HaulingAss
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2020
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- Location
- Western Washington, USA
- Vehicles
- Cybertruck DM, 2010 F-150, 2018 Performance Model 3, 2024 Performance Model 3
That's a rule of thumb I've heard for the last 40 years. It's generally a reasonable balance. But every tow rig/trailer setup is different and a rule of thimb will only take you so far, especially as you start to approach the tow limits of the tow vehicle/trailer.
In Europe people use much smaller, lighter tow vehicles than we do in N. America. They don't take things as lax as N. Americans tend to. But they do run much lighter tongue weights (around 7% of the trailer weight) and many countries ban the use of weight distributing hitches for safety reasons. When your tow ball is close to the rear axle, you have most of the battle won. Because the trailer doesn't have the leverage advantage on the tow vehicle. The Cybertruck is better in this regard than my F-150. The other huge advantage it has is chassis stiffness.
Europeans also tend to have less play in their receivers, which is a huge advantage. I'm often shocked at how loose of a fit some ball mounts are into some receivers here in N. America. The dimensional tolerances are all over the board. This is what can create an unsettling clanking between the trailer and the tow rig, and contributes to trailer sway incidents. Always buy high quality tow ball mounts, this is no place to price shop, there is a lot of real crap on the American market. Sure, it's probably not going to break if you stay within its weight rating, but there is a lot more to controlling a big trailer than whether your ball mount broke or not! There are even ball mount solutions that eliminate the play beween the mount and the receiver. Not only are they quieter and more relaxing, they are less likely to contribute to trailer sway.
I'm going to mention tire pressures again because I rarely see anyone mention this and it's critical to reducing the tendency of the trailer to sway. Do not err on the side of under-inflating your tires, especially on the trailer tires. The air pressure is what supports the load! It also gives structure to the tire. The Cybertruck AT tires should be aired up to 65 psi. This also reduces the tendency towards trailer sway.
Really, the Cybertruck has so much going for it in terms of towing dynamics, it's going to be the last truck in it's class that is crying out for a weight distributing hitch, assuming you balance the tongue weight properly. With good equipment, good tires, and a stiff trailer with proper wheel alignment, you may find that if you go below the 10% tongue weight rule of thumb you might end up with a safer solution than if you rigidly adhere to the 10% rule of thumb. But people like to parrot this number because they want to contribute to the conversation. It's an easy to remember rule of thumb and it makes you sound like you know what you are talking about. But it's also true that additional tongue weight can cover up other deficiencies (even if it introduces deficiencies of its own). A lot of tongue weight is not a good way to cure inherent problems.
The closer you tow near the rated limits, the more critical tongue weight becomes. If you are far below the rated limits you can run crappy equipment and add tongue weight as a safety measure but if you are pushing close to the rated limits you need good equipment and need to ensure you don't have excessive tongue weight (because higher tongue weight reduces steering control).
In the end you should be completely comfortable with the driving dynamics of what you are towing, and you shouldn't rely on general rules of thumb for your safety. Practice avoidance maneuvers in a safe environment. Change the ball height or weight balance and re-test. I've towed a huge combination of trailers and tow rigs, mostly work related, owned by others or borrowed, some were great and some let you know that it was a suboptimal solution. You can tell by the way the two work together as you drive them. They can be very sensitive to small changes in the height of the tow ball and the load balance of the weight in the trailer. Car haulers and cargo trailers in particular can go awry quickly simply because the placement of the load is always changing. Never become lax about load placement.
Even a poorly setup trailer can be relatively safe at slow speeds but I don't think you have to be an expert to know something is not right. Cheap trailer tires are the bane of towing near the limit. I know many would like to think thier safety is well regulated by the government and that manufacturers wouldn't put crappy trailer tires out there, but that's exactly what happens when you price shop. You get crappy trailer tires and it matters.
There is too much at risk to ignore obvious warning signs that your combination is unstable. It should feel solid and secure. Problems tend to happen as speeds increase. So, if it feels solid and secure during a high-speed test run, you will probably not have a problem going 15 mph slower. If you notice problems as speeds increase, don't just drive slower, stop and fix the problem.
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