Scaled the Micro Minnie...not very happy....

[Donut-WO]

Finally got some time to dump the tanks and get the trailer up on a truck scale. My pin weight is 840lbs and I have about 400lbs remaining on the rear axle. Not very happy there. Trailer had empty gray/black, but full fresh water. I’ve got two 6volt batteries and two propane tanks in the front. I added a bike rack at the dealer and the front compartment had your normal trailer gear plus a small camping BBQ. Basically loaded out for a weekend, minus clothes.

I removed all the gear from the front compartment and the bike rack and only cut 120lbs out, so I’m still very heavy up front. I could yank one of the propane tanks, but that’s still not a lot of weight. What really sucks is I’ve already got about 800lbs on my truck, so with the trailer I’m right at the GVWR.

Anyone else have this problem or suggestions? I really can’t move anything else, so just live with it?

 

[legolas]

Finally got some time to dump the tanks and get the trailer up on a truck scale. My pin weight is 840lbs and I have about 400lbs remaining on the rear axle. Not very happy there. Trailer had empty gray/black, but full fresh water. I’ve got two 6volt batteries and two propane tanks in the front. I added a bike rack at the dealer and the front compartment had your normal trailer gear plus a small camping BBQ. Basically loaded out for a weekend, minus clothes.

I removed all the gear from the front compartment and the bike rack and only cut 120lbs out, so I’m still very heavy up front. I could yank one of the propane tanks, but that’s still not a lot of weight. What really sucks is I’ve already got about 800lbs on my truck, so with the trailer I’m right at the GVWR.

Anyone else have this problem or suggestions? I really can’t move anything else, so just live with it?

You dont say what truck you have, all the specs of the truck will be important to any discussion of your issue. Specs on your 1700 BH say dry weight is 3000 lbs and indicating carrying capacity of 800. Water weihs 8.34 lbs per gal, if you are carrying a full fresh water that is 258 lbs.

 

[LivinIt]

Either I’m not understanding or something is really off there.
Are you saying your hitch weight is 840 lbs on a max 3800 lb trailer? What was the actual trailer weight?
What does the 800 lbs already on your truck include?
And yes, what truck and tow/payload etc specs do you have?

 

[powercat_ras]

Were you weighing the 1700BH in your signature line? It seems not based on your post. Can you tell us what you were weighing?

The 1700BH with nothing in the tanks and no cargo weights according to Winnebago are:

3,010 lbs total weight
380 lbs hitch weight

Water heater and the fresh tank full of water this would add 37 gal which would weigh 308 pounds, which would be distributed between the hitch and the axle.

 

[Donut-WO]

Sorry, let me try again. Looking at my notes (instead of going from memory)...

I scaled the MM in my signature. With full water and limited gear, the weights were:
- Axle: 3,179 (3,500 max)
- Tongue: 820 (21% of total weight)

The GVWR of the trailer is 3,800, so I’m basically 200lbs over and are tongue heavy. I’m really shocked (and disappointed) how front heavy this trailer is. As I mentioned above, removing all my gear from the forward storage and the bike rack cuts 120lbs out, but I’m still slightly over the GVWR and heavier than the recommended 15% max tongue weight. All that’s left in the trailer are four sleeping bags, three roles of TP and prob 10lbs of misc “kitchen” gear. I don’t even have any beer in the fridge!

The factory sticker said I have 760lbs of weight capacity from the factory, minus 308lbs for water. So somehow my 452lbs of remaining capacity disappeared and is hidden forward of the axle. That’s the foundation for my surprise (and this post). Not sure how two propane tanks, two batteries, four sleeping bags, four mugs and a few mountain house meals eats that up.

My TV is a ‘16 F-150 that I’ve got a canopy on, a load of gear in the truck box and a few other accessories that have added the weight. I’m not worried about the truck...just would like to get the trailer balanced out better. If I could get 200lbs moved back to the axle, life would be good.

 

[powercat_ras]

If the build label on your Micro Minnie is that much less than your empty weights I think you have a mis-represented product issue and I would contact Winnebago directly and discuss.

The build label may have higher empty weights and less capacity than the spec on your base model depending on what options were equipped.

You should contact Winnebago Customer Service - you may even have legal rights to recover damages or return the TT for refund if the TT you bought does not have the proper weights and capacity Winnebago marketed it to be.

Good luck.

 

[duluthdan]

820 pounds of tongue weight? What method did you use at the scale to determine this? Sounds incredibly high.

 

[Donut-WO]

820 pounds of tongue weight? What method did you use at the scale to determine this? Sounds incredibly high.

State certified truck scale. Got up there last Friday night about 8pm and just went ahead and unhooked the trailer right there. The 820lbs is the before and after difference on the rear axle (with me in the driver seat) of my truck.

 

[powercat_ras]

> 820lbs is the before and after difference on the rear axle (with me in the driver seat) of my truck.

Sorry , that's not a valid way to measure tongue weight. As has been pointed out by several of us, 820 is not technically possible for your particular model of TT, even with the water tank full.

 

[rgill]

Did you notice the truck scales have sections?
You need to pull onto the scales with the tongue jack on one section, the trailer axels over another. Unhitch and pull forward to put your F150 axels on two more sections, then tell them to print out. The print out will give you the weights on each section correctly.

Knowing these 4 weights can help you set up your WDH if you use one.

I'll use random weights for explanation. Say both front and rear axels of your F150 weigh 1500# and your trailer tongue weight is 600#, divide the tongue 600 by 2 = 300, add this amount to each truck axel weight = 1800#. Hook up to the trailer and adjust the hitch to give you 1800# on each truck axel and your hitch would be perfectly adjusted.
Ray

 

[Donut-WO]

I looked at some axle weights I’ve recorded in the past for my truck. I probably have about 150lbs shifted from my front axle to my rear axle. So that would read incorrectly on my scale method and not be tongue weight.

The truck scale I hit was a single axle scale, so I couldn’t do all four at once. I should have just scaled the front jack on the trailer. I’m going to do another round at a different scale in a few weeks when I have more time. I also have a set of airbags on my work bench that I’m going to install. I know that won’t give me more capacity, but I have a pretty big sag on the truck, so going back to level should help return the weight to the front axle.

Stay tuned...

 

[duluthdan]

Will be interesting to see what you find out. This is a good thread. Made me order a tongue weight scale. My Winnie Drop 1790 has the kitchen in the rear so that’s where most of the gear weight is. Between the capacity of my Ford F-150 3,5 ecoboost, the 3.55 reservists end and extra transmission cooler I have almost 3,500 pounds of cushion before I approach any maximums but now I am curious to see if I have 400 pounds adequate tongue weight.

 

[Gordiegaffer-WO]

are you using a weight distribution hitch or just the ball. the WD hitch will get rid of your sag

 

[old_engineer]

Air bags won't shift any weight from the rear axle to the front axle and trailer axles. The only way to do that is with a WDH.



It take 3 passes on a multiple platform scale to determine weights and see if your WDH setup is correctly. You need one scale run with the trailer attached and WDH engaged with each truck axle and the trailer axles on their own scale platform. You will need a second with the WDH disengaged and bars inside the truck bed. Again truck and trailer axles on their own platform. The last is with the truck by itself with each axle on its own platform. With these the actual weights can be determined and you can see if the WDH is adjusted correctly.



Here is a link to ways to determine tongue weight using a bathroom scale or single platform scale.

https://www.etrailer.com/faq-how-to-determine-trailer-tongue-weight.aspx

 

[Atanchor-WO]

GMC Envoy as tow vehicle

I too am looking at the Micro Minnie 2106FBS. I assumed my truck will do the job, but after going through this thread I would really appreciate some input. I have a 2005 GMC Envoy with the V8 and rear air suspension. The towing capacity is 5,900lbs. My curb weight is 4325, and my GVWR is 6000. It looks like I am within limits, but I am completely new to this. What do ya'll think?

 

[old_engineer]

I too am looking at the Micro Minnie 2106FBS. I assumed my truck will do the job, but after going through this thread I would really appreciate some input. I have a 2005 GMC Envoy with the V8 and rear air suspension. The towing capacity is 5,900lbs. My curb weight is 4325, and my GVWR is 6000. It looks like I am within limits, but I am completely new to this. What do ya'll think?

I replied to your update in my introduction thread. I tow with a 2015 F-150 which we bought with the knowledge we would be pulling a new trailer in the loaded weight range of 5K - 6K lbs.

 

[luvlabs-WO]

To the OP:

I haven't done much trailer weighing recently but my memory tells me you have yet to get a valid weight. You need a three platform scale and two weighings to get everything you need. Find a truck stop with a CAT scale and put your front axle on the front platform, the rear axle on the middle platform, and the trailer on the last platform. Get weight one. Now pull off the scale and reweigh your truck. Subtract your 2nd reading from your first for the rear axle and you will have your tongue weight.

Post what you get because the other weights don't make sense.

 

[al1florida]

I too am looking at the Micro Minnie 2106FBS. I assumed my truck will do the job, but after going through this thread I would really appreciate some input. I have a 2005 GMC Envoy with the V8 and rear air suspension. The towing capacity is 5,900lbs. My curb weight is 4325, and my GVWR is 6000. It looks like I am within limits, but I am completely new to this. What do ya'll think?

Please start a new topic with your questions. Feel free to reference this topic as you describe your question.

You will get more and better responses to your question(s) by opening a new topic. Many people don't look at old topics they feel that have been resolved or don't interest them.