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Old 09-13-2009, 08:01 AM   #1
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Tow vehicles, axle ratios and tongue loads

I truly get a kick out of the discussions of tow requirements and load. As a result I weighed my tongue weight.

Amazingly my tongue weight is only 160 pounds for a 2200 pound trailer, well below the recommended 10-15% numbers one hears suggested. I recently placed two solar panels weighing 20 pounds on the rear of the roof and now the tongue weight is 140 pounds.

When I add a second battery this week it will again return the tongue weight to the 160-170 pound weight which is the Sunline design weight.

Our Honda has loved towing the Sunline. We've crossed the Rockies twice with our Sunline, knock on wood, no problems. A simple anti-sway bar seems more than adequate, no weight transfer bars involved.

We love this little rig and can't wait to hit the road again.

I admit it is not the ideal rig, but definitely meets all our needs.

Safe travels to all,

Norm
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Old 09-14-2009, 04:44 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Honda03842
I believe that one of the most important factors in towing a light trailer successfully are the electric brakes. When we first purchased ours we towed it home on the Interstate with out any issues. However since then we have had a couple of moments where the trailer swayed, not severly, even with the friction anti sway bar.

The solution to sway is not to try to correct the sway but rather to tap on the brake controller's trailer brake activation switch. This lightly applies the trailer brakes tugging it straight in a second. (Generally I find sway is created by potholes or bumps and wierdly shaped trucks like car carriers.)

In a typical three or four hour drive I probably activate the trailer brakes once or twice.

Norm Milliard
Norm,
...interesting comments in the above quote and this post. You may be comfortable towing with such a light tongue weight, but I'm not. While my 2499 with its 1000 lb. tw is obviously at the other end of the spectrum, I have never used the the "emergency" lever on the brake controller in over 25,000 mi. of towing, and that includes towing through the Rockies and in western crosswinds. If you find yourself using it every 3-4 h, I would be looking for alternate transportation--or a heavier tw and different hitch setup.

Henry
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Old 09-14-2009, 06:18 PM   #3
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Hitch Weight

The hitch weight does seem light to me as well, however that is the Sunline design number if you look at the trailers specification sheet.

In some measure it showes the possible range of numbers. Like you I've read that the number should be between 10 and 15%. It's very close to the former and loading the trailer does not seem to have much effect because it's relatively balanced loading. When I add a second battery this week the tongue weight will get a little higher, predicting 170.

Most of the larger trailers have weight distibution systems. I don't and have only an anti sway bar. It seems, depending on the tension, that their are some situations where we get a little sway. It's really rare and seem to happen more in the northeastern part of the country where there are more potholes. Actually I'd be surprised if there's a WD system for a 2000 pound trailer.

I've also noticed that car carriers create a different kind of turbulance. The sway is usually very slight when I tap the break, nothing dramatic. Of course I hardly ever exceed 60 MPH.

Of course we've crossed the Rockies, driven in moderate breezes and reluctantly on ice and I feel safe.

My biggest concern is always tires. I will say one of the advantages of the low tongue weight is the ability for the Honda to tow our SUnline with ease while getting 21 miles per gallon.

As to an alternative tow vehicle we are waiting for Honda to introduce their diesel CRV where it appears our mileage will jump to the low 30's based upon European usage of the diesel CRV as a tow vehicle.

We rarely drive more than four hours a day.

Safe travels

Norm
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Old 09-14-2009, 06:40 PM   #4
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Re: Hitch Weight

Quote:
Originally Posted by Honda03842
Actually I'd be surprised if there's a WD system for a 2000 pound trailer.
Actually Reese has had two different models of light weight WD systems available for a number of years now.


http://reeseprod.com/products/access...ath=Light-Duty WD
(Displays better if you go to: www.reeseprod.com --> Products --> Weight Distribution --> Light-Duty WD)
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