Cargo Carrier Hitch and Towing

[Shora]

Maybe those of you who understand anything about towing can help me out. The recent threads on trailer hitches got me thinking, I have always wanted to add an enclosed cargo carrier for long family trips. One example is the LT Model from www.stowaway2.com (http://www.stowaway2.com/). However, I was told that the tongue weight cannot exceed 10% of trailer weight.

First, how can one tell how much weight is on the tongue of the trailer?

Second, if our cars are only rated to tow 2,000 lbs. then that means that the total weight of my cargo and carrier cannot exceed 200 lbs. Since the carrier itself weighs around 100 lbs. and are rated to carry 125 lbs. that means that our cars tongue weight rating must be at least 225 lbs.

Any suggestions of how to tell how much weight is on the tongue when towing a trailer? (This question is just out of curiosity and has little to do with cargo carriers.)

Any other enclosed cargo carriers that will not exceed the maximum tongue rating of our cars? I prefer enclosed carriers that lock up in order to prevent theft and protect my stuff from the elements.

I know that some tow more than the 2,000 lbs. that our cars are rated for but I, having no experience in towing, do not feel comfortable doing that.

[RF Overlord]

shora, although I'm not an expert on towing, I have towed various small boats and trailer-y things (portable emergency generators, transportable satellite dishes, etc) for the last 34 years.

The reason for the 10% tongue weight figure is twofold: to ensure you don't overload the rear suspension of the towing vehicle...and to produce the proper amount of "feel". too little weight on the tongue will cause handling problems.

As far as how to measure tongue weight, if it's a small trailer you can use an ordinary bathroom scale. Just put a piece of 2X4 vertically under the tongue and put the other end on the scale, being sure everything is level, of course.

[juno]

As far as a trailer goes if you have the hitch at the same towing height as it will be on the car you can check it with a bathroom scale by using some wood or something to transmit the tongue weight to the scale at the correct height or block up the scale to sit under the hitch with a piece of 2 x 4 betwen the scale and hitch. That will get you close enough. The air ride should bring the hitch up to a normal height.

For a carrirer, I would not exceed the tongue weight rating of the hitch. Personally I would not worry about the 2000 lb towing capacity as far as tonque weight goes for the carrier. I would not go over 250-300 lbs myself, but others may have experience with larger weights.

[mrjones]

I just bought this HitchHaul rack Friday for my wife's trip this week with her parents

http://www.masterbuilt.com/store/hp2.html

with this bag

http://www.masterbuilt.com/store/hcb.html

I got the rack and the bag at Wally World for about $110.

BTW, I think you've got it backwards on the tongue weight - the tongue weight should be AT LEAST 10% of the trailer weight - 15% is probably a better number. With not enough weight on the tongue, or too much weight behind the trailer axle, you're liable to get trailer sway.

[magindat]

Here's the dealio, bro.

the car's towing rating is based on 2 things. 1) What the drive train can safely pull without damage. and 2) The brakes on the towing vehicle since it now has to stop that much more mass.

for 1) that's what things like tranny coolers and the like help to mitigate on trucks. Obviously with more torque needed to pull more weight, more heat is generated in the torque converter.

for 2) That's what trailer brakes are for.

As for toungue weight: You want the trailer to have a load on the yoke (hitch). This load creates the 'trangle' of stability. If there is insufficient weight on the toungue, the trailer will want to lift off the hitch. This causes a multitude of handling problems, the most dangerous of which is 'sway'. I've seen improperly loaded trailers flip over due to violent sway. The guys above are correct about the bathroom scale. I don't deal in percentage of trailer weight. I load the trailer so the toungue weight is about 3/4 of the vehicle's rated toungue weight. So, if the car wants 200 lb toungue, give it at least 150. This properly loads the suspension and transmits the trailer's mass properly to the hitch when braking. I personally wouldn't tow anything over about a ton without trailer brakes, nor would I tow more than about a ton without a tandem axle trailer.

Good luck bro.
Rich

[Shora]

Great info guys, THANKS!!

BTW, who, what, and where is Wally World? I went to Wallyworld.com to find a local location and could find no such store. Is that a nick name for Wal Mart?

[MM03MOK]

Great info guys, THANKS!!

BTW, who, what, and where is Wally World? I went to Wallyworld.com to find a local location and could find no such store. Is that a nick name for Wal Mart?Yes .

[CRUZTAKER]

Those stow aways are nice. We have been considering one for our Aviator.

I use an open cargo rack. It weighs about 45 lbs. I carry two race tires on it. Each I guess weigh about 40 lbs each.

I'll have to weigh that mass some time. But I figure it to be about 150 lbs.

I will say one thing...even with this small amount of weight on my class-II hidden hitch, I can feel it while driving.

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/files/6/2/7/HITCH004.jpg