Most trailer tongues weigh 500lbs and above. Too much tongue weight makes towing tasking even if a trailer isn’t fully loaded. To make it easier to tow, you can find ways of reducing the tongue weight for even weight distribution. Lightening the tongue weight of a trailer requires a good understanding of tongue weight calculation.
How to Reduce Tongue Weight on a Trailer
In order to reduce the tongue weight, you can try to redistribute the cargo towards the rear of the tongue. This may also cause the trailer to sway, making handling it harder. So make sure you can handle a swaying trailer before you start moving around the cargo.
If you cannot be able to move the weight to reduce tongue weight, then use a trailer configured to deliver a lower tongue weight for packed weight or a different towing vehicle that can handle the higher tongue weight. The reason being towing a heavy load on a trailer with a heavy tongue weight will exceed capacity and affect the longevity of the vehicle due to excessive wear and tear.
Does a Weight Distribution Hitch Reduce Tongue Weight?
Yes. By redistributing the weight of the cargo, the weight of the tongue is moved to the front axle. Which, in turn, allows the vehicle to brake much better. It also allows the tow vehicle to sit much better.
How Much Tongue Weight is Too Much?
The ideal tongue weight is roughly 10% of the total weight of the trailer. Anything above that is too much and will affect the full towing capacity of the trailer.
What Happens if Tongue Weight is Too Heavy?
Heavier tongue weights make the trailer difficult to steer and less responsive to braking or gear changes, which can be dangerous on a slippery road. On the other handle, reducing the tongue weight too much can cause it to sway. This is because the lightened tongue will not exert enough downward force on the trailer’s hitch ball.
Despite the reduction in tongue weight, it is essential to note that the capacity of the vehicle will not be increased despite the overall increase in towing capacity.