Chock & Level Search
Search every guide

Tongue Weight and Payload Calculator

By Kyle TiceUpdated October 24, 2026Runs in your browser; nothing is sent anywhere.

Inputs

Trailer
Tow vehicle

Payload sticker: the yellow "Tire and Loading Information" label on the driver's door jamb, "The combined weight of occupants and cargo should never exceed XXXX lb." That number already subtracts the truck's own weight with a full tank. A weight-distribution hitch head and bars typically weigh 70 to 100 lb; a fifth-wheel hitch 150 to 250 lb. Confirm everything on a certified scale before a long trip.

What the calculator does

Two things. First it takes the loaded trailer weight (not the brochure dry weight) and gives you the tongue-weight window: 10 to 15 percent of trailer weight for a conventional ball hitch, 15 to 25 percent pin weight for a fifth wheel. Second it does the payload subtraction that the towing-capacity number on the brochure skips: payload minus people, minus cargo, minus hitch hardware, minus tongue weight. What's left is your margin.

If you enter a measured tongue weight it checks it against the window. Below 10 percent on a ball hitch is the dangerous direction; that is the setup that sways.

The formulas

  • Tongue weight target (conventional) = loaded trailer weight × 0.10 to 0.15. Midpoint 0.125.
  • Pin weight target (fifth wheel) = loaded trailer weight × 0.15 to 0.25. Midpoint 0.20.
  • Remaining payload = payload − people − cargo − hitch hardware − tongue (measured if given, otherwise the midpoint target).

Why loaded weight, not dry weight

A trailer's sticker dry weight leaves out propane (a full 20 lb cylinder is about 37 lb, a 30 lb cylinder about 55 lb), batteries (a Group 27 flooded battery is about 60 lb), fresh water at 8.34 lb per gallon, and everything you own. A 5,200 lb dry trailer easily tows at 6,500 lb. Tongue weight scales with that, and so does the payload it eats.

Reading the result

ResultWhat it means
Tongue below 10% (ball hitch)Move weight forward of the trailer axles (front pass-through, under the bed) or move cargo out of the rear. Do not tow it this way at highway speed.
Tongue above 15%Usually fine for the trailer but it costs payload and can overload the rear axle. Check the rear GAWR on a scale.
Remaining payload negativeThe truck is over its rating with this trailer as loaded. A weight-distribution hitch does not add payload; it moves load between axles.
Remaining payload under ~10% of stickerLegal, but a cooler and two more passengers puts you over. Weigh it.

How to measure tongue weight three different ways, and how to adjust it, is in the tongue weight guide. The door-sticker math with worked examples is in payload, not towing capacity.