Community Forums

GrandPaJohn · 08-10-2018, 03:21 PM

Hi all. New member here. Been lurking and reading for months. Shopping for our first TT. We haven't camped since the kids were young and back then we used a Popup. Anyway, it seems to me that too much tongue weight is a frequent issue and it's something I know I will need to manage even with a WDH. I'd like to keep my trailer TW at about 12% of trailer weight. So my question is would a trailer with a front living and rear bedroom design afford me more flexibility in that regard? I'm figuring that the rear cargo compartment would offset the weight of propane and batteries. What about rear kitchen model? It just seems silly to me to get a front bedroom unit where all the storage area is up front. So does floorplan have much affect on TW or am i overthinking things?

Dropthejacks · 08-10-2018, 04:01 PM

The only floor plan that really causes any variance in tongue weight that I can think of is a toy hauler. And that's just if it's got the toy in it or not. If you are so close to maxing out your tow vehicle that you are having to worry about putting chairs in a forward or aft compartment, then you need to consider a lighter RV or a bigger pulling device. Think you are overthinking the issue though. Just make sure you're RV at max weight comes in at about 20% of your tow vehicle's towing capacity and you'll be fine. If you can provide your vehicle info and the RV you are considering, some of these rocket scientists on here will be more than happy to crunch the numbers.

60sumtin · 08-11-2018, 06:07 AM

I think you are over thinking it and hung up on percentages. 12% is not a real weight. You don't step on a bathroom scale and say I weigh 12%. You need to buy a trailer that's within your truck's capacity and that's measured in pounds or kilograms, not percentages.

Cumminsfan · 08-11-2018, 08:42 AM

Certain floor plans do affect TW. Rear kitchens for example, where you have the fridge, pantry, most cabinets will lower the TW. You can only load so much in the front of most TT's. some have pretty small front storage areas. You only get two propane tanks, and mostly just two batteries. More batteries can be added though.
Some MFG's build their TT's with 10% or less TW from the factory making it harder to achieve 12%.
Front kitchen TT's will have a tendency to have heavier TW's. The better MFG's usually build in a safeguard to FK or RK by moving the axles forward or rearward.
Never buy a RK with the axles more towards the center of the TT and vice versa for an FK.
If I ever went back to a TT again I'd opt for the heaviest dry TW possible. That would hopefully ensure me that I'd be able to maintain 12% or higher.

Superslif · 08-12-2018, 08:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrandPaJohn

Hi all. New member here. Been lurking and reading for months. Shopping for our first TT. We haven't camped since the kids were young and back then we used a Popup. Anyway, it seems to me that too much tongue weight is a frequent issue and it's something I know I will need to manage even with a WDH. I'd like to keep my trailer TW at about 12% of trailer weight. So my question is would a trailer with a front living and rear bedroom design afford me more flexibility in that regard? I'm figuring that the rear cargo compartment would offset the weight of propane and batteries. What about rear kitchen model? It just seems silly to me to get a front bedroom unit where all the storage area is up front. So does floorplan have much affect on TW or am i overthinking things?

It all depends on the total cabinet storage space. Cheaper RV trailers tend to offer "less" cabinet storage. Building cabinets costs money and materials. So if a manufacture is aiming for a budget price point unit, he will minimize total cabinet space. Two examples. Any "overhead" cabinets in a budget built RV will be say 8" tall by say 12" deep, where as a higher / mid-range model will have 16" tall by 15" deep. #2 cheap units will eliminate the cabinets above the bed. I have 36 cabinet doors or drawers in our 28' unit. In a budget 28' unit I counted 14 cabinets and or drawers.

Yes we have a rear kitchen. Yes, the dry trailer is tongue heavy. Yes, the furnace, hot water tank (10 gallon), 80 gallon fresh water tank, frig are on the rear wall, Yes, I have a cabinet under the frig I use as my tool cabinet, Yes, another rear wall, cabinet is used for all beverages.

You have to visualize just where all your "stuff" is going. Are you only planning on some shorter weekend outings, or extended trips of 2,4 or 8 weeks.

keymastr · 08-12-2018, 09:47 AM

The better manufacturers do a better job of positioning the axles to achieve proper tongue weight when loaded with food and water. Rear kitchen floorplans need higher empty tongue weights to compensate for filling those cabinets with food and kitchen hardware which is some of the heaviest items you will load the trailer with.

You also need to look at side to side weight as some floorplans have a slide and kitchen on the same side of the trailer making it possible that one side is substantially heavier than the other. That can affect tire and suspension wear and may make the trailer lean to the heavy side.

Randy the sly old fox · 08-13-2018, 08:58 PM

To answer the main question - yes the floorplan will affect the tongue wt. However as others have mentioned, a good mfg will adjust the axle position to keep the tongue wt in that 10-12% of the total TT wt.

Toy Haulers are an exception as they are heavy on the tongue unless you have some toys in them.

Axle placement, Kitchen placement, slides, and tanks all effect the front to rear balance of weight.

Gigattime · 08-14-2018, 06:41 PM

Tobthe OP....Simple answer is yes, floor plan can effect tongue weight but most in regards to storage and what you put in there. If you have a front bedroom with a queen or king sized bed with storage under the bed, and you proceed to put heavy items like tools, etc. in that area, you will have more tongue weight. One the other hand, you could do the same with a rear bedroom or kitchen and what you decide to place in each storage bin.

GrandPaJohn · 08-15-2018, 03:27 AM

Thanks everyone for the comments. The main reason I posted the question was because I read so much about folks ending up with too much TW after loading up. Very rarely do I see anything about too little TW. So when I'm looking at floorplans I find a lot of rear bath models where there is very little space to put stuff to offset any excess TW. Again, I'd like to get a floorplan that offers me the most flexibility to manage the TW. I'm really thinking about a front living model where the bed and pass through are in the rear. Maybe even a rear kitchen. Looking at trailers around 5,000 lbs dry and TW around 600lbs. I figure with just 2 people I'll end up around 6,200 lbs loaded with propane, batteries, some water, and stuff. With a 12% TW, that will leave me with about 744 lbs on the tongue which is fine for my TV. I just need to know I can manage that TW and not end up with 900 lbs on the tongue.

billyw · 08-16-2018, 08:58 AM

I think there are plenty with too little tongue weight, they just don't realize it. Find the posts about sway.

IBDAGRIZ · 08-16-2018, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrandPaJohn

I figure with just 2 people I'll end up around 6,200 lbs loaded with propane, batteries, some water, and stuff. With a 12% TW, that will leave me with about 744 lbs on the tongue which is fine for my TV. I just need to know I can manage that TW and not end up with 900 lbs on the tongue.

Anywhere around 12-15 % is normal and over is usually where you end up.

My TT is about 9k loaded out and about 1450 TW on the hitch. Just over 15% and tows awesome.

Griz