Tongue weight: how much of the trailer should sit on the hitch
Enter the loaded trailer weight, and the tongue weight if you have weighed it: the calculator gives the range the makers ask for and tells you whether yours fits.
Tongue weight for this trailer
700 lb to 1,050 lb
| At 10% of the trailer | 700 lb |
| At 15% of the trailer | 1,050 lb |
| Fifth wheel or gooseneck (pin weight) | 1,050 lb to 1,750 lb |
Compiled by Radif Partners · Sources and method · makers’ towing documents read October 20 to 21, 2026
Tongue weight is the share of a loaded trailer that presses down on the hitch ball. Chevrolet asks for 10 to 15% of the total loaded trailer weight on a conventional hitch, and Ford asks for 10%, so a 7,000 lb travel trailer should put 700 lb to 1,050 lb on the ball. A fifth wheel or gooseneck carries far more, 15 to 25% of the trailer as pin weight, which is why those hitches sit over the rear axle. Too little tongue weight lets the trailer sway; too much unloads the front wheels, lengthens braking and can push the truck over its rear axle rating. The tongue weight also counts as cargo: it comes out of the payload printed on the door pillar, together with the passengers and the hitch hardware. That is the limit owners of half-ton pickups reach first.
What the makers write
Chevrolet's trailering guide gives the range of 10 to 15% for a conventional trailer, and adds that at the maximum trailer rating the tongue weight should be 10% (15% pin weight for a fifth wheel or gooseneck). Ford computes its tables with 10% on a conventional hitch and 15% on the king pin, and for light trailers up to 2,000 lb sets a maximum of 200 lb on the tongue (Ford towing guide, p. 7). Both makers add that the tongue must not push the vehicle over its rear axle rating or its GVWR.
| Loaded trailer | 10% tongue | 15% tongue | Fifth wheel 15% | Fifth wheel 25% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,500 lb | 350 lb | 525 lb | 525 lb | 875 lb |
| 5,000 lb | 500 lb | 750 lb | 750 lb | 1,250 lb |
| 7,000 lb | 700 lb | 1,050 lb | 1,050 lb | 1,750 lb |
| 9,000 lb | 900 lb | 1,350 lb | 1,350 lb | 2,250 lb |
| 12,000 lb | 1,200 lb | 1,800 lb | 1,800 lb | 3,000 lb |
| 15,000 lb | 1,500 lb | 2,250 lb | 2,250 lb | 3,750 lb |
Why both ends of the range matter
Below 10%, the trailer's center of mass sits too close to its axle, and any crosswind or passing truck can start an oscillation that grows with speed. Loading heavy items ahead of the trailer axle is the fix. Above 15%, the rear of the truck squats, the headlights aim at the sky and the front tires lose grip, which steering and braking both need. A weight-distributing hitch moves part of that load back to the front axle, but it does not reduce the weight the truck carries: the weight distribution page covers it.
Tongue limits printed for the hitch itself
The percentage is only half of the rule; the hitch has a ceiling in pounds as well. Chevrolet allows 600 lb of tongue on a Tahoe with a weight-carrying hitch, which limits the trailer to 5,000 lb, and asks for a weight-distributing hitch with sway control above that, up to 1,250 lb of tongue (Chevrolet guide, p. 41). Ford rates the F-150 receiver at 500 lb of tongue as a weight-carrying hitch and 1,400 lb with load bars (Ford guide, p. 19). So a 7,000 lb trailer at 15% passes the share test but already needs the bars on both vehicles. The receiver and the ball mount you bought carry their own stamped ratings, and the lowest figure in the chain is the one that counts. Toyota prints its ceiling beside the rating itself: 1,200 lb of tongue for the Tundra 4x2 Double Cab and 650 lb for the Tacoma XtraCab, a tenth of each truck's best trailer rating, so a trailer loaded at 15% on its tongue passes Toyota's limit well before it reaches the rating.
How to weigh the tongue
A tongue scale reads it directly. A bathroom scale works for light trailers if a short post brings the coupler to towing height. For heavier trailers, a truck stop scale gives three numbers when the rig crosses with the truck's axles on separate pads: weigh once hitched and once with the trailer dropped, and the rise on the truck's axles is the tongue weight. Weigh it loaded as you travel, with water, gear and propane. Weigh it again after any change in the way the trailer is packed: moving a full fresh water tank or a generator from behind the axle to the front changes the tongue weight, and the share you measured last season no longer holds.
The tongue comes out of the payload
Every pound on the ball is a pound of cargo for the truck. With 1,050 lb of tongue, a half-ton pickup with a door-label payload of, say, 1,800 lb, has little left for four people and their bags. Check what remains below, then run the full check on the towing capacity checker.
Payload left once the tongue is on
Payload left for the trailer tongue
1,225 lb
| Payload | 1,800 lb |
| People, cargo and hitch | 575 lb |
| Heaviest trailer at 10% tongue | 12,250 lb |
| At 12% tongue | 10,208 lb |