Hey group!

I have an 03 1500 QC (4.7). I recently towed my ATV and a king size bed to my cabin about 350 miles from here. I noticed that the rear end sagged pretty badly. In November I'm planning a trip to Colorado towing 2 ATV's. Can someone give me some advice on stiffening up the back springs? I know my truck will tow the weight, but I'm afraid if we get a couple elk, while we are out there I'm gunna be riding a wheelie the whole way home

Thanks!

 

What kind of trailer are you using?

 

Its an Aluma 2 place ATV trailer.

 

Well I have no idea why it sags so much. When I go out I have a dirt bike and an ATV in the bed thats around 500 plus pounds, and I tow a small trailer with 2 other atv's on them. I dont sag to much. I am able to see that it is lower in the back but it brings it down almost even with the front. Does yours sit lower than the front?

 

sounds like your tongue weight is way off.... even with 500 lbs directly on your bumper there should not be that much sagging.

 

my tongue weight on my trialer I would say is no more than 500lbs. I would think to get the rear end to sag as much as wmichell227 you would need alot more. Does anyone know what the max tongue weight is for a 1500 is?

 

not sure. but i know when we go out to the track (in my 02 4.7) we put 12 wheels in the bed, as well as probably 200lbs of tools in the bed, then tow a trailer with 400lb tongue weight and tow a trailer with car on it (trailer and car weighing in at 3800lbs. and the truck sits level (i do have a 4x4 though) but i can barely tell anything is back there

 

The maximum tongue weight should be between 10 to 15% of his total trailer weight, that is the weight of the trailer along with the weight of what he is carrying on it. You can estimate this, but to be sure you could take it to the scales. As far as how much tongue weight that the truck will carry, you must not exceed the GAWR of the vehicle in question. Tongue weight must be included, along with the weight of the vehicle and its payload (what's in the vehicle). Once this weight is known, you know that you are not overloading your axle. Total axle carrying weight is usually fairly evenly distributed between the front and rear, for an example; On an 06 Dodge 1500 SLT, QC, 2WD, this weight is 3700# on the rear, and 3900 pounds on the front. It needs to be noted that with a class III hitch (that's a ball on your bumper) the maximum tongue weight is 500 pounds, and with the class IV (one that usually comes on the truck if it had a tow package, or was put under the bumper later) is 1200 pounds.

Having said the above, it sounds like wmichell227 has more of a weight distribution problem than anything else. He either must re-distribute the cargo on the trailer or he needs to be using a weight-distributing hitch. I'm betting he doesn't have much option on redistribution of the trailer cargo, so his best bet would be to invest in a weight-distributing hitch. I'm not familiar with the trailer he has, so I don't know if this type hitch is available for it or not. These type hitches are more often used when towing trailers with much greater weight than he has.

As a note, putting stiffer suspension parts on the truck will not satisfactorily correct a basic, out of balance situation such as this. Better shocks will often help with stability while towing, but it is unlikely to do much for the problem he has. A better solution would be to shift some of the weight off of the rear axles, either by re-distributing it to the trailer, or with the equalizer hitch, to the front axles of the truck. The proper hitch will do both. You need to also keep in mind if the trailer weight (which includes what is on it) is 1000 pounds or over, the trailer should have brakes independent of the vehicle.

 

My truck with a polaris 500 ATV in the back and a trailer with a 1000 lb motorcycle sitting on it squats down about 2 inches with no changes to the rear suspension. I recommend to everyone who asks this to look into air bag assist springs. They are in my opinion the best thing for additional load. More load, add more air. No load, run minimum pressure so you retain the empty ride characteristics. Best of both worlds. Kit will cost around $200 I think.

 

You have a lot of good replies here. With that weight there should be very little rear end sag. As was mentioned, check the tongue weight. Too much and you can sag, too little and you give up rear traction/control. Even with the 4.7, I would think that truck would handle 6-7,000# towing.