Knowing your travel trailer’s tongue weight is critical to your safety and the safety of those traveling with you and around you. Fortunately, you can easily find your rig’s tongue weight using a tongue weight scale (a commercially available on OR a DIY technique using a household scale). That’s why, in this post, we tell you all you need to know about tongue weight, trailer tongue weight scales, and even how to measure tongue weight with a bathroom scale.
- 1) What Is Tongue Weight?
- 2) Why Is Tongue Weight So Important?
- 3) What Is a Tongue Weight Scale?
- 4) How to Use a Tongue Weight Scale
- 5) How to Measure Tongue Weight Using a Commercial Scale
- 6) How to Measure Tongue Weight With a Bathroom Scale
- 7) Weigh Safe Hitch With Built-in Scale
- 8) Don’t Tow Unless You Know Your Tongue Weight
- 9) UPDATE! NEW TRAILER TOWING & WEIGHT LIMIT POST, VIDEO & CALCULATOR!
What Is Tongue Weight?
Tongue weight, sometimes written as “TW”, is the downward force that the tongue of a trailer applies to the hitch of the tow vehicle. In other words, the force the trailer tongue exerts on the hitch ball.
Tongue weight refers to the downward force a trailer or 5th-wheel applies to the hitch of the vehicle that’s towing it.
The terms “tongue weight” and “hitch weight” are interchangeable, as both refer to the force a trailer exerts on a hitch. You may also have heard the term “pin weight,” which refers to the same concept for 5th-wheel trailers, specifically. So, tongue weight, hitch weight, and pin weight all refer to the downward force a towable RV applies to the hitch on the vehicle that’s towing it.
It’s important to know your trailer’s tongue weight to ensure you’re not exceeding the capabilities of the vehicle you’re using to tow, as well as to help determine whether or not you might need a weight distribution hitch.
Many people get confused, seeing the “Tongue Weight” or “Tongue Weight Rating” listed on the placard on their trailer. That number isn’t an absolute number for your trailer. It’s just a guideline giving you an idea of what amount of the trailer’s gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) might safely be applied to the hitch.
The trailer itself (without any of your belongings, propane, or water) has a dry weight that’s measured at the factory (and also listed on the placard). But your trailer’s tongue weight will change based on what you have loaded onto it. For example, are the propane tanks full? How about your holding tanks? How much cargo do you have on board, and where is it located? Maybe the bulk of your cargo is in the back of a toy hauler, or up front in a pass-through compartment. The placement of everything on your RV will affect the weight of your trailer pressing down on the hitch.
If you’re interested in more information on tongue weight, have a look at our detailed post answering the question “What is tongue weight?” as well as our post entitled, “The Trailer Tongue & Coupler: Crucial to Towing Safety“.
Why Is Tongue Weight So Important?
Improper tongue weight can be the difference between a safe towing experience and a very dangerous one. A trailer is like a lever, and the axle of the trailer is the pivot point (or fulcrum) for that lever. If too much or too little weight is applied to the tongue of the trailer, a dangerous situation can result. The tongue weight of your trailer shouldn’t be too heavy, and it shouldn’t be too light. It has to be just about right – balanced – like the weights of a couple of people on a seesaw at the playground.
So, knowing your trailer’s tongue weight is critical for making sure you’re not over- or under-loading your towing vehicle. Confirming that your trailer’s tongue weight is within the recommended range of 10-15% of its gross vehicle weight (as loaded for travel – not the GVWR from the manufacturer) will ensure that none of these dangerous situations occur.
What Are the Effects of Too Much Tongue Weight?
Too much tongue weight means you could be overloading your towing vehicle’s capacity, including (and especially) its payload capacity and/or the Rear Gross Axle Weight Rating (or RGAWR, which is the maximum amount of weight the rear axle is rated to carry). Worse yet, because the tongue weight gets placed onto a point behind the rear axle of the towing vehicle, it can reduce the amount of weight on the front/steering axle, which reduces your ability to control the direction that the combined vehicle is going.
This is why you have to add the weight of all passengers, anything in the cab, and anything you carry in the bed, along with the tongue weight of the trailer.
If you travel with a full fresh water tank, be sure to fill the tank before measuring your tongue weight.
Important Note: A weight distribution hitch can’t make up for your trailer having too much tngue weight for your towing vehicle. You have to stay within the specs of maximum towing capacity, payload capacity, and axle weight ratings for the towing vehicle.
That said, if you have a weight distribution hitch, you likely have already measured your tongue weight because you needed this information to choose the appropriate weight distribution hitch for your setup.
What Are the Effects of Too Little Tongue Weight?
Too little tongue weight could indicate that you have too much loaded in the rear of your trailer, which can lead to an increased likelihood that your trailer could start swaying. And, if that gets bad enough, it can lead to a fatal accident. For more information on this, see our post on trailer sway control and watch the embedded video for a visual idea of what can happen.
Improper loading of weight in your trailer can lead to dangerous trailer sway (photo from this Youtube video showing the whole accident)
So knowing your tongue weight along with your trailer’s total loaded weight (ready for travel with everything on board you normally bring) can enable you to confirm that you’re in the correct range. Tongue weight ÷ trailer loaded weight x 100 = tongue weight %, which you want to be between 10% and 15% for safety.
What Is a Tongue Weight Scale?
A tongue weight scale is a small scale designed specifically to measure a trailer’s tongue weight. You can also create a DIY tongue weight scale using a home bathroom scale as we’ll show you in an upcoming section below.
First, here are a couple of important safety tips to keep in mind when taking your trailer’s tongue weight:
- Some tongue weight scales have a small footprint, and the full tongue weight of your trailer will be pressing down on them when in use. So, make sure to do the weighing on level ground with your trailer leveled for travel (meaning that the frame/bottom of the trailer should be level to the ground).
- Also, your wheels should be safely chocked using your camper wheel chocks. Otherwise, the trailer could fall off of the tongue weight scale, and that could be dangerous and could do serious damage to the trailer coupler. It could become extremely difficult or even impossible to get the trailer back up onto its tongue jack.
Sherline Tongue Weight Scale
Following are examples of a tongue weight scale with three different capacities. You’d need to choose the capacity that best suits your travel trailer. In the section that follows, we’ll explain exactly how to use a tongue weight scale like this.
1,000-lb Capacity:
- 1 Year Manufacturers Warranty (certain items exempt)
- Made in the USA
2,000-lb Capacity:
- Trailer Tongue Weight Scale, 2000 lb Capacity, 50 lb Increments, Steel / Rubber, Each
5,000-lb Capacity:
- 1 Year Manufacturers Warranty (certain items exempt)
- Made in the USA
Alternatively, some people have used an inexpensive platform scale to measure the tongue weight of smaller campers. You may want to place a utility block or piece of wood on the scale before lowering your jack onto it to keep from damaging the scale. If you choose to use this type of scale, make sure to buy one with an appropriate capacity. For example, this one has a weight limit of 660 lbs:
- Digital shipping postal scale for weighing items; heavy duty yet lightweight, portable design
- Includes a postal scale and an AC adapter; durable black ABS with an aluminum anti-skid platform
How to Use a Tongue Weight Scale
Using a small scale designed specifically for measuring a trailer’s tongue weight is the easiest way to calculate your trailer’s tongue weight. As noted above, before weighing your trailer, make sure your rig is loaded up with everything you intend to carry as you travel including water, camping gear, etc.
Here’s how to measure your travel trailer’s tongue weight using a scale like those shown above:
- Load your trailer with everything you’ll be traveling with including water, propane, camping gear, tools, food, etc.
- Park your vehicle and trailer on a hard, flat, level surface.
- Place your tongue weight scale under your trailer tongue jack and lower the jack until it’s pressing on the scale. Be sure not to lower any additional jacks.
- Detach the trailer from your truck and read the scale (you’ll likely need to lift your trailer up to get it off the hitch ball, just return it back down to where it was when hitched to the car, so the trailer is level to the ground like when it’s being towed).
How to Measure Tongue Weight Using a Commercial Scale
You can also measure tongue weight using a commercial vehicle scale like those found at truck stops (or, in Oregon, you can use the weigh stations for commercial trucks when they’re closed… they leave the scales on and displaying). Once again, be sure to load your trailer up with everything you’ll be carrying in your travels, and then take the following steps:
- Weigh your tow vehicle without the trailer connected.
- Connect your trailer to your tow vehicle.
- Weigh your vehicle again (with the trailer connected). Be sure not to have the wheels of your trailer on the scale.
- Subtract the weight of your vehicle alone (without the trailer attached) from the weight of your vehicle with the trailer attached. The result is your tongue weight.
Note: many commercial weighing locations may have multiple sections of scales instead of one smaller one. Adjust your position as appropriate to get the necessary weighing. If the front and rear axles of your towing vehicle are on separate scales, add the two numbers together to get your total vehicle weight. Do the process twice (you’ll need to pay for a second weighing), once with the trailer attached and once with it detached.
How to Measure Tongue Weight With a Bathroom Scale
Finally, you can use a home bathroom scale to measure tongue weight, provided you do it correctly. The best way for us to describe how to create a DIY tongue weight scale is to show you how it’s done which you can see in this YouTube video:
Weigh Safe Hitch With Built-in Scale
Another option you can use is a hitch from Weigh Safe, which includes a scale within the hitch ball. This setup allows you to check your RV’s tongue weight every time you hitch up. They come in several different styles, including one that’s built into their weight distributing hitch, but here’s one that has a 6″ drop:
- Adjustable Trailer Hitch: This truck hitch has a 6" drop and a 7" rise in 1" increments and comes with a Keyed Alike Dual Pin Lock, Receiver Pin Lock,...
- Premium Trailer Hitch: The Weigh Safe Aluminum Adjustable Trailer Hitch provides reliable and sturdy towing performance for any adventure; it also has...
Don’t Tow Unless You Know Your Tongue Weight
Accurate tongue weight is incredibly important to your safety and that of your family. However you choose to measure the tongue weight of your travel trailer, be sure to consider the information in this post and make sure to take the necessary steps to arrive at an accurate measurement.
UPDATE! NEW TRAILER TOWING & WEIGHT LIMIT POST, VIDEO & CALCULATOR!
We’re excited to announce that we’ve released a new video and blog post all about Trailer Towing & Weight Limits. We’ve included a FREE towing and weight calculator that we designed to do all the math for you, making sure your rig is properly balanced and within all weight limits. Don’t let a sagging trailer alert everyone in the campground that you’re overweight, and don’t let the dreaded trailer sway ruin your trip (or worse)!
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Ingall Bull
Sunday 18th of May 2025
Good Article. I use the WeighSafe hitch and it has been great. For my combo, vintage Airstream and Toyota Tacoma, it allows me to get the hitch height correct. it is amazing how an inch or two can make all of the difference in towing.
Ingall Bull
Sunday 18th of May 2025
@Ingall Bull, Additionally, because I am sensitive to vehicle payload limits, it allows me to transfer stuff back and forth between the trailer and truck as needed.
Primo Rudy's Roadhouse
Sunday 18th of May 2025
Technology sure has made life more complicated. Like the guy who spend 90K on a super duty ford and pulling a boat trailer. He was frustrated at not being able to use his lane assist. I suppose there are people out there (me) who have towed a trailer for decades and can't justify buying a scale to measure tongue weight. They (we) have learned through the years, early I hope. Oh well, go out, have fun, be safe!
AK Fish
Friday 6th of December 2024
Instead of pipes on each end, couldn't you use 2" x 2" dimensional lumber cut to the same length (about 18") as the metal pipes to achieve the same result?
Lyn Greenhill
Sunday 19th of May 2024
You can also get trailer and tongue weight using a device called Haul Gauge. Plugs into the OBD port of the tow vehicle and calculates the weights. Pretty amazing little gadget!
TheRVgeeks
Tuesday 21st of May 2024
We've seen that device, Lyn... but have to admit we're a bit skeptical that just using information from the towing vehicle's engine computer can give you sufficiently accurate readings of trailer and tongue weight. It's why we didn't include it in this article... but we'll have to look into it some more.
Out of curiosity, have YOU used the Haul Gauge?