How to Reduce Sag When Towing a 27' Dutchmen Kodiak with a 2001 Chevy Suburban 1500  

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Expert Reply:

Thank you for all of the information that you gave! I would love to help you and your family safely travel to your campsite.

Since you are still experiencing some sag with your weight distribution (WD) system I recommend checking the tongue weight (TW) range of your current system before adding any Suspension Enhancement System (SES). A properly rated WD system will have a TW range that the loaded TW of your trailer plus the weight of any cargo behind the rear axle of your 2001 Chevrolet Suburban 1500 falls in the middle of. Please note that a properly loaded trailer will have a TW that is 10-15% of the loaded weight of your trailer.

If your WD system is properly rated and set up for your towing application then the next step would be to add SES to your Suburban. If you only have an inch of sag then you don't really need to add an SES because most WD systems say that an inch difference in ride height is okay. If it is pushing 2 inches then SES can help reduce that sag but it likely won't completely level out your Suburban, just bring it closer to that inch margin.

I am not quite sure what AC system you mention in your question unless you are referring to air conditioning. If that is the case then the fact that you have rear AC doesn't actually affect any of our SES. If you could elaborate on that I can ensure that our products will fit.

Since air bag kits are a bit more pricey and require maintenance I recommend going with the jounce-style SES that we offer. Air bags are great for applications where the tow vehicle will be carrying a wide variety of weights (like a pickup) so if you are only adding the SES for when you are towing with your Suburban the jounce-style is the way to go. These add support by becoming stiff when they make contact just like a bump stop would, except these are designed with comfort in mind as well.

A lot of people like the Timbren kits but we have been hearing that they make the ride a little more rough when your vehicle doesn't have a load. I would imagine that you use your Suburban for daily travel since you have at least 3 children so I recommend going with the SumoSprings # SSR-204-40 as they offer just as much support as the Timbren systems but they have more of a comfortable ride. They have a 1,000 lb weight capacity but that has more to do with the TW of your trailer as opposed to the entire weight of your trailer. The installation is very simple and doesn't require any drilling (see attached installation instructions).

In my opinion the extra 100 lbs that the Monroe system says you will gain isn't really worth the maintenance of the air-style support. Once the SumoSprings are installed you literally can forget that they are even there as there is no maintenance and they automatically adjust to the load that is in the vehicle.

Using the SumoSprings in addition to a properly rated WD system should knock out the sag that you are talking about and give you a great towing experience. These are a great solution that are easy on the wallet since they can easily be installed and don't use a compressor system.

expert reply by: Jon G

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