https://gethitchmargin.com/ Free RV towing tools for US drivers: check payload, tongue weight and axle limits, and match your tow vehicle to a trailer with clear numbers and plain answers. en Thu, 05 Nov 2026 01:04:08 GMT https://gethitchmargin.com/rv-fresh-water-boondocking-how-long/https://gethitchmargin.com/rv-fresh-water-boondocking-how-long/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 01:04:08 GMTWith careful boondocking habits, about 5 gallons per person per day, a couple gets roughly 4 days from a 40-gallon fresh tank. With house habits the same tank is gone in under a day, because two 8-minute showers on a standard 2.5 gpm showerhead use all 40 gallons. In many travel trailers the gray tank fills before the fresh tank runs dry, because everything except drinking water and toilet flushes drains into it. To find your limit, divide your fresh tank by your total daily use and your gray tank by the water that goes down the drains: the smaller number is how many days you can stay. https://gethitchmargin.com/travel-trailer-tongue-weight-calculator/https://gethitchmargin.com/travel-trailer-tongue-weight-calculator/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 01:04:08 GMTTo estimate travel trailer tongue weight, multiply the trailer's GVWR (its maximum loaded weight) by 13%, the middle of the 10 to 15% guideline. Add your weight-distribution hitch, your passengers and the cargo in the truck, then subtract the total from the payload printed on your driver's door-jamb sticker. Zero or more means you are within payload; a negative number means you are over, and you still need to check the receiver and ball mount tongue ratings. Example: a 7,500 lb GVWR trailer puts about 975 lb on the hitch. https://gethitchmargin.com/weigh-trailer-cat-scale/https://gethitchmargin.com/weigh-trailer-cat-scale/Thu, 05 Nov 2026 01:04:08 GMTTo weigh a trailer at a CAT Scale, you cross the scale three times: the full rig with the weight distribution hitch engaged, the same rig with the bars released, then the truck alone with the trailer unhitched. Each time, the steer axle goes on platform 1 and the drive axle on platform 2, and the trailer shows up on platform 3. Real tongue weight is the truck's steer plus drive with the bars released, minus the truck's steer plus drive alone. You then check every reading against the ratings on your door-jamb sticker, owner's manual and hitch.