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[RC] Tongue Weight - k s swigart

Terry Bannister said:

This shows the significance of the engineering difference on the
?Brenderups that carry 1/3 the tongue weight of American trailers.
?Why can't American trailer manufacturers design trailers that exert
?less tongue weight?!

You can reduce the tongue weight of your?trailer simply by raising the hitch on 
your truck or with a gooseneck, you can also extend the length of the gooseneck 
to raise the front of the trailer (shifts the weight of the trailer 
backwards).? This is generally not recommended because it makes for rather 
unsafe driving to have the trailer, in essence, pulling up on the back of the 
truck.

However, hearing that Brenderups have less tongue weight (probably because they 
have less overall weight, not because a larger percentage of the trailer weight 
is carried on its wheels--but I don't know this for sure), certainly explains 
why a friend of mine who has one has difficulty getting up hills on dirt roads 
with it (she had to take her horse out of the trailer in order to get out of 
basecamp at the Descanso ride).? If she is not on a paved road, she doesn't get 
enough traction to pull up steepish hills.? If she had more tongue weight, she 
would have more traction (her Toyota Highlander being rear wheel drive) and 
mightn't have had to do that.

She won't take the thing to Chino Hills State Park for the same reason.? The 
dirt road going in to the equestrian staging area has some sections that are 
too steep for her Brenderup/Toyota rig.

Incidentally, it was lack of traction that caused that travel trailer to drag 
the car down the hill in that Youtube video.

kat
Orange County, Calif.
:)


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