have or find someplace with a portable platform scale.

We have a landfill about a mile from us. I drove up to the gatehouse window, she weighed the empty camper and handed me the printout. No $$ exchanged hands. Took about 2 minutes.

[james kent]

Our minimum tipping fee at the local landfill is $10. Still not bad for piece of mind and insurance if you need it.

[Frederick L. Simson]

And Frederic the Scaleman is now famous worldwide

Well, nearly - the truck scales spot on How It's Made is now showing on the European version of Discovery Channel....

Andrew

Link to what Andrew is talking about.
I'm still anonymous. That's not me in the video.

[Frederick L. Simson]

how about [b]in California

Link to "Public Scale" Locations in California

[Alf S.]

Hi: All... We have a great Agrimart where truck loads of grain are weighed. They chg. $10. Last time with all tanks full we tipped the scales at 8900# and max. Gross Combined Weight Rate is 9500#'s for our truck!!! ...pass the "Slim Fast".
Alf S. North shore of Lake Erie

[Paul Braun]

All these posts are excellent instructions, wish I would have read them before my recent weighing trip. Like it was stated those CAT scales are at almost every truck stop in the country. Often times it will have a large sign over the truck fueling area with SCALE on it.

I used a local truck stop scale for weight, the cost was $9 and with some effort I could have split the trailer from the tow vehicle and gotten the weight of the TV, hitch and axles. As it was, I weighed the hitch at home using a scale and only needed the axle weight.

Checking in before weighing is always a good idea, you can also ask if you can do the split up I describe. Most truck scales are divided into three sections, Steer Axle, Drive Axle and Trailer Axle. Some may also seperate left and right sides but I have not encountered these. I would park the trailer in such a way that its wheels are on the rear or trailer axle portion of the scale with the hitch just hanging over on to the center section of the scale. Then seperate the trailer from the TV being sure the tongue is resting on the center portion of the scale. Now pull your TV to the front portion or steer section of the scale and ask for a weight. Your call about passengers and whether to include them on the scale or add them in later.

[Rick G]

I think you can measure the hitch weight at home using a bathroom scale. Just put the scale under the jack, when the tow vehicle is disconnected, and weigh it. I know that the jack might be a foot or so behind the hitch ball and so not quite perfect, but the measured weight should be pretty close to accurate.

If you want better accuracy, then jack up the trailer to about level, put the scale with a piece of wood under the hitch at the ball (having already measured the weight of the wood), and lower the jack onto the wood and scale.

Rick G

[Donna D.]

Tongue weight is really only valid when measured at tow height. Tow tongue down or up and the fulcrum effect takes place. You will either add tongue weight from the axle forward, if towing "down" or lighten the tongue weight if towing "up." This measurement can be critical if a front bathroom model or water tanks up front.

Don't take just any ole tongue weight on your trailer and consider it valid for your tow application. Of the two, if you can't tow level, tongue down is preferred. The main concern is you aren't introducing "sway" by having the tongue too light, hence the 10%-15% rule.

You can cut a solid piece of wood to length (for your tow height which you've already measured), place it under the coupler and lower the jack until the wood is sitting on the scale. Continue to crank the jack up until it just clears the floor.

Most scales only going up to 250 lbs, so using a scale in this manner won't work to measure tongue weight higher than that.