What Drivers Need to Know About Tongue Weight
A trailer hitch can make life much easier in many situations. Anyone who has one installed on their car doesn't need to rent a van for a large purchase at the hardware store or furniture shop, for example. A much more affordable rental trailer is often all that's needed. A trailer hitch also comes in handy for hauling bulky waste or garden debris. And on vacation, you can bring your own holiday accommodation along in the form of a caravan. Trailer hitches are also suitable for attaching cargo boxes or bike racks. To avoid compromising safety while driving with a trailer and to prevent penalties in the event of an inspection, it is essential to always comply with tongue weight regulations.
Know and Follow the Relevant Rules
The tongue weight is the maximum weight that may press down on a trailer hitch from above. It is therefore not identical to the maximum towing capacity and should never be confused with it. While the maximum towing capacity may well be underutilized — for example, when driving with an empty trailer — the situation with tongue weight is somewhat different. It must likewise not be exceeded, but it is advisable to make full use of it. A certain amount of tongue weight helps stabilize the vehicle-trailer combination while driving. This is just as safety-relevant on a short trip to the hardware store as it is on a vacation with a caravan on demanding routes, such as crossing the Alps to the French Mediterranean coast. Professional installation of the trailer hitch by qualified experts such as those at Rameder is taken for granted here. The type of trailer plays no role in determining the tongue weight. The principle is always the same. What matters is the actual gross weight of the trailer. At least four percent of this is required as tongue weight. If a small trailer including its load weighs 500 kilograms, the necessary tongue weight is therefore 20 kilograms.
Violations Can Result in Fines and Penalty Points
Anyone who disregards the regulations on tongue weight risks — depending on the severity of the violation — a warning fine or administrative fine. If the permissible tongue weight is exceeded by more than 50 percent, a penalty point in Flensburg may also be imposed. A tongue weight scale is the best tool for determining the tongue weight. Drivers who regularly travel with a trailer should ideally keep such a measuring instrument in their trunk at all times. Whether it is a model with an analog or digital display makes no difference. What matters, however, is a sufficiently large measuring range. If no tongue weight scale is available, a conventional bathroom scale can be used instead. Two boards are needed: one is placed flat on the scale, and the other is stood upright on top of it. The drawbar must then be lowered using the jockey wheel until the coupling head rests on the vertically standing board. The jockey wheel should then be hanging a few millimeters above the ground. To ensure an accurate measurement, the coupling head resting on the vertical board must be at approximately the same height as the trailer hitch of the vehicle in its loaded condition. Reading the tongue weight directly under the jockey wheel is not permissible. This would produce a value that is too high and therefore not meaningful.
