How to Reduce the Tongue Weight on a Five Wheel Trailer
- 1). Redistribute the load so that more of it lay either above or behind the trailer's front axle. You can think of load distribution as positive, neutral or negative. Weight ahead of the axle is "positive," and it adds tongue weight. Load behind the axle is "negative," as it counteracts weight ahead of the axle and effectively "subtracts" weight. Weight over the axle doesn't add to or subtract from tongue weight.
- 2). Add ballast to the rear of your trailer if you have the load rating to spare. Hypothetically, if you have a trailer with 10 feet of deck surface both ahead of and behind the axle, then adding weight to the back will effectively subtract the same amount of weight from the front. Obviously, ballasting will only work if you have the load capacity to spare; otherwise, you risk over-loading the trailer.
- 3). Relocate the front-most axle closer to the front of the trailer, or take your trailer to a shop that specializes in such modifications. If you have a dual-axle trailer, then you'll need to move both axles forward, as the front and rear springs are connected. Relocating the springs is fairly simple if you have a welder; you need only unbolt the axles and move the spring hangers forward by as much as you need to.
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