Towing Capacity, Tongue Weight & Setup
The Best Tongue Weight Scales
The most important number in towing, and almost nobody measures it. These are the three ways to stop guessing.
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How we assessed these: Assessed on method and published characteristics. We publish no comparative accuracy measurements - a certified public scale remains the reference against which any portable tool is approximate.
Short answer
A dedicated tongue weight scale gives you a direct reading under the coupler. A hitch with a built-in gauge gives you the number every time you hitch without a separate step. A public weighbridge is free and the most accurate of the three.
You are aiming for 10 to 15 percent of the loaded trailer's weight on the tongue. Below 10 percent is where sway concentrates; above 15 percent you are eating payload and lightening the steering. Both failure modes are invisible until you are moving, which is why measuring beats estimating by a wide margin.
Three methods compared
| Method | Accuracy | Effort | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public weighbridge | Highest - certified scale | A trip, twice per measurement | Low or free |
| Dedicated tongue scale | Good | Set up on level ground each time | Moderate |
| Hitch with built-in gauge | Good, slope-sensitive | None - it reads as you hitch | Highest |
| Bathroom scale and lever | Poor, and awkward | Significant | Free |
We do not recommend the bathroom-scale-and-plank method. The arithmetic amplifies small errors and the setup is unstable under several hundred pounds.
Quick picks
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. How these are chosen - and what we do and do not claim to know - is published in full on our research methodology page.
| # | Product | Best for | Our read | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scale Best dedicated scale | Measuring tongue weight at home | Direct reading, no arithmetic, no batteries | Check price on Amazon #ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one |
| 2 |  Weigh Safe Adjustable Drop Hitch with Built-in Tongue Weight Scale Best built-in gauge | Owners who will never visit a scale | Reads automatically every time you hitch | Check price on Amazon #ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one |
| 3 |  Camco Trailer Wheel Chocks Needed alongside | Every trailer, without exception | Chock before you unhitch to weigh | Check price on Amazon #ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one |
1. Best dedicated scale
Sherline Trailer Tongue Weight Scale
Sherline · Best for measuring tongue weight at home
A dedicated scale you sit under the coupler to read tongue weight directly, with no arithmetic and no trip to a weighbridge. It is the one tool on this site that turns the single most important towing number from a guess into a measurement.
We have not sourced a full specification table for this model from the manufacturer’s own site at a stable address. Rather than repeat figures we cannot cite, the assessment above is limited to what the design and the maker’s published description genuinely establish.
What works
- Direct reading, with no bathroom-scale-and-lever arithmetic
- Repeatable, so you can see what moving the load actually does
- Mechanical gauge with no batteries to be flat when you need it
What does not
- Must be used on level ground with the coupler at towing height
- Single-purpose tool that spends most of its life in a cupboard
Skip it if
Unnecessary if your hitch already has a built-in gauge, or if you have a public scale nearby and are happy to use it.
#ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one
Raw specifications: Sherline’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.
2. Best built-in gauge
Weigh Safe Adjustable Drop Hitch with Built-in Tongue Weight Scale
Weigh Safe · Best for owners who will never visit a scale
An adjustable drop hitch with a hydraulic gauge in the shank, so the tongue weight reads out as you lower the trailer onto the ball. It turns the single most-skipped step in towing into something that happens automatically, which is worth more than the hardware itself.
We have not sourced a full specification table for this model from the manufacturer’s own site at a stable address. Rather than repeat figures we cannot cite, the assessment above is limited to what the design and the maker’s published description genuinely establish.
What works
- Reads tongue weight every time you hitch, with no extra step
- Adjustable height and reversible for rise as well as drop
- Makes the 10-15 percent rule checkable instead of theoretical
What does not
- The gauge reads at the ball, so it is sensitive to being parked on a slope
- Heavier and considerably more expensive than a plain mount
Skip it if
Not needed if you already weigh at a public scale - the gauge is convenience, and a certified scale is still the more accurate number.
#ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one
Raw specifications: Weigh Safe’s own page. We earn nothing on that link.
3. Needed alongside
Camco Trailer Wheel Chocks
Camco · Best for every trailer, without exception
Chocks go in before you unhitch, every time. They are not an upgrade and they are not interesting; they are the thing standing between a parked trailer and a slow roll down a campground slope.
We have not sourced a full specification table for this model from the manufacturer’s own site at a stable address. Rather than repeat figures we cannot cite, the assessment above is limited to what the design and the maker’s published description genuinely establish.
What works
- Cheap insurance against the most preventable trailer accident there is
- Works on any trailer regardless of brakes or jack type
- Takes seconds and needs no setup
What does not
- Plastic chocks degrade in sun over several seasons
- Easy to leave behind at a site
Skip it if
There is no situation where you should skip chocks - if these do not suit your tire size, buy different ones rather than none.
#ad Affiliate link - we publish no price; Amazon shows the current one
The free method, properly
At a public scale
Weigh the whole rig
Tow vehicle and trailer, hitched, everything loaded as you tow it. Note the total.
Weigh with the trailer off the scale
Pull forward so only the tow vehicle sits on the platform, trailer still hitched. Note the figure.
Unhitch and weigh the tow vehicle alone
Same position, trailer detached and clear of the platform.
Do the subtraction
The difference between the second and third readings is your tongue weight. The difference between the first and the tow-vehicle-alone reading is your trailer's actual loaded weight.
Work out the percentage
Tongue weight divided by loaded trailer weight. You want 0.10 to 0.15.
Key takeaways
- Target 10 to 15 percent of loaded trailer weight on the tongue.
- A public scale is free, most accurate, and tells you several numbers at once.
- A built-in gauge is the one you will actually use every trip.
- Skip the bathroom-scale-and-plank method - the errors are larger than the margin you are checking.
How we sourced this
Every figure on this page came from one of the following, each fetched while the page was written. Where a manufacturer or regulator does not publish a number, we say so rather than estimate it.
Common questions
- How often should I measure tongue weight?
- Whenever the load changes meaningfully, and at least once for each trailer you tow. If your hitch has a gauge you get the number free every time.
- Does the scale need to be on level ground?
- Yes. Any slope changes how load distributes between the coupler and the trailer's axles, which is the quantity you are measuring.
- Is 15 percent too much?
- Not inherently - it is the top of the recommended band. The constraint is your tow vehicle's payload, since all of that weight is carried by the vehicle.
More in Towing Capacity, Tongue Weight & Setup
The number in the brochure is not the number that limits you. The one that does is on a sticker inside your driver's door.
Read next
How to
Measuring Tongue Weight
Three methods for measuring tongue weight, what each one requires, and how to interpret the result against the 10-15 percent band.
Guide
What Is Tongue Weight?
A plain explanation of tongue weight, the 10-15 percent band, and what goes wrong above and below it.
Head to head
Payload vs Towing Capacity
Why the tow rating rarely binds first, how to calculate your real limit from the labels on your vehicle, and what counts against payload.
Guide
Why Trailers Sway
The physics in plain terms, the three causes ranked by how often they are to blame, and how to tell which one you have.
Found something out of date, or a figure you can source better than we did? Corrections get read first. How we research explains how these pages are put together, and contact is one click away.