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Stephen;

You can get a total weight by setting up a platform with the scale under one end.  If you set the tongue jack in the middle of the platform, the weight at each end will be 1/2.  Therefore you just double the scale reading.

The 240lbs is most likely the dry weight without the propane tank and batteries.  Our dry tongue weight says 180lbs but is 230 on the scale with no tank one battery.

John

I have a 16BH with an advertised dry tongue weight of 290 lbs.  I was astonished to find it to be over 400 lbs with battery, propane, and a few items in the trailer.  My suspicion is the dry weight does not include other optional items I have such as the A/C and front window. It took considerable effort to move the contents around to get below the 350 lb limit of my TV.

From reading various forums this method appears to be the standard for weighing with bathroom scales:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/…..eight1.htm

I would be interested to know what others are finding for actual tongue weights and for that matter actual trailer weights.  One day I hope to get to a scale to find mine.

Doug

Hmmm, can't say that I'm surprised, actually.  I told the salesman that I guessed the tongue weight could run 400 lbs. with water and everything.  Sure enough, and it looks like I may have guessed too low!

The fresh water tank and hot water heater are just about midway between the hitch ball and the trailer's axle on the 14RB.  If both are full, that is 16 gallons or 132 lbs. of water.  So imagine another 65-70 lbs. on the hitch!    Adding some water to the black tank will help slightly, but it it a relatively short distance behind the axle so it won't matter as much as that fresh water will. 

Traveling with little or no water becomes almost mandatory for many folks under these circumstances.

Stephen;

AFAIK a WD hitch will not have much affect on your tongue weight.  A WD hitch transfers some of the weight from the rear axel to the front axel of your TV.  The purpose is to control sag at the hitch or reduce the weight on the rear axel. Are you within the weight limit of your rear axel? 

One way to get the tongue weight issue solved would be to take your TV to a welding and fabricating shop.  They should know if your TV and hitch can be beefed up for more weight.

I have done just that with our Safari van because even though I have a 350lb hitch and 230lb hitch weight, the Safari had a 200lb tongue weight rating.  It cost $160. I now feel comfortable that I am near 75% of all of the TV weight ratings. 

HTH;

John

Update:

I took the trailer to the welding shop yesterday to deal with the hanger bracket issue for the weight-distributing hitch.  The solution ended up being very simple.  He cut off a corner of the bracket go around the existing battery frame, and it works great!  The ride was a lot better on the way home, and the RAV didn't look nearly as squatty in the rear end.  The cost ended up being around $90, which I thought was reasonable.  I haven't had any sway/wandering issues, so I don't think sway control is necessary to add, but I haven't completely ruled it out yet.  It wouldn't be hard to add later.

Other pics available here.

Happy camping!

Stephen

Oh yeah, the shape of the 16BH will cause a lot more drag – it's not so much the weight as it is the surface area resisting the air.  I have a 16BH and have gotten anywhere from 9 – 11.5 towing with a F150.

Post edited 6:20 pm – March 26, 2011 by Mike Magee

pkrmspec said:

I just took delivery of a 16bh and tow with a honda ridgeline.  The title says 2280 lbs but the first short trip home –11 mpg!!! wow! I came from towing a scamp 16 ft with side dinette around 2500-2700lbs and was used to getting 15-17 mpg.  Quite a difference – so will be curious to weigh the 16bh.  Hard to believe just the square shape vs the round scamp would make that much difference and the 16bh is listed as less weight.

Anybody have real weight on 16bh?  Or suggestions?

Maybe I need a real trip to test mpg before getting excited as the trip home was only 40 miles vs the scamp data based on 3000 mile trips.

Anyway, i may need gas vouchers from sportsman….

Oh, I suspect it's the shape, all right.  I was getting about 14.3 with my 17' Burro 'wide body' at 65 mph.  On my first 400 mile camping trip with the E14RB I kept the speed around 60 mph and averaged a bit over 12.  If I had gone 65 I think it would have been 11 or less, because the boxy shape does catch more wind.  Heading toward the CG I was bucking a strong headwind and that fill-up was only 10.66 mpg. 

I console myself in knowing that it would have taken years of new egg ownership to pay the cost difference with gas savings.   I'm money ahead with the KZ.