Rear ride height change after towing heavy boat.

[Outlaww]

Not sure if its in my head or not, but I recently towed home a 20 ft .pontoon boat we bought, for about a 5 hr drive.    

 

 I am worried now that my truck has lost a little height in the rear.  possibly weakened the leaf springs, and squatted her some?  very little, but   It may just be in my head though. lol.

 

 It did squat the truck a little, when towing, but it wasn't drastic/gnarly.  

 

Is there a standard ride height measurement for the rear, and how do I measure it accurately ?   I assume from centre of wheel, to bottom edge of rear fender?     Any one have the same truck that could measure for me to compare?        I'd really appreciate it. 

 

Truck is a 2018 GMC Sierra Crew cab, short box, Z71 4x4 SLE. w/265/65/R18 wheels.   All COMPLETELY stock.  

 

And is there a way to tell by just looking at the leafs?    I've looked at similar trucks while driving past some, buts hard to compare visually.  with different wheel sizes. etc. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 19, 2023 by Outlaww

[GMCustomerService]

11 hours ago, Outlaww said:

Not sure if its in my head or not, but I recently towed home a 20 ft .pontoon boat we bought, for about a 5 hr drive.    

 

 I am worried now that my truck has lost a little height in the rear.  possibly weakened the leaf springs, and squatted her some?  very little, but   It may just be in my head though. lol.

 

 It did squat the truck a little, when towing, but it wasn't drastic/gnarly.  

 

Is there a standard ride height measurement for the rear, and how do I measure it accurately ?   I assume from centre of wheel, to bottom edge of rear fender?     Any one have the same truck that could measure for me to compare?        I'd really appreciate it. 

 

Truck is a 2018 GMC Sierra Crew cab, short box, Z71 4x4 SLE. w/265/65/R18 wheels.   All COMPLETELY stock.  

 

And is there a way to tell by just looking at the leafs?    I've looked at similar trucks while driving past some, buts hard to compare visually.  with different wheel sizes. etc. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is certainly not what we like to hear, Outlaww.  Please know, customer satisfaction is extremely important to us. Our team would be more than happy to take a closer look into the concerns with the suspension on your 2018 GMC Sierra. To do so, please send an email to [email protected] with ATTN: Outlaww/GM Trucks in the subject line.

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[newdude]

12 hours ago, Outlaww said:

Not sure if its in my head or not, but I recently towed home a 20 ft .pontoon boat we bought, for about a 5 hr drive.    

 

 I am worried now that my truck has lost a little height in the rear.  possibly weakened the leaf springs, and squatted her some?  very little, but   It may just be in my head though. lol.

 

 It did squat the truck a little, when towing, but it wasn't drastic/gnarly.  

 

Is there a standard ride height measurement for the rear, and how do I measure it accurately ?   I assume from centre of wheel, to bottom edge of rear fender?     Any one have the same truck that could measure for me to compare?        I'd really appreciate it. 

 

Truck is a 2018 GMC Sierra Crew cab, short box, Z71 4x4 SLE. w/265/65/R18 wheels.   All COMPLETELY stock.  

 

And is there a way to tell by just looking at the leafs?    I've looked at similar trucks while driving past some, buts hard to compare visually.  with different wheel sizes. etc. 

 

 

 

 

What's the tongue weight of the trailer? 

Edited September 19, 2023 by newdude

[Outlaww]

I'm not honestly sure.  but it definitely wasn't crazy high I dont think.   I see many pontoons lust like it towed by 1/2 tonnes around here often.   It's on the smaller side for a pontoon boat, weight wise.  It's in storage now, so I can't access it to measure tongue weight.

[Ubiquity]

I don't know if this is what others would do in your situation, but I would try the following.  Have one or two adults of known weight stand on the bumper.  If not enough, add another person to the bed.  Measure the deflection before and after.  Report your findings.  Perhaps that would help those in the know help us understand.

Edited September 19, 2023 by Polyfluoroalkyl