Helper Springs or Weight Distribution for a 1999 Ford Expedition that Sags with Boat Trailer Coupled

Updated 03/04/2015 | Published 03/03/2015

Products Featured in This Question

Coil SumoSprings Custom Helper Springs for Coil Spring Suspension - Rear Axle

(409)

$227.99

Reese Pole-Tongue Adapter for Weight Distribution Systems - 14,000 lbs GTW, 1,400 lbs TW

(25)

$250.63

Timbren Rear Suspension Enhancement System

(6311)

$269.36

Timbren Rear Suspension Enhancement System

(6318)

$269.36

Question:

Will the SumoSprings # CSS-1145R help with the sag in the rear of my Ford Expedition. Im towing a 21ft skeeter and Im well within my towing capacity, but the boat causes the rear to sag and this makes it a little difficult on steering, just would like to know if this product will help even out the truck to make it steer better. The Expedition does have a factory tow package on it. Attached is a picture of the boat on the truck.

asked by: Jamie

Expert Reply:

You have some squat there but I've seen worse! Basically, there are two reasons that a vehicle can squat in the back. One is caused by the tongue weight of the trailer and the other is when you are carrying a heavy load in the back of the vehicle.

When squat is caused by a heavy load carried in the vehicle that is when you would use suspension enhancement like helper springs of some kind. But when squat is caused by the tongue weight of a trailer the best solution is to use weight distribution. So basically you want to use the right tool for the job. In this case that would be weight distribution.

Now for a boat trailer there are a couple of things you have to consider. First, many boat trailers have aluminum frames. So what you would have to do is contact the trailer manufacturer to make sure that you can use weight distribution.

The other issue is that you would need a pole tongue adapter that will provide an artificial A-frame which is what a weight distribution system requires. There are 2 pole tongue adapters, # RP3280 and # RP58393.

With the first one, # RP3280, you would use a regular chain hanging system with no sway control. And with the other one, # RP58393, you are limited to using Reese SC systems that come with sway control.

To choose a weight distribution system you will need to go by the total tongue weight of the set up. This is calculated by taking the tongue weight of the trailer, when loaded and ready to tow, and adding to that the weight of anything loaded behind the rear axle of the tow vehicle. If you let me know the total tongue weight I can recommend a system for each pole tongue adapter.

If you cannot use weight distribution or just don't want to then using helper springs of some kind would help some but would not be ideal. I would not recommend # CSS-1145R for this application since they have not proven to be as affective as other options.

For a little more money you could get a more effective Timbren helper spring system. For a 1999 Ford Expedition that has an air suspension system you can use # TFREXPA. If it does not have an air suspension system then you can use # TFREXP4 but only if it is a 2-wheel drive model.

I have included some helpful links on determining tongue weight, weight distribution, and Timbren systems for you to view.