Question:
My new trailer says the hitch weight is 485 lbs. Max weight of trailer loaded is 7000 lbs. I have the 600 lb e2 set up from my old trailer that had a Max weight of 6000 lbs. Unsure if the 485 lbs is loaded or unloaded. How do I determine if I need to go up to bigger rated bars. When towing tanks are left empty and minimum storage is used.Trailer empty is 4000 lbs and Max 7000 lbs
asked by: John
Helpful Expert Reply:
The hitch weight of 485 pounds that you found listed for your new trailer refers to its tongue weight when empty. Trailer manufactures will almost always use the empty weight for this number and the 485 pounds also matches up to its 4,000 pound total weight when empty.
A trailer's tongue weight should be around 10 to 15 percent of its total weight. This means with the trailer fully loaded to its max (7,000 pounds) you are looking at a tongue weight of between 700 and 1,050 pounds.
It's possible that the trailer might still fall under the 600/6,000 pound capacities of your existing Fastway e2 Weight Distribution System if you really don't plan on adding much weight, but also keep in mind that any added cargo weight coming from behind the rear axle of your truck also needs to be accounted for when calculating your setup's total tongue weight.
With all of this in mind there is a much better chance that your total tongue weight with the new trailer is going to exceed 600 pounds than for it to still fall beneath it. Because of this I do recommend replacing the spring bars with 1,000/10,000 pound units. This will upgrade your system to a tongue weight capacity range of 600 to 1,000 pounds.
If you have the round bar system you will need 2 of the Replacement Round Spring Bar # FA94-02-1099 and if you have the trunnion bar system you will need a set of # FA92-01-1099 (both bars are included with this one).
Replacement Trunnion Spring Bars for Fastway e2 Weight Distribution Systems -Qty 2 - 1,000 lbs TW
Replacement Round Spring Bar for Fastway e2 Weight Distribution Systems - 1,000 lbs TW
