Tongue Weight

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Stacy Waldrep

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Are there any hitches out there for an '04 Trac that will support more than a 500lb tongue weight? I know with a weight distributing hitch most will support 600lb but is that it? I've got a 1998 Dutchmen 24' camper that I want to pull and the only info I can find online shows it's tongue weight is 880lbs. The dry weight of the camper is 4500 and it has dual axles. I would think the tongue weight would be much lower than that. I'm going to try to get an actual weight on it myself but was just wondering about hitches. Thanks.
 
get the Reese class III/IV hitch, and measure your weight. load your trailer to get the proper tongue weight, which should be 10% of your total. Those Dutchmen trailers sit really high, so I would recommend sway control, load levelers, plus LT truck tires. I use LT tires on my setup, and what a difference... pics in my library
 
A dual axle with a 800+ tongue weight..... That's a lot..... normally its 10% of the trailer if set up right.



Also 800+ on the rear of the St is not good. Its not designed for that.

Todd Z
 
I don't really know the exact tongue weight as I'm just going by a brochure that I found online about my model. Well, it's my model number (24FL-D) but not sure if it's the exact line of my camper (Aristocrat). I can't find any information that has the Aristocrat name anywhere which is part of my model. Pretty much all of the Dutchmen campers in that brochure had tongue weights in excess of 600lbs, even a 19' model. That just doesn't sound right to me but it's directly from Dutchmen. My camper's dry weight is 4514 according to a sticker in the camper so I would expect my dry tongue weight to be around 450 or so. Why a company would design the camper with a tongue weight of almost double that is beyond me. Maybe the brochure I found doesn't really go to my camper. I'm going to weigh it this weekend and figure it out.
 
What Todd Z said. I had a Hidden Hitch Class IV on my old '05 Trac and as I recall the tongue weight was 500 lb. Towing capacity on a Gen 1 is 5000 lb and if the trailer is 4500 lb dry then by the time you add water, food, beer, people, beer, luggage, and beer you'll be well over that. 24' trailer is too big for a Sport Trac to safely tow IMO.
 
I'm not going far with it...only about 45 miles. I can bring all my stuff later after the camper is setup...no big deal. I'm just worried about the tongue weight. Seems like tongue weight is the limiting factor with the Sport Trac, at least according to Dutchmen information as even a 3500lb camper shows a 600lb tongue weight. Seems like a pop-up would be the only thing the Sport Trac could tow....very disappointing. I love my Sport Trac but wish it towed more.
 
it's a 27ft, although its 30ft overall length. remember, the frontal area is the most important when towing, then weight, the length. the long tongue on mine makes it tow nice. I've logged 20,000 miles with it since 2003. mine is a lightweight, and is only 7-1/2' wide and 9' tall, hence the small frontal area.
 
the dry weight, according to the sticker inside on the cabinet, is 4083#. I haven't weighed it, but I'm most likely right at the 5500# tow limit. I outfitted the camper with light weight pots, pans, chairs, etc, as best I could.



the height is 9'6" to the top of the A/C unit, according to brochure.
 
I measured my tongue weight tonight and it's exactly what the brochure says. Dry tongue weight is 880lbs.....on a 4514lb camper. Guess I won't be pulling that with my Sport Trac. Heck, after being loaded, the tongue weight may be too high for a 1/2 ton pickup.....on a 24' camper, which isn't a very large camper. I just can't believe that a dual axle camper only 24' long and 4514lbs would have a tongue weight which is 19.5% of the overall weight. Can't believe that Dutchmen made it that way. I've always heard it should be between 10% and 15%. I would think they would design the camper that way from the factory not almost 20%.
 
a class 4 hitch has a rating of 1000 lb tongue, so conceivably, that would work. i wonder what the tongue weight would be loaded and full. it could be just the layout of the trailer. keep in mind, a trac really isn't all that different than a f-150 as far as parts, the wheelbase is similar. it is a little narrower, tho. what you need to observe is to not go above the GCVWR, which is 9500 lbs, which is not that hard to exceed. a f150 GCVWR is ot that much different. a purpose built lightweight trailer do a lot to reduce weight, even aluminum frames. a Dutchman is a well built trailer, and weighs in like it. also, any slideout can add 1000 lbs to the package.



if you want, email me and we can talk on the phone if you want
 
STanner, thanks. I'm not sure what the loaded tongue weight would be. The propane tanks, battery and water tank are all located right up front. The only thing behind the axles is the back bedroom room. Kitchen and dining/living is all in front of the axles. My camper doesn't have a slideout. I'm not really worried about the overall weight since it's really flat here, just the tongue weight. We will always be camping pretty close since we live in lakes country. We could always bring stuff later instead of loading up the camper. We will need the propane tanks, battery and water tank full though cause we'll be boondocking sometimes. I suppose I could take the propane tanks and battery off and put them in the back bedroom. I don't know, it may be easier for me just to borrow a truck for now. I'm not sure I would ever get the tongue weight below the 500lbs (or 600lbs with wd hitch) that a Sport Trac requires. We towed it home with a Chevy Silverado 1500. I'm not sure of the rating on his hitch but it handled the camper no problem.
 

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