Trailer Tongue Weight and Sway Check

Tongue% = tongue / gross x 100, against the 10-15% conventional and 15-25% gooseneck/fifth-wheel bands. A 7,000 lb trailer with a 700 lb tongue is at 10.0% (in band, 700-1,050 lb target); shift the load back to a 490 lb tongue (7.0%) and it drops below the floor - a trailer-sway risk, fixed by moving cargo forward of the axle. Too much tongue overloads the hitch and unloads the steer axle. A setup screen; the manufacturer ratings and a scale govern.

tongue% = tongue_weight / trailer_gross x 100; target band = 10-15% (conventional) or 15-25% (gooseneck / fifth wheel); target_lb window = gross x band; over_rating when tongue > hitch rating.

Standard towing tongue-weight guidance (NHTSA / SAE J2807; the hitch and vehicle manufacturer ratings), by name.

The tongue-weight percentage bands are public towing-safety guidance (NHTSA, SAE J2807); the specific ratings come from the vehicle, hitch, and trailer manufacturers.

Estimate. AHJ and licensed professional govern.

Field names used by the API: trailer_gross_weight_lb, tongue_weight_lb, hitch_type, tongue_pct, target_low_lb, target_high_lb

• Target bands 10-15% of trailer gross for a conventional hitch; 15-25% for a gooseneck / fifth wheelNHTSA / SAE J2807
• Sway vs overload below the band the trailer sways; above it the hitch and tow-vehicle rear axle are overloaded and the steer axle lightenstowing-safety practice
• Ratings govern the vehicle, hitch, and trailer manufacturer ratings and the tow vehicle's payload / rear-axle GAWR govern; weigh on a scalescope of this tile