Need quick answer...will it blend...er...tow

[sahls01gmc]

My left hangs lower than my right as well....always has since I started paying attention to it more in high school.

 

 

I'm impressed with your dedication to towing your trailer correctly. "Most" people just hook up and go, and we usually find them in the ditch or with blown out tires. I'll make sure to give you a thumbs up if I see you trucking down the road!

[Roscopcoletrain]

Thanks. Im quite amazed at how many people don't care about these things.

 

I want to make sure things are done right. No way Im putting my family in danger over something I can fix or change.

[Jon A]

 

right, but would it put weight back onto the front wheels is the question?

 

Correct, airbags don't move weight around. What they do is make your suspension much, much better under load. A WD hitch can only do so much--you'll still have around 100% of your tongue weight on your rear axle. Making your suspension better will be beneficial even with a WDH. Your measurements show you're restoring about 100% to the front, you really don't want to exceed that.

[Roscopcoletrain]

I ordered a set of Sumosprings. I looked at Timbrens but decided Sumosprings would be a better option to just firm things up when hitched up.

[Jsdirt]

I don't even add air to my bags when towing. The bags really shine when I need to haul a 2,400 lb. pallet of coal in the back - will make the truck sit dead level ... unlike this truck here:

[Chevor]

Obviously he needs a front hitch a cargo carrier. Equalize some of that weight.

[Roscopcoletrain]

Obviously he needs a front hitch a cargo carrier. Equalize some of that weight.

I was thinking just fill the grill with bricks

[calgator73]

I think you've got it about perfect... Just practice safe towing driving techniques and you'll be fine

 

Sent from my LGLS990 using Tapatalk

[Jsdirt]

That was the only time that truck ever had a nice ride quality ...

 

Actually in that pic, there's about 3k in the back.

[Roscopcoletrain]

Hit the scales. Much better this time around. Although i was only able to do what i did last time, as there were people there using it, so was limited at the time i had.

 

So I added to the front, took some off the rear. reduced overall weight. I had no water, no mother in law, but went from an empty tank of fuel to a 3/4 full tank. I've got about 50lbs in my E-rated tires. May go up to 60 or so. See if that firms things up more or not.

 

[Roscopcoletrain]

Well, I kinda made a boo boo. Changed two things, and towing is horrible. Its so squirmy, is the best way I can describe it. You'll be going along, then the rear feels loose to the right, you correct and it quickly comes back, so you correct back again. It just seems like its a constant battle squirming around.

 

SO first added the sumo springs in the rear to replace the factory bump stop. You can see in the pic here they are just touching when everything is hitched up. I also switched tires. Went with Cooper discoverer atw LT tires. I had them at 55psi. On the way home i bumped the from to 65 and the rear to 70 to see if it would get rid of the squirm. I guess the easiest thing to try and remove the SumoSprings and see if it gets better. I cant really swap tires again.

 

I hate trying to throw money at this. You think it be worth replacing the shocks and struts? They're probably the original ones. 135km on the truck. Besides that, Im not sure where to go next. Larger front/rear sway bar??

 

[Jsdirt]

Usually you will get a squirm like that if the trailer is loaded too tail-heavy. Thing will want to constantly whip above a certain speed. If you can move more of the cargo forward of the trailers leading axle, it may help some, rather than having to spend money on parts.

[Roscopcoletrain]

Usually you will get a squirm like that if the trailer is loaded too tail-heavy. Thing will want to constantly whip above a certain speed. If you can move more of the cargo forward of the trailers leading axle, it may help some, rather than having to spend money on parts.

 

hmm, that makes sense then. So with the sumosprings, its not allowed the rear to come down as much, and with the hitch adjustment I did before, its putting to much on the front of the truck/rear of the trailer. So I guess the simplest solution would be to adjust the hitch back to the previous spot if Im keeping the sumo springs on.

[Jsdirt]

Anything added to the suspension of the truck shouldn't make a big difference in handling - the most noticeable factor in handling is weight distribution. If you don't have a minimum of 10% of the trailer's weight as tongue weight, things will get hairy. 15% is better. If you don't know how much weight is where, when in doubt, move the cargo towards the hitch.

 

With my flatbed, whenever it gets squirrelly like that, I'll unstrap the car and pull it forward 6" - makes all the difference in the world. Will transform the behavior from a whipping, swerving death trap over 50 mph, to smooth as glass up to 75. Over time I've learned the best place for the front wheels to be on many different vehicles so that doesn't happen. The weight distribution setup I got also made an enormous difference in how it all handles too. I haven't had a white-knuckled ride in a long time.

[Roscopcoletrain]

Anything added to the suspension of the truck shouldn't make a big difference in handling - the most noticeable factor in handling is weight distribution. If you don't have a minimum of 10% of the trailer's weight as tongue weight, things will get hairy. 15% is better. If you don't know how much weight is where, when in doubt, move the cargo towards the hitch.

 

With my flatbed, whenever it gets squirrelly like that, I'll unstrap the car and pull it forward 6" - makes all the difference in the world. Will transform the behavior from a whipping, swerving death trap over 50 mph, to smooth as glass up to 75. Over time I've learned the best place for the front wheels to be on many different vehicles so that doesn't happen. The weight distribution setup I got also made an enormous difference in how it all handles too. I haven't had a white-knuckled ride in a long time.

 

well, it seemed much worse this past time and I know we packed no more, maybe less then usual for this trip. The only difference was the tires and the sumosprings. I'll adjust the WD hitch back to the previous spot and see if it makes a difference. Go figure this was the one time I didnt take it over the scales. doh