I have the monroe load levelers and they work great, Superior ride over stock!

 

That is overweight on both total trailer weight AND tongue weight for towing off the bumper. Also I have seen that manufacturer trailer weights seem to be conservative so its probably even further overweight than that.

 

You're right. My bad. I just went outside and checked the markings on my 2005 bumper, and it says 2,000 lbs gross trailer weight, 200 lbs max tongue weight. The user manual says:

"All Dodge Dakota trucks are intended to tow trailers up to 2,000 lbs without added equipment or alterations to standard equipment. Your vehicle MAY be equipped for safe towing of trailers over 2,000 lbs with the trailer tow package." (My emphasis.)

So you're right; 2300/250 is over spec. Not by much, but still. IF you don't have the factory tow package.

 

What about if you have the towing package?? There is no writing on either my bumper or the hitch...

 

FIRST...We still dont know if the OP is using the bumper or a hitch BUT even if he is using the bumper that little bit of weight should not cause the truck to sag like he is describing.

 

You are right it shouldn't. I've just noticed that bumper towing makes the back of a truck squat even more compared to a normal reciever.

 

what I have is the CURT Class III Hitch - 2" Receiver Tube Opening, which bolts onto the existing tube hitch. this thing is rated for 5000/500 lbs.
I do not have the tow package on my truck I suppose, but I do have the tow/haul on my shifter.
And I understand that the standard shocks do not help with the bottoming out issue and towing, but the load handlers do - up to 1200lbs they are rated, like adding a helper spring to my existing incredibly weak springs.
Looks like I will not be towing this trailer again after all, but I will proceed with the shocks anyways. I will let everybody know what the difference is, if any, before and after.
Thanks to all for your input!

 

Doing rear shocks on a truck is a 20 minute job. A bolt at the top, and one at the bottom.

That being said...

normally with regular shocks you can compress the shock until it lines up with the mounting position on the axle, slip the bolt in, done deal.

With load levelers, they have those springs on them....so compressing them by hand may not be possible. You may need to jack the truck up to try to line the mounting holes up at the axle. You may very well have to work with the shocks in a fully extended position only.

Good Luck.

My father has them on his ranger and they have been great for years now.

 

shocks are in, they look great, i can post pics if anyone wants to see them.
they absolutely helped with the ride height of the truck, even raised up the rear maybe an inch.
my 'old' Rancho rs9000's that came off the back were beyond shot. after pushing the piston all the way with nearly no effort, it stayed down. no rebound at all.

BUT - my new problem - the way my Flowmaster muffler is mounted underneath, which would be not perfectly vertical to the ground - when I attach the trailer and drop the rear end down a few inches, it's actually pulling the muffler into the drivetrain.
it almost acts as a lathe on the drivetrain, but only slightly.
I'm thinking of going with a Mangaflow glass-pak to fit a thinner muffler in there...
thoughts?