Deaver +3 sag/squat when towing

[Kylepaqu]

Hello, I’ve installed +3 deavers on my 2010 Raptor a while back and am just getting around to doing some real towing. I hooked up a 30’ travel trailer and the truck sagged all the way down to the bump stops. This surprised me and I’m wondering why it’s sagging so much. I even had it hooked up to a weight distribution hitch. Any thoughts on this would be great. Thanks.

 

[MTF]

@Kylepaqu

They make different versions of +1, +2, +3, +4, like Standard, HD and custom HD.
I'm guessing you have the Standard, while you get an 1" of height over stock the tongue weight will still be 500 lbs.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

I will guarantee you, you have not hooked the WD hitch up correctly. You don't drop all the weight of the trailer on the receiver and then hook up the WD's, you keep the weight on the trailer jack and just lower onto your ball to make the truck level or above level and then tighten the WD bars, then let the rest of the trailer tongue weight onto your receiver.

Also, not sure where the white water is in your trailer, if its in the front, you should not fill it until you get to your destination, that would be too much tongue weight. I always drained all my tanks before I drove back home.

 

[Ski4Ever]

What is the make/model of the trailer? Just because you installed Deavers, it doesn't mean you can tow something with a 1400lb tongue weight, etc (not saying that's what your tongue weight is...just using that as an example). Also, as @CoronaRaptor said, you may not have hooked up the WD hitch correctly. You may want to look at a user's manual, or find videos online, etc.

 

[pbtjrlmrt]

Hello, I’ve installed +3 deavers on my 2010 Raptor a while back and am just getting around to doing some real towing. I hooked up a 30’ travel trailer and the truck sagged all the way down to the bump stops. This surprised me and I’m wondering why it’s sagging so much. I even had it hooked up to a weight distribution hitch. Any thoughts on this would be great. Thanks.

What is your tongue weight/trailer weight ratio? You should have around 10-15% of the "fully loaded" trailer weight as tongue weight.
As others have mentioned you need to double check how your setting up the WD hitch. You should not be hitting the bumps.

I just finished setting my truck up to tow a 2200lb(empty) 3500lb(max) overland trailer. I worked with Deaver for a setup that wouldn't diminish the Raptor abilities once it set up base camp. According to Deaver they do not recommend they standard leaf packs for towing. Doesn't matter if it's the HD or SD. They talked me into a custom spring pack that was actually a couple hundred cheaper and work better. They basically take a stock Raptor pack and add a few leafs. This retains the two stage spring characteristic of stock and provides the ability to haul more. Height was increased 1 inch over stock. After install the truck sits 1/2 inch higher than stock loaded up with my recovery gear that permanently resides in the bed. Seems to handle and feel better than stock...just a little...and I will be able to tow without squatting.

I suggest focusing on making sure the WD hitch is set up properly and also make sure that your tongue weight is within the 10-15% range. This is for safety as well as squat. Don't forget to pay attention to the load limit on the Raptor which is 1200 lbs and that includes you and any passengers.

If your still not satisfied you should call Deaver and ask their opinion.

 

[onthebrake]

Hello, I’ve installed +3 deavers on my 2010 Raptor a while back and am just getting around to doing some real towing. I hooked up a 30’ travel trailer and the truck sagged all the way down to the bump stops. This surprised me and I’m wondering why it’s sagging so much. I even had it hooked up to a weight distribution hitch. Any thoughts on this would be great. Thanks.

Drop the trailer to where it just sits over the ball of the truck completely, to where it can lock. Then STOP. Hook up the weight dist. bars so the bars are horizontal to the trailer. The entire length of the bars should be evenly horizontal to the trailer. Not pitched up or down. Even to the trailer. Then lower the trailer the rest of the way down on the ball. Do this in reverse to unhook to the truck to the trailer too.

 

[onthebrake]

Drop the trailer to where it just sits over the ball of the truck completely, to where it can lock. Then STOP. Hook up the weight dist. bars so the bars are horizontal to the trailer. The entire length of the bars should be evenly horizontal to the trailer. Not pitched up or down. Even to the trailer. Then lower the trailer the rest of the way down on the ball. Do this in reverse to unhook to the truck to the trailer too.

PLUS, make sure your hitch is at the right height for the trailer. If your towing for the first time with this hitch and truck, you made need to adjust the height of the hitch. Rarely are they right out of the box as they are not vehicle specific.

 

[Trick.Raptor]

Hello, I’ve installed +3 deavers on my 2010 Raptor a while back and am just getting around to doing some real towing. I hooked up a 30’ travel trailer and the truck sagged all the way down to the bump stops. This surprised me and I’m wondering why it’s sagging so much. I even had it hooked up to a weight distribution hitch. Any thoughts on this would be great. Thanks.

I have Deaver +3 with a load leaf (now they call them HD) and I sit level with a 6900lbs toybox.



With the picture above I had 100 gallons of fresh water and 20 gallons of gas in the toybox plus everything needed for a weekend out on the trail. In the bed I had my chase rack with 2 spares and gear, a heavy wood grill along with wood to grill over the weekend!

With just the rack and usual off-road related gear in the bed I sit with a factory stance and I drop about 1-2" with the trailer for an almost level ride. I'd say I'm still about 1.5 to 2.0" off the RPG bump stops in the rear... without the trailer I sit about 3-4" off the bumps.


I didn't go to the scales for an actual weight on the trip above but in the past with a similar setup my trailer was in the 6950lbs range and my Raptor was in the 7800lbs range.

 

[Ski4Ever]

One thing that people seem to keep overlooking is that the overall weight of the trailer is not (directly) connected to the amount of squat/sag. You could have a 10,000 lb trailer connected, but only have a 200lb tongue weight (granted, you'd be subject to a lot of sway with that setup, which is why I said it's not "directly" connected, because your tongue weight should be at around 10-15% of the trailer weight) so your 10,000 lb trailer would cause very little squat/sag. However, on the opposite end of the spectrum you could instead end up with a 5000 lb trailer with 1000 lb of tongue weight, which would cause a lot of squat/sag.

When you post information about how much your truck sags, it would be really nice if you could post the tongue weight also if possible, rather than just the trailer weight and/or truck weight.