New Years Resolution and Tongue Weight

[Andrew Gibbens]

That Sherline gauge looks like a wonderful piece of kit, but I would suspect the accuracy and price are more than is really needed for this job. In Yurp, we can buy the simple gauge on the left for $20-30, although I'm impressed by the idea of Winterhoff to incorporate a scale into the jockey wheel (the holdy-up thing at the front whose American name I've just forgotten....).





The noseweight (oops, tongue weight) guage is so simple - two pieces of tube and a spring - that you'd think someone might see this as a business opportunity.

Andrew

[Brian B-P]

I think that spring scale built into the tongue jack is genius, as long as it is not too "springy". The user must realize that the indicated weight is higher than the actual tongue weight, due to the position of the jack; however, this is just a constant multiplying factor so it is an easy correction to make.

The only issue I see with the separate spring scale is that it looks like it might not be adjustable, and yet the coupler must be at the towing height for the weight reading to be valid. Are coupler heights standardized in Europe?

And one more question... the Winterhoff site refers to "the new 100 kmph ruling": does anybody know what that is? Some sort of rule about minimum or maximum nose weight for operation above 100 km/h, perhaps?

[Con]

Find someone with a platform scale for weighing livestock.
They run up to and over a 1000lbs.
We had a electronic one I built into our llama chute for when we did any vet work on the animals. We would weigh our llamas, dogs and cat every 30 days. If someone didn't believe a bale of hay weighed 65 lbs. I would the throw it in there and check the weight.
It cost us $1400 but it was well worth it.
Most farmers would be glad to help you.

[Andrew Gibbens]

... the Winterhoff site refers to "the new 100 kmph ruling": does anybody know what that is?

In Germany trailers can pass a technical inspection that allows them to be towed at 100km/hr (62mph) instead of the usual trailer limit of 80km/hr (50mph). I don't know all the details, but one thing they require for this is to have dampers (shock absorbers) fitted to the trailer.

Andrew

[Jan Adams]

Dumb question - if your towing vehicle says it can handle 1,500 pounds - does that include all the people inside your vehicle too?

[Bigfoot Mike]

Dumb question - if your towing vehicle says it can handle 1,500 pounds - does that include all the people inside your vehicle too?

Here are some Terms defind. I hope this helps.

[b]Gross Combination Weight (GCW):
Total weight of a fully equipped vehicle and trailer with cargo, driver and passengers, fuel, coolant, equipment, etc.

[b]Gross Combination Weight Rating (GCWR):
Maximum allowable gross combination weight (GCW).

[b]Gross Trailer Weight (GTW):
The weight of the trailer plus all the cargo in it. This is measured by putting a fully loaded trailer on a scale.

[b]Gross Trailer Weight Rating (GTWR):
Maximum allowable weight of the trailer, plus its cargo.

[b]Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW):
The total weight of the tow vehicle, including driver, passengers, any special equipment (options, accessories and upfitted equipment), cargo, fuel, coolant, etc.

[b]Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR):
The maximum allowable total weight of the tow vehicle, including driver, passengers, any special equipment (options, accessories and upfitted equipment), cargo, fuel, coolant, etc.

[Brian B-P]

Dumb question - if your towing vehicle says it can handle 1,500 pounds - does that include all the people inside your vehicle too?

So to apply the terms which Mike defined...

1,500 lbs is the Gross Trailer Weight Rating. The people in the vehicle count towards the Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) and the Gross Combination Weight (GCW); you might still be able to tow a trailer weighing the whole 1,500 lb even with a few passengers, as long as your GVW isn't more than the GVWR and the GCW isn't more than the GCWR.

For instance, the GTWR for my Sienna is 3,500 lb. I could carry several hundred pounds of people and cargo in the van before the total of everything hit my GCWR, or the weight of the van and contents (and hitch weight) hit my GVWR, but I couldn't carry as much as would be possible without the trailer.

For many vehicles, especially trucks, the GTWR is calculated assuming nothing but one 150 lb driver in the vehicle; in that case, the trailer rating (GTWR) looks really high, but in practice you would have to subtract the passenger weight.

So if you get all of the ratings for your particular vehicle - not just the GTWR - you can determine the answer... for that vehicle.

It's [b]not a dumb question!

[Roger H]

The only issue I see with the separate spring scale is that it looks like it might not be adjustable, and yet the coupler must be at the towing height for the weight reading to be valid.

Uh... not to state the obvious here, Brian... but uh... that's what wood leveling blocks are for?

Sorry Brian... couldn't help m'self...

BTW, here's a link to the Sherline scale for $99.95

Going to my room now!

Roger

[Andrew Gibbens]

I think that spring scale built into the tongue jack is genius, as long as it is not too "springy".

Why?

I think it would be a help to many people to really be sure if the trailer's rockin'......

Andrew

[Brian B-P]

Uh... not to state the obvious here, Brian... but uh... that's what wood leveling blocks are for?

I realize that balancing hundreds of pounds of trailer load on a stack of scrap wood and a stick (the spring gauge) is typical of RV practice, but I like to do better. Rather than hunting for a scrap of just the right thickness, a height-adjustable scale would be nice.

Of course the bathroom scale approach has the same problem, but it is readily addressed by using an adjustable stabilizer stand between the scale and the coupler. Here's my Boler on my bathroom scale:




Perhaps it is an unfair stereotype, but I expected that the design of a German product (I was guessing - probably incorrectly - that the separate nose weight gauge was also from Winterhoff) would have addressed this functional issue; that's why I asked if there is a standard coupler height which would make adjustment unnecessary.

By the way, the separate gauge appears to be the one sold by suppliers such as Towsure (I don't know the actual maker), and handles only 80 kg (176 lb) - not enough for many of our eggs.