New trailer, new member

Well, I had a chance to load up the ATVs on our new trailer when putting everything away for the winter just after Thanksgiving....and boy, it sure seemed a lot heavier on the tongue than it should be. When first considering this trailer I was asked what my TV was, and told them I have an 05 Ram 1500 with the factory tow package, 3.92 rear, E rated tires, and a 10k WD hitch. They told me no problem, that will be an excellent setup for this trailer.
So dry, it weighs 5856 with 694 at the tongue and sits nice and level on the truck, the WD hitch has plenty of room left in it and it towed great......but put the two atvs on the deck (total of 1100 lbs) and the truck really squats bad. So today I finally got around to attempting to measure the tongue weight. I used the 4x4 and bathroom scale method just to get a ballpark idea of where it is, I am planning on buying a tongue scale in the near future. I checked the scale with my weight, and then checked it again with it set up to see how close it was. My weight was 168 lbs on the scale. The setup I was using to weigh the trailer was 4:1, so I set it all up and weighed myself again and got 41 lbs (41 x 4 is 164) which is pretty darn close. So I knew I had something good enough to get a pretty good ballpark number. Now for the funny part....I weighed the trailer (from the ball hitch, not the jack) and it went off the scale. The scale goes to 300, so at 4:1 that would be shooting straight past 1200 lbs. I changed my setup to a 5:1 ratio and tried it again...the weight on the scale at 5:1 was 320 lbs. That is a 1600 lb tongue weight!
So maybe I am doing something wrong? I know a front deck is gonna add more to the tongue than a regular trailer, but an extra 1000 lbs? And this is marketed towards the 1/2 ton market? Does one need to get a 4 year degree in engineering before buying a trailer just so they can figure out what the weights will really be? I really like this trailer and it's floor plan, but if the weight I'm measuring here is correct, there's no way that deck is usable for me.....:confused:
 
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That's what I was originally afraid of with your original post. I like the whole idea of hauling your toys outside but suspected it would be a lot of tongue weight. A CAT scale would give you the answer.
 
Welcome to the forum. I agree go to a CAT scale. There are a few that have a 3 in 1 scale that can give you your axle weight and on your rear wheels. Enjoy it looks great I watched the video. It seems great for boondocking.
 
Agree - $10 , 10 minutes, and you have all your weights with no guesswork :)
http://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator

Weigh just your truck without the rv once,
then go back for a $1 reweigh within 24 hours with the rv and truck loaded as if you were going camping...

This gives you everything you need to know...

BUT, if it's already squatting too much,
you are probably WAY over your rear axle GAWR at the very least...
Air bags will level it out, but, sorry, you will still be overweight...

That's one thing about RV salesmen,
they know very little about the rv and NOTHING about towing... probably none of them camp even, they just want to sell you :)
 
Thanks everybody for the replies. I was going to go to a cat scale, but the closest to me is a 40 mile drive, and I was hesitant to even tow the camper the 6 miles to my business shop with the atvs on board. I know that the tongue is WAY over with the atvs loaded on the deck. I've measured the loaded tongue at 1600 lbs and I also called Crossroads to verify. They told me that the dry tongue weight was 690, and that with 1100 on the deck, 1600+ tongue weight was normal for this camper. Then they told me it was the dealer's responsibility to have informed me about the tongue weight. My frustration is (let alone what the salesman tells you) that there is NO documentation anywhere in Crossroads literature or specifications to let you know you will probably go from 690 to 1600-1800 lb tongue weight with a load on the deck. I could understand if this trailer was not designed to carry atvs, or if I was at 1100-1200 and having to go to a 3/4 ton tv carrying atvs, but these tongue weights are beyond any of the class IV hitches that come on the 3/4 tons..they need a class V for a trailer sold and marketed by Crossroads as a "lite weight toy hauler" trailer. To me, "lite weight" does not equal a 3/4 ton with a class V hitch. I'm not mad at the designers, just frustrated at the marketing people that would rather leave this info out to make them easier to sell, and with the dealers who are clueless, for the most part...
With all that said, I really like the camper - it's not a luxury model line, but it's brand new and I really like the floor plan as well as the separate door for the bathroom. It really has a lot of nice features for $16K. So I'm looking at trading in the Ram 1500 for a Suburban 2500 and swapping the hitch for a class V - there are two near me - one with 92,000 miles and one with 71,000. Both are 2002 with the same specs....8.1L with factory tow, trans cooler, power everything, heated leather, 3rd row seats, yada yada. I looked at 2500 pickups, but they are pricey, and the 2500 Subs look like a better bang for the buck right now. The average trade in value on my Ram is about the same as the full retail sell of one of these Subs with all the bells and whistles, so I am looking at a straight swap for my truck. Any opinions on the 2002 era Sub w/8.1L?
 
I went to a local grain elevator / feed mill and was able to get the truck and trailer weighed for 12 Pack of barley pop.
 
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Another option to weigh the trailer is a garbage dump. Our local dump has a scale coming in and out to charge the contractors. It may be worth a shot. I pulled up to the scale and the lady said they don't weigh trailers. Too late I was on the scale and the digital read out told me the weight. Then I came back around and pulled passed with just the trailer on the scale. Suckers.
 
No long winded paragraphs this time, just an update...:whistling:
Well, got my Sherline tongue scale today (it is a really well made tool) and measured the true weight at the ball with the Z1 loaded and both atvs on board - 1580 lbs. It seems the hokey bathroom scale method i used first is pretty accurate. And since my last post, I bought a new TV - a 2002 Chevy Avalanche 2500 w/ 8.1L Vortec. I was never a big AV fan, but the condition, mileage and price was right, and I think it will make a good family TV. I'm gonna replace the stock receiver with a Curt class V receiver and a Blue Ox wd with the 1700# bars. I plopped the trailer on the AV today to see how the weight would sit, and the rear only dropped about 2" - a far cry better than my Ram 1500 sat with 1600# lol.
 
Well that's good news. Load that bad boy up take for a trip this weekend and let us know how it did. Obviously this strictly for informational purposes. No other true way to test it than a road trip.
 
Would love to take it out this weekend, but unfortunately we still have a small issue up here in New England.....just gonna have to sit back with a barley pop or two and stare at it for a couple more weeks...:cry:
 

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ConveyTrex said:
No long winded paragraphs this time, just an update...:whistling:
Well, got my Sherline tongue scale today (it is a really well made tool) and measured the true weight at the ball with the Z1 loaded and both atvs on board - 1580 lbs. It seems the hokey bathroom scale method i used first is pretty accurate. And since my last post, I bought a new TV - a 2002 Chevy Avalanche 2500 w/ 8.1L Vortec. I was never a big AV fan, but the condition, mileage and price was right, and I think it will make a good family TV. I'm gonna replace the stock receiver with a Curt class V receiver and a Blue Ox wd with the 1700# bars. I plopped the trailer on the AV today to see how the weight would sit, and the rear only dropped about 2" - a far cry better than my Ram 1500 sat with 1600# lol.
Click to expand...


Great to hear!

Yes, I have the same scale and its a brick! Glad you made the purchase. I setup my hitch scale every time we make a long trip. Keeps us honest and really makes a difference to center the weight in the trailer. We now use rubbermaid containers and center the weight in the trailer over the wheels whenever possible. Good luck on the spring defrost!
 
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