you can take weight off the tongue by mounting propane cylinders not on the tongue. Sounds stupidly simplistic but its very much the case. I cant see a popup being too much for your cherokee with weight near the axle. the simple length of the tongue is why you can probably lift it with nothing in the camper , i presume, at least it not be crushingly heavy.
Also, have you actually gotten a proper hitch scale? Because 40 pounds at the front of the trailer not at the tongue isnt going to be 40 pounds on the tongue especially if the axle isnt that far away. weight behind the axle is also going to pull weight off the tongue but you shouldnt really attempt to ballast the tongue by adding behind the axle, im just saying you should consider a tongue scale that can be bought to determine how much is on the tongue. Also, if you have the trailer perfectly level, or is it slightly sloped back, or is it pinning downward to the hitch? A perfectly level trailer is gonna have more on the tongue than one thats tipping ever so much back from having it hitched higher up. A picture of how your trailer looks on your hitch on level ground could help us provide thoughts on it.
Also, have you actually gotten a proper hitch scale? Because 40 pounds at the front of the trailer not at the tongue isnt going to be 40 pounds on the tongue especially if the axle isnt that far away. weight behind the axle is also going to pull weight off the tongue but you shouldnt really attempt to ballast the tongue by adding behind the axle, im just saying you should consider a tongue scale that can be bought to determine how much is on the tongue. Also, if you have the trailer perfectly level, or is it slightly sloped back, or is it pinning downward to the hitch? A perfectly level trailer is gonna have more on the tongue than one thats tipping ever so much back from having it hitched higher up. A picture of how your trailer looks on your hitch on level ground could help us provide thoughts on it.
