Cautionary Tale

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   I won't detail the dealership, but I will warn EVERYONE who is going to purchase a travel trailer to demand an EXACT tongue weight before purchasing a camper. There is NO reason an RV dealership can't do this. If they say they don't have a tongue scale, run away, that is not a reputable response.
DO NOT BELIEVE the websites of the manufacturers. They specifically use a stripped un-optioned, empty , no propane, no battery trailer as their basis for their charts. The trailer manufacturer  ABSOLUTELY KNOWS every single pound of every option and what it does to gross weight and tongue weight. It is a LIE if they claim it's not possible to know in advance. They design them and build them, they know precisely where the balance point is and the axle(s) and coupler, and if they add anything they know what weights will be.

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ToolmanJohn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2014 Location: Connecticut Online Status: Offline Posts: 451	Topic: Cautionary Tale Posted: 21 May 2017 at 9:29pm
	I won't detail the dealership, but I will warn EVERYONE who is going to purchase a travel trailer to demand an EXACT tongue weight before purchasing a camper. There is NO reason an RV dealership can't do this. If they say they don't have a tongue scale, run away, that is not a reputable response. DO NOT BELIEVE the websites of the manufacturers. They specifically use a stripped un-optioned, empty , no propane, no battery trailer as their basis for their charts. The trailer manufacturer ABSOLUTELY KNOWS every single pound of every option and what it does to gross weight and tongue weight. It is a LIE if they claim it's not possible to know in advance. They design them and build them, they know precisely where the balance point is and the axle(s) and coupler, and if they add anything they know what weights will be.
	2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler 2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD) 2013 VW Touareg TDI

osage Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 13 Mar 2016 Online Status: Offline Posts: 146	Posted: 21 May 2017 at 9:58pm
	I always add and extra 35# for the propane, 20# for the bat., 10 # for the jack to the tongue weight to give me a weight for the hitch.

Tars Tarkas Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Location: Near Nashville Online Status: Offline Posts: 1446	Posted: 21 May 2017 at 10:12pm
	In my opinion, the exact tongue weight of a trailer can only be known by weighing every time. Things as small as the precise location of the battery can cause a variance of a few pounds, not to mention which battery you get and how many batteries. (Just for example.) Tongue weight is also affected by whether there is spare tire mounted (and where). If it's on the back, it's going to lighten the tongue weight.So anyway, yes, a dealer should be able to tell you the exact tongue weight of your trailer at the moment you purchase it, but as a practical matter, only by actually weighing it. After that, it is highly affected by what you put in the trailer and where. So much so that what the tongue weight is at the moment of sale is not irrelevant, but nearly so.Out of curiosity, what happened between you and your dealer to trigger this warning?TT
	2010 176 FJ Cruiser

ToolmanJohn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2014 Location: Connecticut Online Status: Offline Posts: 451	Posted: 22 May 2017 at 9:34pm
	Trailer tongue weight came in WAY OVER website specs. Turns out their website had a reverse typo, which they are now correcting since I brought it to their attention. I measured the tongue weight at home Sherline 1000 Scale... Wow... 920 pounds???...I towed THAT???? To the trailer, some credit is due, it towed PERFECT on the highway at 65 mph with wind, and getting passed frequently by semis. No weight distribution, no sway, but I didn't realize I was severely overloading the hitch (770 MAX), and also over my rear axle weight rating by 81 pounds. Weight distribution cannot solve this. I know some people think erroneously that it reduces tongue weight, it does NOT. It distributes axles weights, that's it. The problem is being worked on and the trailer maker is working directly with me to find a safe solution.
	2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler 2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD) 2013 VW Touareg TDI

fwunder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676	Posted: 22 May 2017 at 9:50pm
	TJ, you talking about an RPod?! I have a hard time seeing 920 pound tongue weight for any pod. http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6228 fred
	2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits 2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!

ToolmanJohn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2014 Location: Connecticut Online Status: Offline Posts: 451	Posted: 23 May 2017 at 4:55am
	No. Not a Pod. This is about buyers getting facts from dealerships and manufacturers before purchase.
	2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler 2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD) 2013 VW Touareg TDI

fwunder Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 04 Oct 2013 Location: New Jersey Online Status: Offline Posts: 1676	Posted: 23 May 2017 at 4:07pm
	Gotcha Toolman, You're right. I tend to research most of my purchases to excess. Fortunately, potential Pod purchasers have a great resource right here to find the facts prior to purchase. I know it helped me! fred
	2014 RPod 178 => MyMods and Buying Habits 2008 4Runner Limited 4.0-liter V6 Yes, those are wild ponies dining on grass while dumping tanks!

Clejo Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 Apr 2017 Location: MD Online Status: Offline Posts: 18	Posted: 24 May 2017 at 9:46am
	I bought a bathroom scale that was rated up to 550 pounds when I added my murphy bed mod because I was curious how much weight I added to the hitch. The futon was 55 pounds and I estimated about 10 pounds for the wood. this was all added to the front bed of the 180. I also removed the spare tire and added a bike rack in it's place which is lighter. With a half tank of water and full propane I was surprised I had 500 pounds on the hitch. I'm sure a lot of people would be surprised how much more weight there is on the hitch over the published weight, especially when adding an extra propane tank or second battery.
	Joe M. Perryville, MD Green 2017 R-pod 180 Ford Explorer Sport Trac TV

Keith-N-Dar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List podders Helping podders - pHp Joined: 03 Apr 2011 Location: Mayville, WI Online Status: Offline Posts: 1447	Posted: 24 May 2017 at 1:17pm
	My dealer made it clear that the published weight specs were dry weight without propane or batteries. This is a good argument for having enough capacity in your TV. This is a problem when using a marginally suitable vehicle.
	Keith-N-Dar Boris & Betty (Boston Terriers) 2011 R-Pod 177 2010 Ford F-150

ToolmanJohn Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Apr 2014 Location: Connecticut Online Status: Offline Posts: 451	Posted: 24 May 2017 at 4:56pm
	Keith-N-Dar Even if a dealer makes it clear that they don't know, would they tell you or be able to if you demanded it? Would they? The selling dealer and the website both claimed a tongue weight FAR lower than actual and DID NOT specify no propane and no battery on the specs. I can take some fault for not writing it down and being excruciatingly specific with my requests for weights and towing circumstances. If everyone did this and it resulted in thousands of lost sales because the dealers don't know the answers, the trailer makers would have to start making the info CLEAR. In fact, why would anyone tow their camper with no propane and no battery??? Would anyone buying a camper do this? Why sell them without actual tongue weight KNOWN? We're not buying car haulers or boats. The tongue doesn't change much on those. So why won't the manufactures just show it like it WILL BE ready to load up for camping? Why not? Add the propane (one or two tanks, 20 or 30 pounders) add the batteries (12 volt - 2 six volt - 2 12 volt) and show the actual numbers.. Adding an A/C, or a microwave, NO PROBLEMS, show the actual weight both trailer and tongue? Why not? Adding a full tank of water? Show the tongue weights in the specs. Why not? Whats wrong with safety data? This is just me trying to make sense of something that really doesn't make sense. Where's the logic in not reporting actual weights? It's a safety thing.
	2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler 2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD) 2013 VW Touareg TDI