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ArthroPod View Drop Down
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Direct Link To This Post Topic: Gadgets
    Posted: 02 Aug 2019 at 12:10pm
While looking for load cells for trailer tongues,I came across a gadget that supposed to give a lot more info. It's called Haulgauge. Using your smartphone and the BOD port on your tow vehicle it is supposed to give how much tongue weight as well as total tow weight plus some other info. Has anyone used one?
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2019 at 12:39pm
BOD port? You mean the OBD II port? (On Board Diagnostic)

I can not imagine how they could get the tongue weight from the on board computer system.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2019 at 7:27pm
[QUOTE=GlueGuy]BOD port? You mean the OBD II port? (On Board Diagnostic)

I can not imagine how they could get the tongue weight from the on board computer system.
[/QUOTE


Looks like it measures suspension squat to calculate tongue weight and acceleration to calculate GCVWR. So you provide it with your VIN and it uses that to calibrate. I can't imagine that if could differentiate load in the TV from load due to the trailer unless you manually calibrate it first to zero that out. There apparently is a calibration procedure for customized suspensions and power trains so maybe that could work. 

Interesting concept. Generally favorable Amazon reviews so maybe its not too buggy. Might be worth fooling with as long as it could be returned if you hit a brick wall with it.   
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2019 at 8:07pm
I would think that any suspension modification such as the SumoSprings I put on our Frontier would throw such a device off, or at least require some sort of recalibration.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 02 Aug 2019 at 10:38pm
Sorry about the BOD instead of OBD, had a relapse to work life. Who knows maybe the OBD could give a BOD value. That onboard computer is capable of doing a lot of things.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2019 at 4:43am
Originally posted by StephenH

I would think that any suspension modification such as the SumoSprings I put on our Frontier would throw such a device off, or at least require some sort of recalibration.

Yes, the manufacturer's comments say any suspension mods do exactly that. A calibration process is provided for that purpose. They also state that the bluetooth signal from the device can interfere with other devices in the rig, so most people use it to get the information then shut it off. 

If its not permanent it seems like the same kind of thing could be done directly with a smartphone and app since the phones all have tilt and acceleration sensors already anyway. Sure enough, there is an app on the App Store called RV Tow Check that is supposed to do something similar. Only $2. But it gets mostly poor reviews. 

My issue with this kind of approach is how are you ever going to be sure that you're really getting accurate data? It's a life safety issue for me and anyone else on the road with me.  So personally, I'll stick with the old school approach, I use the scale at my county landfill, accurate and free to use whenever I need to, which is not very often. 


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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2019 at 8:52am
I already have an OBDII sensor plugged in that I use with the Torque app. I would have to switch devices to use this so I will pass. I don't have a convenient landfill scale near me so I would need to find someplace else to go to do the weighing. The nearest public scales I can find are 30+ miles away from us.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2019 at 9:36am
Originally posted by StephenH

I already have an OBDII sensor plugged in that I use with the Torque app. I would have to switch devices to use this so I will pass. I don't have a convenient landfill scale near me so I would need to find someplace else to go to do the weighing. The nearest public scales I can find are 30+ miles away from us.

If you want to try the scales and can find a place nearby to disconnect your trailer for a few minutes you ought to be able to get everything you need in one trip and two passes through the scales. First with the trailer connected but the wdh untensioned, the second with the tow vehicle only with the wdh installed. Get all three axles adding one at a time on the first pass, the two TV axles on the second pass (5 weights total). Go through fully loaded for a trip. After that you can get any other information you want from your trailer and truck specs, a little arithmetic, and this calculator. 



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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2019 at 12:16pm
I think the calculations in my case might be off since I have a Hensley Cub hitch. The main part of that stays attached to the trailer and only a shank is attached to the truck before backing into the hitch to connect. It is quite different from the Equal-i-zer hitch I had before where the hitch head and bars were connected to the truck and only the snap-up brackets were attached to the frame of the trailer.
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Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2019 at 6:32pm
Originally posted by StephenH

I think the calculations in my case might be off since I have a Hensley Cub hitch. The main part of that stays attached to the trailer and only a shank is attached to the truck before backing into the hitch to connect. It is quite different from the Equal-i-zer hitch I had before where the hitch head and bars were connected to the truck and only the snap-up brackets were attached to the frame of the trailer.

The calculator should still work. As far as I can tell the Hensley Hitch still rotates vertically around the ball, just like any other wdh (it doesn't rotate horizontally around the ball). So the distance you put in the calculator for the distance from the ball to the TV rear axle is the same. As far as the hitch weight itself most of it is rigidly connected to the TV when connected to the shank. I don't know how hard it is to disconnect the trailer from the hitch and leave the hitch connected to the shank but if that's too hard then just subtract the weight of the hitch from the trailer and add it to the truck when calculating tongue weight, you won't be very far off. 

Very cool hitch by the way. 
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