I took the battery off the A-frame. Hitch weight went down to 242, about a 55 lb gain.
The 242 was with 2 empty 5 lb propane bottles in place.
I added 33 lbs to the battery box, which would be the equivalent of a 100 AH Lithium battery. Hitch weight went to 275 lbs.
Now for the interesting part… I added 66 lbs in the trailer, just ahead of the “step”. Hitch weight only went to 283 lbs., an increase of only 8 lbs.
I removed the 33 lbs. from the battery box. Added another 25 lbs inside the trailer and ended up with a hitch weight of 250 lbs.
All this playing around was to convince myself that going Lithium is a good plan. The battery will be installed in the left storage area along with a 2000 watt inverter.
Hopefully the end result will be a hitch weight closer to the 10% instead of the 15%+. The added benefit will be Hydro equivalent power throughout the trailer as needed. May not run the AC but at least it’ll run the AC in fan mode. I would’ve preferred the 12 volt fan instead of AC but didn’t have that option.
Lithium battery on order: 100 AH Battle Born Batteries.