Airstream INTERNATIONAL TRAILER, Owner'S Manual, Page: 19 / 138

AIRSTREAM INTERNATIONAL TRAILER OWNERS MANUAL
B-5
WEIGHING YOUR TRAILER
The diagram below shows how to weigh the trailer on
scales.
When loading heavy objects such as tools, skillets, irons, and boxes of canned
goods, etc. keep them as low
as possible - preferably on the floor. Try to hold additional weight behind the axle to a minimum.
The allowable personal cargo must be distributed in your trailer in such a manner that the Gross Axle
Weight Rating is not exceeded.
To determine this it is necessary to load all of your allowable personal cargo and variable weights. Then
hitch the trailer to the tow vehicle with load equalizing hitch properly adjusted as shown on the following
pages.
Place the trailer on a scale with both axles only on the scale (see 2). If the weight on the axles exceeds the
axle system G.A.W.R. then some of the personal cargo must be redistributed forward in order to place
some of this weight on the tongue.
The tongue weight should be in between 10% - 15% of the trailer's total weight, but must not exceed 1,000
lbs. Some tow vehicle manufacturers may restrict the amount of tongue load to a lower value. To determine
tongue load, unhitch tow vehicle and place the tongue hitch post on a scale. The trailer must be properly
loaded as determined above, with your allowable personal cargo and variable weights.
Used a scale, such as a bathroom scale, that has a
lower weight limit than your tongue load to check
the tongue weight by using the following method
(see illustration).
Place a piece of wood of approximately the same
thickness as the bathroom scales on the ground in
line with the trailer hitch jack as shown. It should be
so spaced that a short piece of pipe or other round
piece will lay exactly one foot from the centerline of
the jack extension. Place the scales so that another
round piece can be exactly two feet from the
centerline of the jack extension in the other
direction. Place a 4 x 4 on the two round pieces and
screw the jack extension down on the top of the 4 x
4 until the tongue of the trailer is supported by it.
Multiply the scale reading by three. This will be the
tongue weight of your trailer. If you exceed the capacity of the bathroom scales, increase the two-foot
dimension to three or four more feet, but always multiply the scale reading by the total number of feet
between the wood and scales.
CAUTION
: Be sure trailer is level when you read scales.