is weight distribution a problem?

[Semievolved]

if this has been discussed elsewhere, i'd appreciate a point to it and also i'd be happy to delete or move this question.

we've been towing a scamp for quite a while but finally put the $$ down on a 21C. we got a tour of a local one a couple days ago and i was a little surprised about the location of things and how they'd affect weight distribution.

for instance, the batteries and all electrical components are at the very tail end, the refrigerator is pretty far back as well, the fresh tank i believe is just behind the axles and the gray is in front but we will always fill the fresh and the gray is emptied often.

the bed in the front of the trailer will make it hard to store much under it where i'd prefer the weight to be. the bk=lack water tank is also forward but we won't be using that so it will remain empty. the hot water tank will also help a bit.

the bathroom, propane tanks, and front storage bin will help somewhat but i am curious if others are finding this weight distribution to be back heavy and a problem and, if so, great ideas about how to compensate for it.

[tractors1]

Our 21 loaded for travel weighs in at about 4200 lbs with a tongue weight of 450-460. We have the front box full of messy stuff. I use an Andersen WDH and it all works very well.



There is actually a lot of room under that bed - add a 36 inch drawer in the main aisle, a 14 inch shoe drawer (and optional door) next to the bathroom, and keep your foldup chairs, tire change ramp, and longer stuff next to the black tank (using the outside access door.)We don't use the goofy trap door under the bed mattress at all.

[Rossue]

Our 21 tongue weight is right at 500 lbs. You will be surprised at what you can put under the bed both from the outside hatch as well as inside. Be sure to option the second inside door. Then there is the front box too; tools, chocks, bbq, charcoal- or whatever.

There has never to my knowledge been a reported sway accident with a 21C. There have been some with the 19 though.

[Iowa Dave]

You will be concerned with going up to or over a 500 lb. tongue weight a long time before you are “too light” on the 21. As has been noted, the front end gets heavy pretty quickly with things you can put under the bed as well as the addition of a custom mattress should you so choose.
I’ve weighed the tongue weight on our 21 as well as others and found them to all be 450lbs plus. We are at 500 lbs. on the trailer and 4360 total weight ready for the road, that’s about 12 percent, and the 21 tows great.
Iowa Dave

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Semievolved

... the fresh tank i believe is just behind the axles and the gray is in front but we will always fill the fresh and the gray is emptied often.

Don't forget the other waste tank - the black tank, under the toilet. While a full fresh water tank and empty waste tanks certainly shifts weight distribution rearward, in practice that generally doesn't seem to be a problem. The bigger issue with the tank placement is the change as water moves in use from the fresh tank forward to the waste tanks; just be sure you're ready for that higher tongue weight. This is actually a common configuration, found in many trailer brands.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

You will be concerned with going up to or over a 500 lb. tongue weight a long time before you are “too light” on the 21. As has been noted, the front end gets heavy pretty quickly with things you can put under the bed as well as the addition of a custom mattress should you so choose.
I’ve weighed the tongue weight on our 21 as well as others and found them to all be 450lbs plus. We are at 500 lbs. on the trailer and 4360 total weight ready for the road, that’s about 12 percent, and the 21 tows great.
Iowa Dave

Putting things under the bed on a 21 does change the tongue weight!

At Quartzite, I had a nearly full black tank, empty fresh tank, and 4 six gallon water containers under the bed. A measurement of the tongue weight showed over 700 lbs. Emptying the black tank and putting the 24 gallons of water from the containers in the fresh water tank brought the tongue weight back down to about 500 lbs.

Water adds over 8 lbs per gallon - with a 22 gallon black tank and an extra 24 gallons in containers, that's about 384 lbs. All in front of the axles!

Oh, I did win the heaviest tongue weight contest!

[Iowa Dave]

https://www.google.com/search?q=bobb...&client=safari

I have been a winner a few times myself where it wasn’t the best for me, my health, my equipment or my wallet.
But sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. And Bobby Bare sums it up.
“My God that man was tall”
Iowa Dave

[Bea]

Originally Posted by Semievolved

if this has been discussed elsewhere, i'd appreciate a point to it and also i'd be happy to delete or move this question.

we've been towing a scamp for quite a while but finally put the $$ down on a 21C. we got a tour of a local one a couple days ago and i was a little surprised about the location of things and how they'd affect weight distribution.

for instance, the batteries and all electrical components are at the very tail end, the refrigerator is pretty far back as well, the fresh tank i believe is just behind the axles and the gray is in front but we will always fill the fresh and the gray is emptied often.

the bed in the front of the trailer will make it hard to store much under it where i'd prefer the weight to be. the bk=lack water tank is also forward but we won't be using that so it will remain empty. the hot water tank will also help a bit.

the bathroom, propane tanks, and front storage bin will help somewhat but i am curious if others are finding this weight distribution to be back heavy and a problem and, if so, great ideas about how to compensate for it.

Welcome Semievolved, Great concern and question. We store things like folding chairs/tables, etc under our 21C bed and with an empty black tank and the front bin full of outdoor equipment and the back-end storage areas filled with lighter weight things, our tongue weight is about 13%. We use an Anderson WDH and drive between 60-65MPH and have never had any sway.

In terms of being 'back heavy' reminds me of a brief conversation we had with the driver who dropped off our 21C at Bob's Burger in Sumas after our orientation in Chilliwack last year. For some reason this topic came up and he mentioned that the 19 had more of a tendency to be 'back heavy' due to 'operator error in weight management' when people put way too much (heavy) stuff under the bed in the back making the tongue too light. But you/we have chosen a 21C (good choice!) so you are wise to think about such things now and just to assure you, we see no inherent weight distribution problem with the 21C design.

However, after you receive your 21 and fill it up with all your stuff, we suggest you weigh it at a big scale and then measure the tongue weight...just to be sure. Knowledge is safety! -Bea

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by Semievolved

if this has been discussed elsewhere, i'd appreciate a point to it and also i'd be happy to delete or move this question.

we've been towing a scamp for quite a while but finally put the $$ down on a 21C. we got a tour of a local one a couple days ago and i was a little surprised about the location of things and how they'd affect weight distribution.

for instance, the batteries and all electrical components are at the very tail end, the refrigerator is pretty far back as well, the fresh tank i believe is just behind the axles and the gray is in front but we will always fill the fresh and the gray is emptied often.

the bed in the front of the trailer will make it hard to store much under it where i'd prefer the weight to be. the bk=lack water tank is also forward but we won't be using that so it will remain empty. the hot water tank will also help a bit.

the bathroom, propane tanks, and front storage bin will help somewhat but i am curious if others are finding this weight distribution to be back heavy and a problem and, if so, great ideas about how to compensate for it.

Hi: Semievolved... The only time I remember when weight distribution was a problem was when I was carrying someone else's luggage!!! Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[John in Santa Cruz]

for storing stuff under the bed of the 21 classic, I tiewrapped together 3 6-gallon milk crates, and I slide these in the end door, they just snugly fit up against the black tank. I put stuff like cleaners, rarely used tools, tank sanitizers, etc in there, and it works great.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by Bea

In terms of being 'back heavy' reminds me of a brief conversation we had with the driver who dropped off our 21C at Bob's Burger in Sumas after our orientation in Chilliwack last year. For some reason this topic came up and he mentioned that the 19 had more of a tendency to be 'back heavy' due to 'operator error in weight management' when people put way too much (heavy) stuff under the bed in the back making the tongue too light. But you/we have chosen a 21C (good choice!) so you are wise to think about such things now and just to assure you, we see no inherent weight distribution problem with the 21C design.

Good observation - all Escape models have suitable weight distribution as they are built, so if any of them are too light on the tongue in use, it is due to inappropriate loading (both inside, and on rear cargo racks).

Originally Posted by Bea

However, after you receive your 21 and fill it up with all your stuff, we suggest you weigh it at a big scale and then measure the tongue weight...just to be sure. Knowledge is safety!

Excellent advice!

[Vermilye]

If you check the "Trailer Weights in the Real World" spreadsheet at my website & do filters for Escape 21, you will be able to see the % of tongue weight for 20 Escape 21Cs (as of today). Range is from 10% - 13%, which is within acceptable range.

As I always mention each time I post about the Trailer Weights Spreadsheet, please email me your information when you weigh your trailer (which you should do each trip). I need axle weight, tongue weight, year & model. The spreadsheet calculates the rest.

[Doug2000]

The only time there was a problem with weight was the first version of the 17B had too much weight at the front. The battery was moved to the back. Everything else is good.

[John in Santa Cruz]

My 21 classic, if I have a bike rack in back with a couple clunkers, my tongue weight might be 380-400 lbs, and the trailer feels a little bit skittish behind The Beast, a 8000 lb F250 diesel long bed.

[grswick]

For years, I towed my 17 foot Casita with a simple sway bar with no problems at all.
I have ordered my Escape 19 in hopes of using the same setup, a simple sway bar, which Escape sells with small ball permanently attached to the tongue for $92.
My TV is a 2016 Tacoma, with a tow rating of 6800 pounds.
Does anyone have anything, good or bad, to share about my proposed set up plans?

And, any recommendation for a reliable and inexpensive tongue weight scale would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg
Missouri

[diannelgraham]

Originally Posted by grswick

For years, I towed my 17 foot Casita with a simple sway bar with no problems at all.
I have ordered my Escape 19 in hopes of using the same setup, a simple sway bar, which Escape sells with small ball permanently attached to the tongue for $92.
My TV is a 2016 Tacoma, with a tow rating of 6800 pounds.
Does anyone have anything, good or bad, to share about my proposed set up plans?

And, any recommendation for a reliable and inexpensive tongue weight scale would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Greg
Missouri

I have a 2016 Tacoma and a 19 foot. Unless you have air bags on your Tacoma the back end is going to sag when hooked to your 19. I got the WDH setup as it was a lot cheaper then airbags and it adds a safety feature in my option.

[John in Santa Cruz]

I towed a E21 from the Houston area to the left coast by way of Reno with my 2008 Tacoma 4x4... My Tacoma had the ride-rite airbag kit already on it, and we were running pretty empty because we'd gone to Reno for CHristmas at our son's place not expecting to be dashing to Texas to buy the Escape.

With the air bags set to suitable pressure to keep the truck at its empty ride height, the truck handled towing the trailer just fine.

The gas mileage was *dreadful*. This was right after christmas, so it was quite cold out. across Texas and NM, where all the trucks on the interstate are doing 80ish, we tried to maintain 70-75 so we wouldn't get run off the road. The Tacoma did that just fine, but at the cost of 9.6 MPG average over 3-4 tanks, which meant we were looking for a gas station after 150 miles.

The payload wasn't great either. My Tacoma, a TRD OffRoad 4.0L 4x4 Access Cab, with a 6 speed stick shift, had a total payload of 1200 lbs, including passengers and driver. subtract 150 lbs for the fiberglass shell on it. subtract 500 lbs for the Escape[s tongue weight. Subtract ~500 lbs for driver, copilot, and our personal stuff in the back seat. oops, nothing left.

So we ended up getting a bigger truck. still kinda miss the tacoma. the big truck is great towing, and great on the interstate and awesome for large/heavy loads, but sucks for anything else.

[Greg A]

I have a Frontier and a 19, without suspension help you’ll need a wdh. Same issue with the weak rear suspension on the Taco. I put on Bielstein shocks and Sumo Springs and got rid of the wdh. Tows like a dream now and simple hitch/unhitch.

[cityofdestiny]

Originally Posted by Semievolved

if this has been discussed elsewhere, i'd appreciate a point to it and also i'd be happy to delete or move this question.

we've been towing a scamp for quite a while but finally put the $$ down on a 21C. we got a tour of a local one a couple days ago and i was a little surprised about the location of things and how they'd affect weight distribution.

for instance, the batteries and all electrical components are at the very tail end, the refrigerator is pretty far back as well, the fresh tank i believe is just behind the axles and the gray is in front but we will always fill the fresh and the gray is emptied often.

the bed in the front of the trailer will make it hard to store much under it where i'd prefer the weight to be. the bk=lack water tank is also forward but we won't be using that so it will remain empty. the hot water tank will also help a bit.

the bathroom, propane tanks, and front storage bin will help somewhat but i am curious if others are finding this weight distribution to be back heavy and a problem and, if so, great ideas about how to compensate for it.

We tow our 21C with an Equal-i-zer weight distributing hitch and it works well and virtually eliminates sway. It is a pain to hitch and unhitch, however.

[AKCamper]

We have a 2016 Tacoma crew cab and tow a 2016 escape 19. We put sumo springs on the rear axle and use the weight distribution hitch that Escape sells, I think it’s the pro series, and couldn’t be happier with it’s relatively easy to hook up and I love the way it handles. Only thing I recommend is a hitch lifter available on Amazon.