The tongue load of any trailer is an im‐
portant
weight to measure because it
affects the total gross vehicle weight
(GVW) of your vehicle. This weight in‐
cludes the curb weight of the vehicle,
any cargo you may carry in it, and the
people who will be riding in the vehicle.
And if you tow a trailer, you must add
the tongue load to the GVW because
your vehicle will also be carrying that
weight.
The trailer tongue should weigh a max‐
imum of 10% of the total loaded trailer
weight, within the limits of the maxi‐
mum trailer tongue load permissible.
After you've loaded your trailer, weigh
the trailer and then the tongue, sepa‐
rately, to see if the weights are proper.
If they aren’t, you may be able to cor‐
rect them simply by moving some
items around in the trailer.
WARNING
n
Trailer
(Continued)
(Continued)
• Never load a trailer with more
weight
in the rear than in the
front. The front should be loaded
with approximately 60% of the to‐
tal trailer load; the rear should be
loaded with approximately 40% of
the total trailer load.
• Never exceed the maximum
weight
limits of the trailer or trail‐
er towing equipment. Improper
loading can result in damage to
your vehicle and/or personal injury.
Check weights and loading at a
commercial scale or highway pa‐
trol office equipped with scales.
• An improperly loaded trailer can
cause loss of v
ehicle control.
Driving your vehicle
6-84
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