Weight towards back on trailer.

[dnr733]

Instead of putting my generator on a rack/hitch, I was thinking about possibly putting it towards the back of the RV while traveling.
I have then place where I can keep it from bouncing around. It would also move weight from my truck to the backside of the trailer wheels.

I value any opinions you may share.
thanks

Dan

 

[tlmgcamp]

Really impossible to answer without information on TT, generator and how you plan to carry the generator

 

[IBTripping]

Assuming you have a travel trailer, you need to have a minimum of 10% of the trailer's weight on the hitch. You don't want the weight of the generator to change that.

 

[Ray-IN]

Every added pound behind the TT axles removes weight from the hitch. Too little hitch weight results in poor handling and trailer fishtailing. You can calculate this with your high school math.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Probably half of the videos I see of trailers that start swaying and go out of control have generators on the back bumper. Of course its not the generator per se, its the loss of tongue weight and the weight on the back acting like a pendulum.

It can be done. My travel buddy mounted two Honda 2200i gennys in an aluminum box on the rear of his trailer, he replaced the bumper with a heavier wall tube and added braces and moved the spare tire up front and kept track of the tongue weight, the trailer handles fine.

It depends on what you are planning on putting back there and how you plan on keeping the tongue weight up so the trailer will handle properly.

Frankly its probably better in the back of the truck.

Charles

 

[Rene T]

Instead of putting my generator on a rack/hitch, I was thinking about possibly putting it towards the back of the RV while traveling.
I have then place where I can keep it from bouncing around. It would also move weight from my truck to the backside of the trailer wheels.

You say towards the back. That sounds like you want to put it inside the rv while traveling.
How big and how heavy is the generator?
If you are planing on attaching it to the bumper you’ll need to do some major structural updates and modifications to hold it on. This will also add weight. That added weight will be your enemy.

 

[dnr733]

All good responses.
I will test with going to a weigh station again.
The generator is only about 80lbs.
I truly don't believe it will take too much weight from the hitch. There is plenty there already but again, I will let the weigh station tell me about that.
While I would love to attach anything to my bumper, the generator will not be back there. I just have no faith in the actual hitches and the bounce effect that happens back there. I would love to add my bikes but still very worried about that.
The general idea is just to relieve some of the weight in my truck. When taking the generator, it is in the front portion of the truck by design.
I do believe my setup works fairly well. I have not had any issues with handling. I know, if it works don't mess with it.
It would just be a bit easier getting it out of the TT instead of the front of the truck bed.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The general idea is just to relieve some of the weight in my truck. When taking the generator, it is in the front portion of the truck by design.

So you currently carry it in the truck bed? And want to move it inside the trailer somewhere? When it's in the truck bed, it has no effect on trailer tongue weight. Moving it to the trailer may actually increase the trailer tongue weight somewhat, depending on just where you put it. If somewhere over or ahead of the trailer axles, a slight increase. If behind the axles, a slight decrease.

Note that any increase in trailer tongue is still more weight the truck has to carry, so moving the generator may not have as much benefit as you think. For example, if you remove 80# from the bed and place it midway between the trailer axles and the trailer hitch, that is going to increase tongue weight by about 40 lbs, so your net reduction in the truck load is 40#, not the entire 80#.

 

[Rene T]

While I would love to attach anything to my bumper, the generator will not be back there. I just have no faith in the actual hitches and the bounce effect that happens back there. I would love to add my bikes but still very worried about that.

It would just be a bit easier getting it out of the TT instead of the front of the truck bed.

So you’re saying it will go in the trailer. Is that right? If that’s the case, the best spot would be right over the axles

 

[dnr733]

So you currently carry it in the truck bed? And want to move it inside the trailer somewhere? When it's in the truck bed, it has no effect on trailer tongue weight. Moving it to the trailer may actually increase the trailer tongue weight somewhat, depending on just where you put it. If somewhere over or ahead of the trailer axles, a slight increase. If behind the axles, a slight decrease.

Note that any increase in trailer tongue is still more weight the truck has to carry, so moving the generator may not have as much benefit as you think. For example, if you remove 80# from the bed and place it midway between the trailer axles and the trailer hitch, that is going to increase tongue weight by about 40 lbs, so your net reduction in the truck load is 40#, not the entire 80#.

The idea is to the back of the TT which is a few feet behind the wheels. This should decrease some of the tongue weight even though I am still good there.

 

[dnr733]

So you’re saying it will go in the trailer. Is that right? If that’s the case, the best spot would be right over the axles

I may be able to do over the axles. I was hoping to go behind them.

 

[Onyrlef]

I may be able to do over the axles. I was hoping to go behind them.

If you can maintain the appropriate tongue weight for handling there’s no problem with placing the generator aft of the axles.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

The idea is to the back of the TT which is a few feet behind the wheels. This should decrease some of the tongue weight even though I am still good there.

Over vs behind the axles should be determined by the tongue weight measurement. As long as tongue is adequate, either location is fine.

Do you have a truck weight problem, e.g. exceeding GVWR or rear axle GAWR? Or is moving the generator simply a matter of convenience for you. I'm not criticizing, just trying to tailor our advice to the objective.

 

[dnr733]

Over vs behind the axles should be determined by the tongue weight measurement. As long as tongue is adequate, either location is fine.

Do you have a truck weight problem, e.g. exceeding GVWR or rear axle GAWR? Or is moving the generator simply a matter of convenience for you. I'm not criticizing, just trying to tailor our advice to the objective.

All good. I am pretty sure my weights all around are good. At least last time I weighed them. It is more about convenience I guess. It would be much easier to put in the back of our TT as we have a door back there. We don't have kids and don't take a ton of crap with us. Truck has always handled well.
I hope my wife don't see this as I want to move to 3/4 ton or better lol.

 

[Lou Schneider]

The back of a trailer bounces the most. Usually the front is pretty much anchored by the tow vehicle's suspension and bumps encountered by the trailer's less sophisticated suspension are magnified as they move rearward.

Are you planning to drain the fuel from the generator before you put it inside the trailer? Fuel leaks or splashes in an enclosed area could be catastrophic.

 

[dnr733]

The back of a trailer bounces the most. Usually the front is pretty much anchored by the tow vehicle's suspension and bumps encountered by the trailer's less sophisticated suspension are magnified as they move rearward.

Are you planning to drain the fuel from the generator before you put it inside the trailer? Fuel leaks or splashes in an enclosed area could be catastrophic.

That was part of my thinking/concern as well. Little to no fuel is in my generator regardless of location.
Anchoring it down properly would be a priority as we both know it gets bouncy back there.
I may try to rig up some type of temporary cam to watch it, if I go through with this.

 

[RVfixer]

In addition to maintaining the proper tongue weight (10%+ of the trailer loaded weight) and not going over the trailer max gross weight you need to consider the smell of the generator. I had friends that carried their generator in an outside compartment of the trailer just to travel to the Campsite and home again. They ended up with a gas/oil/exhaust smell inside the trailer that took a long time to get rid of. Another couple, for some reason, carried their generator home inside the trailer rather in the truck bed. That was just 5 hours in the trailer and they ended up with a smell that took a while and some effort to get rid of.

 

[dnr733]

In addition to maintaining the proper tongue weight (10%+ of the trailer loaded weight) and not going over the trailer max gross weight you need to consider the smell of the generator. I had friends that carried their generator in an outside compartment of the trailer just to travel to the Campsite and home again. They ended up with a gas/oil/exhaust smell inside the trailer that took a long time to get rid of. Another couple, for some reason, carried their generator home inside the trailer rather in the truck bed. That was just 5 hours in the trailer and they ended up with a smell that took a while and some effort to get rid of.

That is a good point. I appreciate it.

 

[Derby6]

I think your way over thinking / complicating this.

I’d worry about what RVfixer said. 80lbs in the trailer will really do nothing IMO unless you exceed GVWR or it’s a tiny single axle trailer.
Start adding up everything else you have in trailer. Adds up to well over 80lbs. Heck full fresh, gray, or black tank weights likely exceed that.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Start adding up everything else you have in trailer. Adds up to well over 80lbs. Heck full fresh, gray, or black tank weights likely exceed that.

Regardless, it's still 80 lbs more than before. Remember, it's 80 lbs applied on one end of a teeter-totter. Think of a child on one end lifting an adult on the other due to leverage.

That said, even in the worst case the difference in tongue weight will net out less than 80 lbs. Significant only if it is already at the borderline of OK.