Pontiac 1996 Grand Am Owner's Manual page 184

Weight of the Trailer Tongue
The tongue load (A) of any trailer
is an
important
weight to measure because it affects the total capacity
weight of your vehicle. The capacity weight includes the
curb weight of the vehicle, any cargo you may carry in
it, and the people who will be riding in the vehicle. And
if you will tow a trailer, you must subtract the tongue
_.
load from your vehicle's capacity weight because your
vehicle will be carrying that weight, too. See "Loading
Your Vehicle"
in
the
Index for more
information about
yow vehicle's maximum load capacity.
B
If you're using a "dead-weight" hitch, the trailer
tongue (A) should weigh 10% of
the
total loaded trailer
weight (€3).
If you have a "weight-distributing" hitch,
the trailer tongue (A) should weigh 12% of the total
loaded trailer weight (B).
After you've loaded your trailer, weigh the trailer and
then the tongue, separately, to see if the weights me
proper. If they aren't, you may be able to get
them
right
simply by moving some items around in the trailer.
Total Weight on Your Vehicle's Tires
Be sure your vehicle's
tires
are
inflated to
the
recornended pressure for cold tires. You'll find these
numbers on the Certification label at the rear edge of
the
driver's door or
see
"Loading Your Vehicle" in the
Index. Then be sure you don't go over the GVW limit
for your vehicle, including the weight of the trailer
r
tongue.
. '
.
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4-36