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.

http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6228&KW=scale&PID=60128&title=tongue-weight-redux - http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=6228

fred

This is about buyers getting facts from dealerships and manufacturers before purchase.

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

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?

I can't post any more of what is STILL transpiring until avenues of resolution have been exhausted. Still no final resolution yet. Hoping  for a return and replacement with a custom built trailer (which is what I thought I was buying). Hopefully good news by the end of next week. Otherwise....Lawyers win...

No no no.... No one is demanding or asking the trailer makers to know how an OWNER will load or change their trailer.. They don't know Bob, and they don't care how he loads. Why should they.

 The makers of trailers DO know EXACTLY what each trailer off the line weighs!! They really really do!! They know axle weights, hitch weights, and gross weights, and empty weights and with propane and with a battery..All of it. 

Even when they have optioned a trailer differently, YES, they know precisely what that particular combination will weight!! They know because for safety's sake they had darn well better know!!.

 So ideally they could display:

Trailer No Cargo weight (INCLUDES PROPANE AND BATTERY) :XXXX pounds

Trailer tongue weight (INCLUDES PROPANE AND BATTERY): XXX pounds

Just these three characteristics would be an excellent starting position for ANY prospective owner. Tongue weights CHANGE when water is moved from the fresh tank to gray and black tanks. Black tanks are usually smaller and therefore don't get a lot of water, but they may be rear mounted or front or mid mounted depending where the toilet is on the floor plan.

Even adding a known battery weight on a battery tray should be a wight factor that is known, since the distance from the tongue is known and the distance from the rear axle is known. Just multiply the weight by the factor and there you go, increased tongue weight known instantly. No need to guess.

Adding a propane tank is the same. Known distances and known weights, you can easily get a factor for calculating accurate tongue weights.

Every trailer owner who loads heavily for a camping trip should OWN a tongue scale and use it just often enough to get a good feel for what their situation is. It wouldn't even need to be done every trip it the load is nearly always the same. Once those initial weights are shared by the trailer makers, an owner could make safe informed decisions. 

If the numbers that trailer makers actually advertise are plain WRONG, then they are entirely at fault, not the purchaser. Trying to place fault on a purchaser who has asked all the right questions about weights and made their tow vehicle capabilities KNOWN before making a purchase,  and been told the wrong information, then buy a trailer, and it is UNSAFE to tow with their tow vehicle is just plain wrong.

That's my predicament. A +370 pound tongue weight difference (no cargo) in what I was TOLD, and what the reality IS....

Multiply that by 15%, and you get ~~ 960 lbs for a potential tongue weight. That's a CONSERVATIVE estimate, and you can influence that by loading a few more things behind the axles. I notice also that the axles are situated well to the rear, which will increase the tongue weight.

Would I try to tow that thing with a vehicle that only has 750 lb tongue weight max? No way. Get a new TV, or look at a different TT.

You get no sympathy from me.

However, if his trailer weighs more than about 6400 lbs loaded, I would be weighing things carefully to be sure the TV could handle it.

And what do you do when the -factory- rep twice (2 TIMES) confirms a delivered tongue weight after being asked to confirm their own reported tongue weight, which turns out to be WRONG upon delivery. Not a 100 pounds wrong, but almost 350 pounds wrong. "oops our bad, our website was wrong"...

 In any case, the trailer is being modified this month. Axles are being moved forward, fresh tank mounted between.  What I originally was told, and thought I was buying, was getting a custom trailer built for my purposes and towing requirements. Trailer was removed from my house a week ago, is currently in Indiana, and will be modified later this month. I'll have it back in August.

Tongue weight will drop from 820 pounds, to 500-550. Right where it was supposed to be.