First weigh
About 10 minutes and $20 at a public weighbridge. Load the van as if you are leaving in the morning.
1. Load the trip
Food, clothes, tools, gas, and water in the tanks. The dog, if the dog is coming.
2. Weigh the vehicle on its own
Unhooked. That is GVM before the ball weight goes on.
3. Hook up and weigh again
The extra weight on the back of the vehicle is roughly the ball weight. Photograph both slips.
4. Keep the slip
Photograph the slip. The paper beats the brochure.
A total for the vehicle and a total for the van is enough to start. Axle groups show you whether the load is sitting where you want it.
Weigh the vehicle unhooked first if you can. One hitched weigh still helps. It does not split out how much of that weight is the ball.