The tongue weight of a trailer refers to your trailer tongue’s downward force pressing against your vehicle’s hitch ball. It is the load placed on the precise connection between your trailer and tow vehicle.

The tongue weight is critical to your towing stability, your vehicle’s braking performance, your vehicle control, and the longevity of your equipment.

When the tongue weight falls within the correct range, your trailer will track smoothly behind your vehicle without dangerous swaying that can lead to a loss of control if the movement escalates. Over time, setting the correct tongue weight saves excessive wear on your suspension, tires, hitch assembly, and vehicle frame.

Tongue Weight Basics Every Towing Setup Needs to Follow 

Different trailers don’t distribute the cargo weight the same, and understanding the correct tongue weight percentage for your hitch type is necessary for a safe towing experience.

What Is an Acceptable Trailer Tongue Weight?

For conventional trailers with a ball-mounted hitch, the proper tongue weight is 10–15% of the total loaded trailer weight, which is called Gross Trailer Weight (GTW). This range has been a generally accepted industry standard that is grounded in an SAE International standard J2807, which establishes 10% tongue weight of the GTW as the baseline for testing trailer setups.

Fifth-wheel and gooseneck trailers connect over or near the rear axle of a tow vehicle instead of the standard rear bumper. Their accepted tongue weight range is 15–25% of GTW.

How to Measure Tongue Weight Accurately

You can’t accurately judge tongue weight by eye or feel. For example, a 6,000-pound trailer requires a minimum tongue weight of at least 600 pounds. This is impossible to estimate correctly just by sight alone. 

Use one of the following methods for  weighing trailer tongue weight accurately:

Vehicle Scales (Weigh Stations)

This scale type is also called a Drive-On. With this method, you weigh your tow vehicle, and then with the trailer connected and trailer wheels off the scale. The difference is your tongue weight. While using these scales at truck stops provides an accurate reading, it is also time-consuming.

Bathroom Scale Method (Light Trailers Only)

For trailers under 1,200 pounds, use a 4-foot board with a fulcrum placed 1 foot from one end. Place a bathroom scale under the short end and a block under the longer end. Rest the trailer tongue on the board above the fulcrum. You will multiply the scale’s reading by four to get the correct tongue weight.

Built-In Hitch Scales

Some hitches come with an integrated scale, like those offered by Weigh Safe, providing instant tongue weight readings when you connect your trailer.

When you connect your trailer, you will immediately see whether your tongue weight is within the safe range.

Factors That Affect Tongue Weight Across Different Trailer Types 

The correct tongue weight is based on several variables that apply to every trailer type. Understanding these universal factors provides the fundamental basis for your towing setup in every situation.

Cargo Placement

Where you position your cargo on your trailer has an immediate impact on tongue weight. Forward-biased loading is the most important concept to understand. There is a 60/40 rule you can apply to cargo placement. 

This states you should position approximately 60–65% of your total load weight ahead of the trailer’s axle and the remaining 35–40% behind it.

This 60/40 rule meets the SAE J2807 requirement that a vehicle demonstrate understeer characteristics when towing a trailer, placing the trailer’s center of gravity ahead of the vehicle’s pivot points. 

This load balance moves the center of gravity toward the tongue, increasing the tongue weight and helping the trailer resist sway. Likewise, placing more weight in the rear of the trailer means the cargo is behind the axle. This reduces the tongue weight, but leads to instability and the potential for sway and fishtailing.

A 12-inch shift forward or backward impacts the tongue weight by 50–100 pounds, and in some cases more. This sensitivity to weight and balance is why it’s so important to know an accurate tongue weight and not try to guess.

Wheelbase

The wheelbase is the distance between the front and rear axles on tandem-axle trailers or the distance from the tongue to the axle on single-axle trailers. Longer wheelbases distribute weight across a larger area and are more forgiving with shifting loads. Shorter wheelbases concentrate cargo load and can react more dramatically to shifting weight.

Water and Fuel Tanks

RVs, campers, and trailers with water or fuel tanks require thoughtful consideration when setting the tongue weight. 

Freshwater tanks are often located ahead of the axle in RV trailers, and the difference between a full and empty tank can represent hundreds of pounds to account for. Fuel tanks, propane tanks, and water holding tanks can be located in numerous locations, each directly impacting tongue weight settings, in addition to how empty or full the tanks are.

Load Shifting During Transit

Braking, acceleration, cornering, or uneven road surfaces can all cause loads to shift. This is why it’s important to carefully secure equipment. In fact, there are federal regulations for securing your cargo to ensure it is safe for travel.

Side-to-Side Balance

Uneven lateral weight distribution can cause the vehicle to lean during turns, reduce tire contact with the road, and lead to other hazardous driving conditions. It’s important to level the trailer and avoid stacking too many heavy items on one side or the other.

Trailer-Specific Considerations

These universal variables apply to every trailer type, but there are individual variables that are specific to different trailers.

• Utility trailers: Their open bed design makes load placement prone to shifting if not properly secured.
• Travel/RV trailers: These trailers have fixed structures and permanently mounted tanks that impact weight distribution.
• Pop-up campers: Weight distribution is different depending on whether they are set up or collapsed.
• Fifth-wheel trailers: Fifth-wheel trailers have a higher pin weight percentage of 15–25%.
• Gooseneck trailers: These are used for flatbeds, livestock, and commercial loads with different types of cargo and weight.
• Car haulers: Every vehicle’s placement is critical to weight positioning.
• Boat trailers: A boat’s hull shape, winch/roller position, and onboard fuel and water tank impact the balance.
• Horse trailers: Live cargo has to carefully factor in how animals will shift their weight.
• Flatbed trailers: These trailers require careful securement.
• Equipment trailers: It’s important to consider the weight of equipment and the center of gravity.
• Tilt deck trailers: Weight distribution is impacted during loading and unloading.

Tongue weight is a dynamic variable impacted by your trailer’s design, the makeup of your cargo, and its weight.

Choosing the Right Hitch for Safe and Accurate Tongue Weight

Choosing the right hitch plays an important role in ensuring you have the safest and most stable towing setup for your needs.

Adjustable Drop Hitches

Also known as dead weight hitches, these provide a ball-mounted connection with adjustable height settings. For utility trailers, boat trailers, small campers, and lighter loads, a drop hitch may be the easiest option.

Weight Distribution Hitches (WDH)

Rather than a tongue weight resting entirely on a vehicle’s axle, a WDH uses spring bars and leverage to redistribute weight across your vehicle’s front and rear axles and the trailer’s axles as well. Redistributing weight this way helps with steering control and other performance.

The downward force of a WDH is the same as that of other hitches, but the way the force is distributed across the trailer and tow vehicle is unique. You’ll still need to measure to get an accurate tongue weight, just like with other designs.

A WDH is best for heavier trailers like larger campers and enclosed cargo trailers.

Gooseneck Hitches

These hitches mount in the bed of a pickup truck above or just ahead of the rear axle. This allows for higher tongue weight capacities than bumper-mounted hitches.

Gooseneck hitches are typically used with flatbed trailers, livestock trailers, heavy equipment haulers, and fifth-wheel campers with an adapter.

The Role of Integrated Measurement Tools

Regardless of which hitch type you choose, it is vital to maintain proper tongue weight. People often skip this crucial process because of the responsibility of carrying a scale or taking the time to check the weight at a weigh station.

Weigh Safe solves the headache of choosing the right scale and using it correctly by providing an integrated scale for all of our drop hitches, weight distribution hitches, and gooseneck accessories. The built-in scale instantly provides a real-time readout of your tongue weight when you connect your trailer.

Hitch Capacity: The Weakest Link

For every trailer, vehicle, and hitch, there is a golden rule: your towing setup is only as strong as the lowest-rated component.

If you are driving a truck with a 10,000-pound tow capacity but your hitch is rated for 8,000 pounds, then 8,000 pounds is your maximum towing capacity. The same is true for tongue weight. 

If your tongue weight exceeds the hitch’s rated capacity, there is no workaround for carrying a heavier load: You have to change to a higher capacity hitch.

When to Recheck or Adjust Tongue Weight

• Changing Cargo: Measure tongue weight every time you add, remove, or reposition your cargo. Even a 12-inch shift can change your tongue weight by 100 pounds or more. Verify you’re within 10–15% after every load change, or 15–25% for fifth-wheel or gooseneck configurations.
• Adjusting Water and Fuel Levels: If you’re towing fresh water tanks, fuel, propane, or a holding tank, be sure to measure after filling or draining the tank.
• Seasonal Shifts and Equipment Changes: When you’re changing out cargo, like switching out landscaping gear for weekend camping equipment, re-measure for each configuration to account for shifts in the center of gravity.
• Towing with Multiple Vehicles: Any time you switch tow vehicles, verify the new vehicle’s payload capacity to ensure it can handle the trailer’s tongue weight.
• Moving Equipment During the Day: Especially in situations that require a constant change in loads—like contractors making multiple stops and unloading supplies—the load distribution changes throughout the day. Measure after each change of the load in these situations.

5 Common Myths and Misunderstandings About Tongue Weight

Proper tongue weight measurement is always vital to your travelling safely with your trailer in tow. Don’t be misled by any of the following five myths about tongue weight.

Myth 1: If the Trailer Is Level, the Tongue Weight Is Correct

Tongue weight is determined solely by how the cargo is distributed from front to back on your trailer. Just because the trailer rides parallel to the ground doesn’t mean the weight is correctly distributed. Always measure the tongue weight to verify you’re in the safe range.

Myth 2: An Equal Load Means a Balanced Load

It seems logical that you’d want to spread the cargo weight evenly across the length of the trailer. But, balance is about a forward-biased distribution, and not an even distribution. Always aim for 60–65% of the weight being ahead of the axle.

Myth 3: The Tongue Weight Doesn’t Matter for a Short Trip

Your towing setup is in effect from the moment you press the gas pedal. A dangerous swaying trailer or tire blowout is just as likely to happen in a mile at low speed as it is an hour down the road. No matter how short the trip, make sure to measure the tongue weight for every trip.

Myth 4: You Can Feel If the Weight Is Wrong

While it may be true that you can feel signs that the tongue weight is wrong, by the time rear-end sag, steering difficulty, or trailer sway are letting you know something’s off, you’re already in a dangerous driving situation. But the opposite situation can be just as dangerous. You may not notice any issue under calm conditions, but when you need to pass a larger truck, or there are crosswinds, you may suddenly find it’s too late to correct improperly set weight.

Myth 5: Any Hitch Works Fine As Long As It Fits

Hitches are given a rating for their trailer weight and tongue weight. Even if they are fitted for the right connection, they may not be designed for a heavier trailer. Always be certain every part of your hitch system is rated for the tongue weight and trailer height you are towing.

Quick Checklist for Safe Tongue Weight Setup

Here’s a brief list of recommendations for setting up your tongue weight:

• Load your cargo with 60–65% of the weight ahead of the trailer axle.
• Secure all of your cargo with appropriate tie-downs.
• Always check your water and fuel tank levels.
• Measure tongue weight after filling or draining tanks.
• Use a dedicated tongue weight scale to verify you’re within a safe range.
• Adjust the hitch height to level the trailer so the trailer rides level from front to back.
• Always verify your hitch and component ratings.
• Inspect safety chains, all electrical connections, and your brake controller.
• Perform a final walk-around check.
• Recheck tongue weight any time conditions change.

Choose Weigh Safe

With Weigh Safe’s built-in tongue weight scale, every tow can be planned easily and with confidence. View our full product line and choose your ideal setup today.

FAQs About Tongue Weight