Thank you! Your comment has been submitted successfully. You should be able to view your question/comment here within a few days.
Error submitting comment. Please try again momentarily.
Measure your trailer's tongue weight with this easy-to-use scale. Connect the scale to either your trailer's ball coupler or to its 2" jack for a weight reading. Unlike other scales, blocks or wood are not needed for setup.
Features:
Specs:
Tongue weight (TW) refers to the weight that the fully loaded trailer exerts downward on the hitch ball of the tow vehicle. Tongue weight is typically 10 percent - and should not exceed 15 percent - of your gross trailer weight. For example, a 10,000-lb trailer should have a tongue weight between 1,000 lbs and 1,500 lbs. You can adjust the tongue weight of your trailer by removing or adding cargo, or by redistributing the load on the trailer. The tongue weight should not exceed the capacity of your tow vehicle, your hitch, or any of your towing components.
Simply put, too little tongue weight can cause trailer sway and too much tongue weight can cause the tow vehicle to perform poorly. You may have difficulty steering, gaining traction, or braking when driving a setup that has too much weight pushing down on the rear of the vehicle. Ultimately, towing with an improper tongue weight can cause you to lose control of your vehicle or cause your trailer to separate from the vehicle.
The etrailer tongue weight scale has 2 different configurations, which provides you with some nice flexibility when you're loading up your trailer. The standard configuration lets you measure your trailer's tongue weight at the coupler.
First, get set up on stable, level ground - like your driveway or a parking lot - to ensure that the scale will function properly. Position the scale right under your coupler so that the ball will fit into the coupler's socket. Lower your trailer down until its weight is fully supported by the scale and not the jack. Then use the scale's gauge to determine the tongue weight.
You can also use this scale at the trailer jack, without the hassle of having to disconnect and move your truck or trailer out of the way. Just attach the scale to your jack's 2" inner tube instead. To set up the scale, remove the pins and clips, pull out the center support tube, and replace it with just the top portion of the scale, which includes the gauge and hitch ball. The scale will sit upside down in the foot, with the ball on the bottom. Once it's in place, secure the scale to the foot with one of the pins.
To attach the scale to your jack, first crank the trailer jack until the footplate or wheel is about 8" off the ground. Then remove the footplate or wheel from the jack and replace it with the scale, pinning the scale in place. Lower the jack until the scale's footplate is sitting on the ground. Unlatch the coupler from the hitch ball and raise your trailer until it is supported entirely by the jack (and the scale). Then use the scale's gauge to determine the tongue weight.
Note: The etrailer tongue weight scale is not intended as a trailer support device. The scale should not be left on the jack during travel or storage.
California residents: click here
Average Customer Rating: 4.7 out of 5 stars (761 Customer Reviews)
Measure your trailer's tongue weight with this easy-to-use scale. Connect the scale to either your trailer's ball coupler or to its 2" jack for a weight reading. Unlike other scales, blocks or wood are not needed for setup.Works great, but the meniscus in the gage makes it difficult to read and there is no information available on how to top up the oil in the gage. There is a plug, but it is unknown if it is removable and what oil to use. 5 stars if there was maintenance information available. Considering trying to rotate the gage with a wrench....
I just received my new tongue scale and with no weight it is reading 250 lbs. I think quality control might be a little of a problem with this scale. I needed it for a trip this weekend but now I’m going to have to guess my tongue weight. Maybe I should have gone with the scale made in the USA.
Jenny N.
6/14/2024
We will certainly be in touch with you to have the scale replaced. Please keep an eye out on your email.
Nice tool to have if you're camping, boating, or landscaping. Takes the guesswork out of loading your trailer.
It worked great the one time I used it when I bought it a year ago. It was very helpful to see my tongue weight was over 1,000 lbs. That knowledge helped me understand the suspension sag on my tow vehicle. Unfortunately, it no longer registers any weight even with full tongue weight applied. I think the seal has leaked hydraulic fluid because the outside is very oily. Sadly it's now useless.
Katrina D.
8/10/2023
I have gotten in contact with quality control and they have confirmed that this issue has been brought to our attention in the past. Unfortunately, it was determined to be a manufacturer defect. I am sending your information over to our customer service department for them to get a replacement sent out to you.
Checking the weight on my cargo trailer, the Tongue Weight Scale worked great and accurate. Very easy to use and set up.
This tongue weight scale is not something you use on an everyday basis. However, I feel it's very critical to have something like this to make sure that your camper is balanced properly to help prevent sway. I set up a new camper using this and got it balanced the way it was supposed to be. I haven't had any problems with sway whatsoever. I do wish that the base on it was a little bit larger, because sometimes it's hard to get it to balance and not move side to side. This is not a problem if you are on a solid surface like concrete but I added a 2x8 to the bottom of mine to help.
Product arrived on time, packaged very well and in excellent condition. My first weight measurement taken indicated my suspension; heavier than anticipated. Using the bathroom scale method did give me a ball park idea of where the trailer was weight wise. After the ease of using the eTrailer scale, this was so simple and more accurate. I knew I was much heavier than posted tongue weight from my modifications and the scale proved it. 350-400 lbs estimated from the manufacture (empty) turned out to be 800 lbs the way the trailer is loaded. It will be interesting to see where my weight equalization bars are for distribution next. This is not my first order from eTrailer; I'd recommend this scale and ordering from eTrailers excellent service to anyone requiring parts and accessories.
Donald D.
5/2/2024
eTrailers tongue weight scales continue to be used to maintain a balanced trailer weight. Still highly recommend this product for any trailer owner.
Great scale to get a quick tongue weight on my travel trailer. It has helped me to know where to distribute the weight in the trailer and not go over my max tongue weight.
Donald
6/15/2024
The scale has been very useful since I purchased it a year ago. I use it when ever we are pulling our travel trailer. The makes sure I am not over weight on the tongue. It also lets me know if I need to redistribute the weight int trailer. I would highly recommend this scale.
This tool as been an important aspect for our trailering needs. Can easily check younger weight so we won’t overload the towing vehicle.
Worked as intended. On our first major trip with Lance 1995, we loaded a lot of stuff on board for a 2.5 month trip. While we were still under our target weight, I was concerned about distribution and ultimate tongue wt. with the scale, I found I needed to increase tongue wt to avoid some sway at highway speeds.
In my review of the tongue scale, in the following pictures, you can see in the picture the scale in action with the tongue weight is 2,000 lbs. after all the weight is removed off the tongue jack. The dry weight of the Toyhauler is 10,926 lbs. and the GVWR is 16,000 lbs. I built a box with padding to protect the scale from damage. The reason I purchased this scale is to know what the tongue weight is when the weight with and without a UTV/Side by Side is inside the Toyhauler trailer. The garage is 17 feet long and the total payload capacity of the trailer is 5,074 lbs. If you but have a 14 ft. long or 12 ft. long toy and drive it into the trailer, were you place the toy inside the trailer the 17 ft. long garage. It can have a big effect on tongue weight if the toy is centered over the triple axle or is farther forward or the toy is closer to the loading ramp. The weight of a 2,500 lb. toy can move a lot of weight around and inside the trailer when you have 3 or 5 ft. of space to achieve the correct loading to stay within the (1,600 to 2400 lbs. when fully loaded) or 10% to 15% rule on the bumper pull tongue weight guidelines. The total tongue weight is 2,000 lbs. with the trailer almost down to the dry weight rating. Because there is no toy inside the trailer to counterbalance the nose weight of the Toyhauler the trailer tongue weight is higher than it should be so a weight distribution hitch is critical.
Steve
2/28/2023
Great, I should have bought this scale first before I purchased my first hitch, the rule of thumb of 10 to 15 is a good wild guess but not true. The only way to know the trailer coupler tongue weights is to measure where the hitch ball connects to the tow vehicle. In my case, it was almost 20
Worked just fine and I think accurate. Just worried about dropping it and breaking the glass guage.
A tongue weight scale should be in every toy hauler owner's trailer only because with a toy hauler, the load is never the same weight or in the same place. Loading the trailer too far forward can have catastrophic results. Knowing the exact tongue weight avoids an event like this. Best $100 I've ever spent. This scale is also well built and includes various setup adapters.
Air bubble in area of 700#,s making it difficult to read. Either get rid of the air bubble or rotate the scale away from bubble. Picture of scale on line shows in different position, not obstructed by bubble. Contact with retailer said send it back at my expense. Other than the weight scale read difficulty, it works fine.
The etrailer Tongue Weight Scale is a very handy tool. I have a Hensley CUB hitch on my trailer which added a considerable amount of weight to the tongue. I need to compensate for this weight with redistribution of where I put items in the trailer. The maximum tongue weight that my vehicle will carry per the vehicle manufacturer's guidelines is 500#. Not a problem getting there, but I feel having 500# at the low end of the etrailer scale reduces the accuracy of the unit, as I have found it is more prone to weight fluctuation readings with the same weight being applied and then re-applied to it. I take and average several readings of the tongue to arrive at a final. I have found it's better to be mid-range on any scale when measuring. I feel it would be great if etrailer's Tongue Weight Scale had a model with a 1,000 pound maximum which would put tongue weights of smaller trailers more mid-scale, thus providing greater accuracy. And it would earn etrailer a 5-star rating from me.
This device is easy to use and easy to stow. Providing the gauge is accurate, it allows the user to move items in trailer to accommodate proper tongue weight. Much easier than going to a scale. And, if you change your load mid trip, you can easily check the tongue weight in a parking lot. I used it on a cross country trip with my 7x14 foot enclosed cargo trailer loaded with 3 motorcycles, tool boxes, and other totes. I was at maximum weight capacity for the trailer and wanted the weight distribution to be perfect for my trip. After estimating the weight distribution and checking with the tongue weight scale, I moved several heavy items to the back of the trailer and got the weight on the tongue correct. Felt great driving, knowing that I had my load proper for the truck and trailer combo. Worth the money!
This scale is a great tool and so easy to use. I use it to balance the load in my trailer and verify the tongue weight before a camping trip. Over time you get a better feel for the optimal way to load your trailer.
After loading my 16x8 cargo trailer, I thought I had distributed the weight properly. Not wanting to drag it up to the truck stop Cat scale, I purchased this scale. Turns out I was too tongue heavy. After repacking the trailer (a real pain) the tongue weight was perfect! Could have saved myself aggravation if I had gotten this first! Will be using it on my travel trailer too. It's a must have tool, a great time saver!
I made this purchase based on reviews and customer comments. My trailer load/configuration is constantly changing, and I do a lot of traveling. This is a game changer for me and exceeded my expectations! Very well built and with all the configuration options of using the scale make it absolutely perfect. For those of you that are contemplating a scale and trailer sway/proper tongue weight is important on our perfectly smooth roads (pun), this is an absolute "must have." This was my first purchase from etrailer and I was super impressed.
Sorry to say this product did not make my life any easier. To use it one must load the trailer unattached to the pulling vehicle. That is unsafe.
Didn't work for me. It would not provide a consistent reading if weighted multiple times in quick succession with no changes. It read heavy, so I stepped into the trailer while it remained on the scale and removed some heavy boxes from the nose and this scale ended reading higher than when I started (from me stepping in).
A tongue weight scale is a must-have for a camper. It's very easy to end up with too much or too little weight in the front of the camper based on how you pack, which can seriously affect driving stability. Checking before you depart to be sure your tongue weight is around 10% of the total weight of the trailer ensures that you won't have issues. This one seems to work great - it's easy to use, accurate, and small enough you can put it in the camper and bring it with you to use on the road.
This is something everyone should own! I was able to check the tongue weight of my trailer and found it was way higher than what the factory said. I installed lithium batteries which dropped my weight by 60lbs and relocated heavy items from my front storage to the rear to help balance my trailer.
One year later still works well. It explained a lot. Our travel trailer is 400 lbs heaver at the tongue that it should be by weight when it's empty. Axles should have been forward more by the manufacturer. Our Expedition squats more than normal with this travel trailer. We can load it differently to reduce the tongue weight for a better ride.
It took 2-3 of these to be shipped to me to finally receive it due to at least one of them being lost in the mail or delivered to a wrong address, and taper made me double-pay while they slowly processed refund(s) on the ones returned. The tongue scale that finally did arrive never worked, but I only discovered that after the 30 day return policy ended. The tongue scale lever never moved despite 1,200lb of pressure on it. I kept it in my trailer for a year, where the scale eventually leaked oil everywhere and turned into a piece of junk for wish-recycling (throwing in the recycle bin as scrap metal and hoping it can be recycled). Overall, I found working with etrailer to be a terrible, bureaucratic experience with poor customer service, and this scale was a piece of garbage that leaked and had to be thrown out.
Do you have a question about this Tongue Weight Scale?
Info for this part was:
At etrailer.com we provide the best information available about the products we sell. We take the quality of our information seriously so that you can get the right part the first time. Let us know if anything is missing or if you have any questions.
Katrina D.
6/11/2024
So, I have gotten in contact with the manufacturer. The oil does not need to be topped off in the gauge, it is filled in order to reduce damage to the gauges in the event of a pressure spike in the vessel. It is not meant to be removed, only to be replaced if there is an issue with a non-functioning gauge. Looking at the photo, this is the normal fill level. We dont fill it up all the way so there is no build up of pressure in the gauges face itself. The oil in the vessel and the oil in the gauges are separate oils, so looking at this... it looks like it is functioning as intended.