Trailer adjustment

[BoBo_Wickersham]

I hook my boat up to my suburban today. I guess my new suburban does not have ride leveling and my back end is sagging significantly. Is there a way to adjust the trailer so the boat is riding a little more neutral versus so tongue heavy? or something similar?



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[SANonTellico]

The proper tongue weight is 10 - 15% of the total trailered weight. You can go to a scale to check if it’s correct. Load levelers may be necessary to solve that problem.
Looking at the picture, I’m wondering if your ball set at the right height? It’s a bit hard to tell but it appears that your trailer is fairly level and the vehicle is sagging. If so, disconnect the trailer and raise or lower the tongue so that your trailer is level. Back your vehicle up so that the ball is next to the trailer coupler, is the bottom of the ball about the same height as the bottom of the coupler? If not, you should get a ball mount that has the proper drop or rise.

[BoBo_Wickersham]

Great suggestions. The challenges when I back up to the trailer, when the suburban is at normal height, the Jack height will not go up high enough for me to back the suburban onto the trailer. I will try it again tonight. I'll see how high I can get the jack versus the height of the trailer. Good suggestion


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[bturner]

Honestly, IMO you need to figure out what's going on with your Suburban. Is it optioned with a tow package? I'm near positive ride leveling came as part of the towing package on my 19 Tahoe. If you don't have a trailer package you are going to be way over the tow limit for the vehicle as optioned. I didn't even think you could get a Suburban without ride leveling but I'm no expert on them. I'd be more inclined to think that something has malfunctioned on your ride leveling system or possibly that the system can't handle the tongue weight of that monster you have hitched to it. Time to figure out what you have and see if what you have is up to the task of pulling that beast.

A quick search of the interweb on tow ratings and weight of a 2019 G25 came back with max tow rating on the Suburban is 8200 lbs. with the High Country package (which it doesn't appear you have), 6.4L engine and the Max Towing package (which if you don't have leveling you don't have Max Towing). Dry weight of a G25 is 6400 lbs. and add another 1850 lbs. for the Tri Axle trailer. That's 8250 lbs. with no gas, no gear. You have a 83 gallon tank @ 6 lbs per gallon so that's another ~500 lbs. for a full tank of gas, then lets guess another 300 lbs. of gear. So that's 9050 lbs. total. Typical tongue weight would be somewhere between 900 - 1300 lbs. (hence the pad instead of a wheel on the tongue jack, lets face it, no one is going to push that rig around the driveway).

If you don't have the High Country package with the 6.4L engine and Max Towing package your tow rating is most likely 7400 lbs. and you're trying to tow between 8000 - 9000 lbs. This in IMHO is nuts and will get you in trouble fast, The short version of this conversation is you probably have the wrong tow vehicle and unless you have a weight distributing hitch, the wrong hitch. If it were mine I would also be running a hybrid electric over hydraulic brake system on the trailer.

As far as modifications go... I was taught to never modify a trailer to fit the tow vehicle (i.e. adjust the boat on the trailer for less tongue weight so the tow vehicle doesn't sag). You modify the tow vehicle and use the proper hitch. In your case, I really think if you're going to do more than pull the boat to the ramp twice a year, you unfortunately have the wrong tow vehicle for this boat. But who knows, my math could be completely wrong and you're just fine.

[SANonTellico]

I’m only referring to leveling the setup, not the capacity rating, that’s a whole different discussion.
Sounds like the ball is higher than it should be.
Again, when you back your vehicle up to the trailer, if the bottom of the ball is higher than the bottom of the coupler, you’ll need a ball mount with more drop.
You definitely want the trailer and the vehicle level when hooked up.
An adjustable ball mount may work well for you:
https://www.amazon.com/Uriah-Product...98&sr=1-3&th=1

[gun-driver]

The height of the ball has nothing to do with this situation. If the suspension could handle the weight and the ball was to high the trailer would sit hitch high not level.
There is no way you should tow that boat with that vehicle like it is, you will kill somebody!!!

Adding airbags to the rear suspension would help but as bturner stated you're over the towing capability of that vehicle and you would be just asking for trouble doing that.
If you're going to tow that boat you need at least a 3/4 ton suspension/truck.

[SANonTellico]

The height of the ball has A LOT to do with a proper trailering setup, especially with tandem & tri-axle trailers.
If the ball is too high, your tow vehicle is trying to lift the trailer and the pivot point is the rear most axle. Your suburban is effectively trying to raise nearly the entire weight of the boat - thousands of pounds. Since your suburban (or most any other vehicle) can’t lift that amount weight, the trailer is instead, pulling the suspension down.
If the ball is at the correct height, then the tow vehicle is only supporting the normal tongue weight, which should be 10 - 15% of the trailered weight.

Regarding towing capacity and safety…Manufacturers take many factors into account when determining the max trailering weight, certainly brakes and suspension are factors but there’s much more than just that. Manufacturers also consider overheating the engine and transmission which could damage them, possibly creating a warranty repair. That’s why doing nothing more than changing the axle gear ratio can significantly change the towing capacity - same brakes, same suspension, very different towing capacity. For some vehicles the trailer towing option only adds a trailer hitch and increased engine and transmission cooling. Again, same suspension and same brakes but different towing capabilities.

With all of that being said, none of us know what’s involved in trailering your boat to the ramp, you’re the one that needs to determine if you can do that safely. For me, I tow my boat about 1 mile on flat country roads, the speed limit is 35mph and there’s virtually no traffic. I trailer my boat once in the spring to put it in the water and once in the fall to store it. It’s pretty unlikely that I’d be buying a new vehicle for that. Conversely, a friend of mine often trailers his boat about 2 hours on a steep, winding road to get to his favorite lake. That’s a totally different scenario, I would definitely have a vehicle that was fully capable of handling those extreme conditions.

[gun-driver]

What you say about ball height is true when the vehicle has the proper suspension/load capacity. To me looking at the pictures posted that it would just put all the weight on the front axle of the trailer because the suspension is over loaded. It may just be the angle of the picture but the top picture sure looks like it's already leaning on the front axle.

What you mentioned in the rest of your post is what a lot of people don't understand and/or ignore which can create a very dangerous condition.
Excellent points.

[Scooter G]

Whoa, that's a lot of load for a 1/2 ton Burban. Air bags are fairly inexpensive, and I wouldn't have tow vehicle without them, but you are still pushing the envelope here. I've logged a lot of miles towing behind a Suburban (with air bags).
Nice boat btw.

[bturner]

Reminds me of the days I towed a 4000 lb Sea Ray with a 1979 CJ5, but then again I was 22 at the time. Still tell trailering stories about my experiences doing so over beers from time to time. To say the least it could be..... invigorating. That little Jeep would pull it, but changing lanes or doing anything that required control braking at speeds over 45 would get your heart pumping. Ah, the days of feeling immortal.

[shag]

Hopefully the OP sees the comments and can understand what is being said here. Like SANon Tellico said, if you are just occasionally going a couple miles on flat, local roads with no traffic, you 'should' be ok. But anything more than that, and I would not recommend it with that tow vehicle. G25 is the flagship and the heaviest boat they make.. It is easy to exceed weights - sometimes by a lot. Think about worst case scenario, a panic stop, or someone cuts you off on the highway.... Will that tow vehicle handle it? Be safe all.

[Rednucleus]

And in the event of an accident, what will your insurance company say? Time to trade up to a beefier tow rig.

[BoBo_Wickersham]

Thanks for the replies guys. For some
Reason I'm not getting the alerts when posts but that's another situation.

I have less than a mile to go drop the boat. Not taking long trips. I had a 2015 Tahoe with airbags (or whatever it takes to level the vehicle). Pulled it no problem. I wouldn't go a 100 miles but for my needs it worked.

When I bought this suburban I assumed it had adaptive cruise control and then air leveling action. Apparently it hasn't either. Although all the components on the vehicle would indicate that it does, gap control on cruise control trailering package on the display. I hear they're changing the body style for 2024 so I guess I'll hang tight for a little while and see what the new one looks like thanks for all your help


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[NautiqueJeff]

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[Judson]

I added SumoSprings to my Tundra. https://www.superspringsinternational.com