T@DA weight distribution

gg144

We've finally had some time (and $) to get things ready to roll on our new-to-us 2010 T@DA. As I've had her in the driveway I've been thinking about all the heavy things that are forward of the axle--battery, propane, 22 gal h2O tank, cool cat, and now, foam mattress.  

I'd thought about a bike rack on the hitch or tongue, and taking the spare out from the seeming death trap of a location it currently sits beneath the body. But I just see Price Is Right type spinning numbers rolling up in terms of tongue weight. I'm not even sure about carrying my inflatable SUP in the storage area. 

I've decided to leave the spare as is and maybe carry bikes inside T@DA while traveling--in the back by the bath. 

Any thoughts? Reassurance?

We are towing with 4Runner so we have lbs to spare, but it still seems really imbalanced. 

Ginger

Verna

Ginger, how does it tow?  If it bounces, sways or is hard to keep in line, then there's a problem.  If you haven't towed it around the neighborhood, try it.  See what happens. 

Something as simple as 35 lbs of tent poles made my Silver Shadow teardrop feel a bit strange.  I moved them on top of the axle in the under mattress storage and it solved the "funny" feeling. 

So, you can just rearrange items inside.  As you said, I'd say yes to bikes inside towards the rear, but take a test run first to see how it tows.  It'll tell you how it feels.  When I bought my spare tire, Pleasant Valley Teardrop told me the shipping weight was 38 lbs.  So, you do have some weight in the rear already.

TABaker

Ginger, you might want to join the T@DA and T@B Facebook page or the Yahoo owners' forum, as your T@DA isn't a teardrop and you might get more response over there.  Just a suggestion.  I'm not sure there are many T@DA owners here on Little Guy's forum.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/87969923985/

gg144

Verna - We've just transitioned from a SS to this larger one. It's a significantly different feel. No bounce or sway. I drove it 1000 miles home from where we bought it. The SS was so easy we never gave weight a thought. 

TABaker - I'm on that FB page but depending on how people consume that media, it may or may not show up in everyone's feeds, whereas this format is much more static...relatively. I hoped that enough T@DAs were on here that they may see it in a day or so.

Verna

Lisa33 has a T@DA.  GG, you could try a private message to her.  She has quite a few thousand miles on her T@DA.

I would imagine the SS did have a different feel.  Sometimes you just have to take off driving, and try different weight configurations if something just doesn't feel right.  I'm sure no one else would have noticed what I felt when the tent poles were in the wrong place in the under mattress storage.  If you're the driver, you'll get used to it. 

Lisa33

Hi Ginger.  According to the original T@DA brochure, the tongue weight on a T@DA is only 153 lbs, which for a 2100 lb trailer is rather tongue-light.  Ideally, tongue weight should be in the range of 10-15% of the trailer weight, which would be 210-315 lbs for the T@DA.  I found that my T@DA felt like it wasn't sitting down on the ball when I first got it and towed it.  Since then, I've added an additional 60-lb battery and solar panels forward of the axle and it tows really well.