How Much Tongue Weight Does a Tow Bar Apply to Motorhome Hitch

Updated 03/15/2017 | Published 03/13/2017

Question:

How do I calculate the hitch tongue weight for a vehicle being towed 4 wheels down behind a MotorHome attached with a tow bar? I assume that there is not much tongue weight in this situation, is that correct? Thanks

asked by: Steve

Helpful Expert Reply:

Correct, when flat towing a vehicle 4-wheels-down the only actual weight on the hitch will be that of a portion of the tow bar's weight. Some of the tow bar weight will be on the vehicle's front end so only a portion will be on the hitch side. Most of the better motor-home-mounted tow bars like the Blue Ox Alpha # BX7380 weigh about 40-lbs so say half of this will be seen by the hitch as tongue weight.

expert reply by: Adam R