Total trailer weight when fully loaded?

[airborne_spoon]

If i was to jack up one side of the RV at a time and put a scale under it and then add up both sides and the front leg weight would that give me an accurate total weight of the trailer? I mean tongue weight should be 10-15% of total weight but short of driving 45 min each way to a CAT scale at a truck stop how do i find the total weight of my trailer?
Measuring tongue weight is easy just crank the jack down with a 4"x4"x18" on top of the scale till its supporting the trailer weight but i cant know if its at least 10% if i don't know the weight of the whole trailer.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Trailer weighing needs to be done with it level. To do that you would need to block the other wheel up to the same height as the scale. Do you have a scale that goes to a thousand pounds or more?

Make the drive to a scale, virtually every truck stop has one.

Charles

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Not "accurate" to an engineer or mathematician, but probably close enough for practical purposes. If you only have a 300 lb bathroom scale, you can employ a board & pipe bridge to handle heavier weights. see weighing techniques on the Curt Hitch site. But driving to a scale is easier... and inexpensive too.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Moving companies will sometimes have drive on scales. You might want to call some in your area.
Also places that sell rock and concrete have scales they might let you use.

 

[Old_Crow]

I weighed my rig at the county landfill. She didn't even charge me and I got front axle, rear axle and total weights.

 

[Babe2201]

If there are any scrap places nearby they have scales they might be willing to let you drive on to weigh it. If not find a couple chunks of scrap metal and say you want to recycle and you just happen to have your trailer.

 

[airborne_spoon]

Trailer weighing needs to be done with it level. To do that you would need to block the other wheel up to the same height as the scale. Do you have a scale that goes to a thousand pounds or more?

Make the drive to a scale, virtually every truck stop has one.

Charles

my scale goes up to 700lb so it might not be enough but its easier than driving. Besides the GVWR is 2325lbs, and since i dont plan on maxing it out i might be ok with my bathroom scale.

Not "accurate" to an engineer or mathematician, but probably close enough for practical purposes. If you only have a 300 lb bathroom scale, you can employ a board & pipe bridge to handle heavier weights. see weighing techniques on the Curt Hitch site. But driving to a scale is easier... and inexpensive too.

yeah if my scale isn't strong enough i could use the leverage method they talk about just putting the tires down instead of the tongue but the same math should apply

Moving companies will sometimes have drive on scales. You might want to call some in your area.
Also places that sell rock and concrete have scales they might let you use.

I weighed my rig at the county landfill. She didn't even charge me and I got front axle, rear axle and total weights.

If there are any scrap places nearby they have scales they might be willing to let you drive on to weigh it. If not find a couple chunks of scrap metal and say you want to recycle and you just happen to have your trailer.

I said the nearest CAT scale/truck stop was 45 min each way because that is the nearest anything, i live in the middle of the Mojave desert and there is nothing out here. So while yes you're all correct that all those other places have scales it doesn't matter because they are all at least 45 min away.
This is why i want to find an easier way to weigh the trailer

 

[LarsMac]

You can get close if you're down to the empty trailer, but once you start loading it up, you're gonna cap the scale pretty quickly.

 

[John From Detroit]

Movoing companies. Farmer's Elevator, Junk yards and possible even the locale land fill.

 

[Ray-IN]

I'd go with the information in the link Gary provided. Use those figures, and when you're our and about with the trailer, stop in a convenient scale to determine the accuracy of your DIY weighing.
BTW, always inflate your trailer tires to sidewall max. for best longevity and safety.

 

[Ex-Calif]

If you have an equipment rental place somewhere near you they may have a set of portable scales for rent.

 

[Oldgator73]

Don’t the state police have portable scales?

 

[airborne_spoon]

Don’t the state police have portable scales?

yeah some of the CHP do but its not for frivolous use like this. Also again I live 45 min each way from civilization so there are no CHP out here until i get to town.

 

[Joezeppy]

...the GVWR is 2325lbs...

Find a 300 # friend to stand on the hitch and measure the height of the wheel wells on the TV. Hook up the trailer and load it until you get to the same height.

 

[NY_Dutch]

Use one of the techniques Gary linked to instead of trying your bathroom scale alone first. That could quite likely save you a 90 minute round trip to buy a new scale.

 

[Reinigm]

I weighed my rig at the county landfill. She didn't even charge me and I got front axle, rear axle and total weights.

I tried that but they told me minimum charge to weigh it, which is $94.00. I passed.

 

[gwinger]

The biggest problem with landfills and junkyards is the errant pieces of scrap on the roadway to the scales. We have two near us and I shudder when I see people with their pickups full of scrap metal pulling in to be be weighed.
Even the road leading to the scrapyard is littered with pieces of metal.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

my scale goes up to 700lb so it might not be enough but its easier than driving. Besides the GVWR is 2325lbs, and since i dont plan on maxing it out i might be ok with my bathroom scale.

That GVWR suggests that it has a 2100 lb axle, so could easily be 700-1000 lbs per wheel. I think you are going to need more than the scale alone.