Discussion Overview and Problem

Your close friend from high school recently bought a new Jeep Wrangler and a small camping trailer to get in some "boondocking." Your friend

knows that you are studying engineering and asked you for some help in making sure that the tongue weight limit of $450$ lbs $.$ for the Jeep is not

exceeded. The friend took the loaded $15-$foot trailer to a truck scale, disconnected the trailer that has $10-$feet between the single axel wheels and

the hitch point to the Jeep, and then leveled the trailer and determined that the total trailer weight was $1976$ lbs $.$ Your friend loaded the trailer

over the wheels as prescribed by the manufacturer who reported that the trailer center of gravity $($C$.$G$.)$ is by design $1-$foot forward of the axel.

Note the diagram of the trailer tongue and use the shown method to verify that the maximum allowable tongue weight has not been exceeded.

State all assumptions and you don't want to break your bathroom scale either $($capacity is $396$ lbs$.),$ so how long of a board should be used

between the pipes shown in the sketch? What is your estimated tongue weight? If you use a white pine $2$xx$4$ board how much deflection would

you expect and will the resultant of the board bending change your tongue weight estimate more than $5\%?$ Should you acquire a rectangular

aluminum tube of the necessary length, to not damage your bathroom scale, that is $1//2$ half the dimensions provided in sample problem $4\mathrm{.}1,$ will

your tongue weight estimate be more or less accurate than the weight obtained using the white pine board? Why?

Review the Course Discussion Overview page tor more intormation on the discussion expectations. create a matlab code to go with the solutions