Sherline LM-5000 - Trailer Tongue Weight Scale - 5000LB

I got the 5k version for our 20 ft. enclosed trailer (for a cross country move) so I could weigh the trailer to adjust an accurate tongue weight. We had a tongue separation a while back and DON'T want that to happen again: nice and balanced for and aft and side to side for a care free ride. Anyways I placed the scale on a floor jack and raised the trailer at a point forward of the front tire (it's a tandem) and from a point aft of the rear tire and averaged the two for an estimated weight directly between the two tires (couldn't get the jack in between the two tires), then repeated this on the other side and added the two average weights together. Then after weighing the weight at the tongue jack I added that weight to the previous two averaged measurements (five weighing's total) and came up with a total of 4,000 lbs. So, to make sure that worked/to arrive at an actual scale conversion factor, I took the trailer out and had it weighed on a truck scale and it came out to 3,980 lbs. for a conversion factor of .995 (3980/4000). And with that I can arrive at a pretty accurate weight later on after it's filled with stuff. But, it came out so close, I won't even need the conversion factor. I also compared the tongue weight with this scale and the tongue weight obtained with the bathroom scale and levers method and they came out pretty close. It's a really nice simple, accurate devise that works off of hydraulic principles and you can simply swap to a lower scaled gage if you have a lite tongue to be even more accurate. A really GREAT tool for a tail dragger to have on hand.

I bought this because I was curious about my tongue weight on my trailer. I was shocked to find that I was 800lbs over on the allowed tongue weight for my hitch. With this scale I was able to readjust my load and get it where it needed to be. Great product. I'm impressed with the quality.

Know what the tongue weight of your trailer really is so that you can set it up properly. People usually look at the Average Dry Weight that the mfg lists and it's always wrong. I think all RV sales people are former politicians.......... This is small and simple to use. The easiest way is to put a stout block of wood across a floor jack, put the scale on top of it and raise it up so the post goes inside of the ball hitch. Look at the scale and there's your tongue weight.The mfg said my dry tongue weight was 800 to 850#. The scale says 1,050# and I believe the scale after towing the trailer. If you're towing with a 1/2T truck or a SUV it's very easy to exceed your hitch weight limits. And, on mine, I'm going to add two more batteries on the tongue for a total of four plus four solar panels on the top front of the trailer - you need to know what your true tongue weight is.

Great little scale to get your fifth wheel pin weight and trailer tongue weight. We don’t have any CAT scales up here in Alaska so I was curious what my pin weight was on my 2015 Heartland Cyclone 3100. Built up some 4x4 blocks and lowered the king pin onto the scale. Repeated two more times with same weight….2,400 lbs. Now I can get weights when I have it loaded up with ATVs in the back and see how much pin weight is actually lowered. Great scale for tinkering!

I've used it five or six times so far. I keep it in its original packaging and box with the wood shim when not in use. I was hung up on whether I wanted to get the 5000lb or 2000lb scale, I'm glad I did the 5,000lb. The Gauge hashes are a little difficult to read and where the gauge is placed can be hard to put an eyeball on. I used a telescoping mirror to help read it from the side instead of dead on. I suppose you could turn the gauge a bit, but I didn't want to risk messing it up. I've got a 33' Attitude tripple axle bumper pull toy hauler, using a 15k Curt WD hitch to pull it. I've always loaded the trailer to what I "thought" was proper placement for my Polaris RZR to be parked inside the trailer. The first time I scaled the tongue weight fully loaded with water/gear/UTV, it put the needle right at 1900lbs! The tongue rating is 1500lbs! I positioned the RZR towards the rear of the door with enough room to strap the toy down, and it was still 1600lbs of tongue weight. I had to unloaded the RZR and turn it around with the engine facing the rear of the door, and THEN I was able to achieve 1450lbs of tongue weight. I can tell you, it's AMAZING how much nicer the trailer is to pull with the correct tongue weight and weight distribution! I'll never go without a tongue weight scale again!

45% error when mass is less than 1000 lbs. Based on the low end accuracy I didn't waste time on confirming heavier weight accuracy. Ultimately took my trailer to a calibrated vehicle scale at the gravel pit.Disappointing given the price of the item.Update April 2022: So after playing with this scale I've learned allot. First off there is error at the low end. Second, I believe mine may have needed a few cycles as its reading much more accurate now: Reading 500 lbs when the actual weight is 488lbs (2.5% error now). Lastly and most important is the criticality of the setup to get this to read accurately (yes it is written in the manual, however it doesn't explicitly tell you how important it is). I initially put this on a floor jack then raised the tongue of my trailer. The surface the floor jack was rolling on wasn't the smoothest. Also the floor jack was near its lifting extent. This being said there was likely some misalignment and/or side loading. I changed my setup such that the front of my trailer was supported by a 4x4 stiff-leg. The scale was then put directly underneath the trailer tongue jack. I slowly use the tongue jack to lift the trailer off the stiff leg ensuring the load path through the scale was as straight as possible. This in conjunction with the cycles resulted in much closer readings with significant improvement in repeatability. Upping my rating from one star to four. I would still buy this again, but would sure liked to have known the fickleness before the first use.