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Old 03-09-2013, 07:56 PM   #21
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I just went out and read the instructions that came with my Sherline, it specifically states to measure the weight with a level trailer. The most accurate measurement of tongue weight is achieved by measuring right where the hitch actually rests on the ball. An extension is provided that screws into the top of the cylinder so that you may support the trailer hitch in this manner. Always measure the hitch weight with the trailer level (trailer wheels blocked to prevent movement) and the hitch at the approximate height it will be when installed on the tow vehicle.
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Old 03-09-2013, 08:12 PM   #22
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and the hitch at the approximate height it will be when installed on the tow vehicle.
By that, I assume that they mean you're not towing with the trailer out of level.
Once I'm hooked up with the WDH in place, I am level. So, as long as the trailer is level when I use the scale, I should be getting the same reading.
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Old 03-09-2013, 08:25 PM   #23
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Yes, but you are measuring at the jack, not the hitch. Try at the hitch ball and compare #, you may have some variance.
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Old 03-09-2013, 08:30 PM   #24
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I am measuring where the hitch ball goes into the tongue. I place my hydraulic jack ( not the trailer jack ) on an old ammunition box and the Sherline on the jack. Then use the jack to lift the Sherline until I have a reading that doesn't increase.
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Old 03-09-2013, 08:38 PM   #25
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I'm sorry, when I read you place the scale on your jack, I assumed you were lowering the trailer jack tube down on the scale, some measure this short cut way but it is only 90% exact.
So you are raising the scale on your jack up to the coupler. Is it possible the jack may have some give? can you get a cinder block or something solid upon which to place the jack?
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Old 03-09-2013, 08:53 PM   #26
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The jack is on an ammo box of substantial construction. I don't have a problem to solve. I'm just describing how I weigh mine.
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Old 03-09-2013, 09:20 PM   #27
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As long as the ammo box does not collapse, it would work fine to support the scale.

And simple physics has it that with the single axle on a sloped spot, as long as the trailer is level, all weights are obviously acting in a vertical plane, and weighing the tongue in with the trailer level would give you an accurate reading. This would not work the same with dual axles, as it would transfer some weight from the front axle (if the tongue height was raised from hitch height), most of which would be on the rear axle, but some would be on the tongue as well. It would have just the opposite effect if the tongue was lower than the actually hitch height. Plus, action from the torsion axles would come into play a bit too.

The tongue height should be measured when hooked to the tow vehicle, and then weighed again with the tongue at the same height. This is especially true if you are not towing with the trailer fully level when hooked up. The difference would actually be fairly small, unless it is way out of level, but still be inaccurate to the actual loading on the tongue.
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Old 03-09-2013, 09:28 PM   #28
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Maybe you can run a seminar at the Escape Rally?
I will follow your suggestion when I'm ready to head out again and have the trailer loaded for a trip.
Toad does sit level when I pull it out to the street and hook up the WDH.

And, if there is another Sherline at the rally, I'd like to compare readings since I changed the gauge on mine.
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Old 03-09-2013, 10:09 PM   #29
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I would just like to weigh mine again. Something I have been very negligent about, and should remedy. I have always thought about getting a Sherline scale, just haven't yet.
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Old 03-09-2013, 10:14 PM   #30
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I am measuring where the hitch ball goes into the tongue. I place my hydraulic jack ( not the trailer jack ) on an old ammunition box and the Sherline on the jack. Then use the jack to lift the Sherline until I have a reading that doesn't increase.
Glenn, that's commendable that you go to so much trouble to get your TW on an unlevel surface! Hopefully you will have some place level at a campground.
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Old 03-09-2013, 11:17 PM   #31
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It's in the driveway, which doesn't really look like much of a slope, until you try to get the trailer level. I have to put six or eight inches of blocks under the trailer jack and raise it all the way to get it level.
All perfectly contrary to municipal bylaws, but if a neighbor was to complain, they would have to live within 200 metres.
I have to laugh, every time I go by stickie owner in the neighborhood. His is also in the driveway and it's a 'STEALTH'. All 38 feet of it.
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Old 03-09-2013, 11:18 PM   #32
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I just went out and read the instructions that came with my Sherline, it specifically states to measure the weight with a level trailer. The most accurate measurement of tongue weight is achieved by measuring right where the hitch actually rests on the ball. An extension is provided that screws into the top of the cylinder so that you may support the trailer hitch in this manner. Always measure the hitch weight with the trailer level (trailer wheels blocked to prevent movement) and the hitch at the approximate height it will be when installed on the tow vehicle.
I know what the book says, I have a Sherline also. Try this.... weight the trailer tongue at level. Now weigh the trailer tongue at the height (and angle) of tow height. Compare the two weights. I've found that there's a 35#+ difference to the high side at tow height. Did you ever ride a teeter-totter when you were young? It's the same thing. It's a matter of physics.
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Old 03-09-2013, 11:22 PM   #33
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I would just like to weigh mine again. Something I have been very negligent about, and should remedy. I have always thought about getting a Sherline scale, just haven't yet.
If you do get the scale, specify the gauge that reads to 1,000 lbs. I got mine at etrailer.com and they only offered the one that reads to 2,000 lbs. That puts the needle at the bottom of the dial, which is harder to read and less accurate ( by a pound or two ) than the middle of the gauge.
I ended up ordering a new gauge from Sherline and installing it myself. I'm not entirely sure that it is still accurate, which is why I want to measure it against another.
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Old 03-09-2013, 11:27 PM   #34
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I know what the book says, I have a Sherline also. Try this.... weight the trailer tongue at level. Now weigh the trailer tongue at the height (and angle) of tow height. Compare the two weights. I've found that there's a 35#+ difference to the high side at tow height. Did you ever ride a teeter-totter when you were young? It's the same thing. It's a matter of physics.
In my situation, the trailer is level ( regardless of the slope of the drive ) when I weigh the tongue and level when I pull it out to the road and hook up the WDH. So, I should get the same weight.
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Old 03-10-2013, 12:04 AM   #35
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Always measure the hitch weight with the trailer level (trailer wheels blocked to prevent movement) and the hitch at the approximate height it will be when installed on the tow vehicle.
I'm somewhat afraid to jump into this fray, but it appears to me that what they mean is that the ground is level...the trailer itself may or may not be level depending on hitch height. If the ground is sloped there would be a horizontal component (vector) to the gravitational pull on the trailer thus altering the tongue weight.
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Old 03-10-2013, 12:05 AM   #36
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Hi: Donna D... The only time I rode a tetter-totter when I was young...the girl jumped OFF!!! Proved another law of physics "What goes up...must come down". Alf
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Old 03-10-2013, 12:12 AM   #37
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I'm somewhat afraid to jump into this fray, but it appears to me that what they mean is that the ground is level...the trailer itself may or may not be level depending on hitch height. If the ground is sloped there would be a horizontal component (vector) to the gravitational pull on the trailer thus altering the tongue weight.
The wheels are chocked so there should be no horizontal component, and if there was, I'd have been run over by the trailer.
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Old 03-10-2013, 12:19 AM   #38
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As an aside, I got a plastic CD case at London Drugs, that is the perfect size to contain the Sherline scale. Has a carry handle on the lid.
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Old 03-10-2013, 01:03 AM   #39
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We don't have a carry case and still use the box. But what I think of when I think of a Sherline is men I saw many years ago walking around with their Sherline scales, carefully cuddling them in their hands as if they were little baby animals.
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Old 03-10-2013, 06:18 AM   #40
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As an aside, I got a plastic CD case at London Drugs, that is the perfect size to contain the Sherline scale. Has a carry handle on the lid.
That's a GREAT idea. My box is getting a bit ratty.

BTW: there is no fray here. I don't think there is anyone on Escape forum that's towing with a marginal vehicle... unlike at FiberglassRV. There are folks that may damage their tug if uninformed. It's all about knowledge...

Carry on!
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