[Yukondiesel]

Question(s) * at the bottom if you dont want boring details;

I realize it's 1am pacific as I right this and I just got done the homestead chores under the nearly midnight sun.
I have come to a fork in the road in terms of truck use. With fuel costs out of control, I have become very thankful for my little 2.8L dirty diesel. I fueled up my 1ton today @ $2.39Litre and 120Litre tank set me back a nice chunk of change and doesn't take me all that far.
We live in a remote town 200km, (400km round trip) from our "local" stores. I haul a small horse trailer or a deck trailer for cargo/sidexside/sleds semi regularly. Our hauls from town happen maybe 1 time a month but the truck is full. I mean full... feed, materials, groceries and the odd 4 legged creature.
So.... I am wanting to beef up the colorado and sell the 1ton while it's value is high. The Mrs drives our sideXside to work anyways.

I have settled on sumosprings as I have had many airbags leak/fail.
* Does anyone know if there would be a noticeable difference in unloaded ride between the 1000lb (blue) and the 1500lb (black)?
* With the bumpstop (now progressive) being in constant contact with the frame, will abrupt jars/impacts buck the rear end while unloaded?

cheers

 

[ARCowboy]

Putting in some work with your diesels I see ! I'm sorry I can't answer your sumosprings questions, but I'd like to pre-emptively ask a couple others:

• How much weight do you think your trailers are when loaded down ?
• How much weight are you also putting in the truck ?
• Do you use a Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH) ?
• How screwed would you be if you bent an axle by vastly overloading the rear axle that has a GAWR of 3500# ?

Intentionally being a smartass with that last question but I think it's valid. I'm not sure if you're aware or planning on going over that GAWR, but thought I'd at least bring it up. There are safety margins, of course, but there's also the steel lottery where two of the exact same components will last for different amounts of time.

If you end up with sumosprings, and you end up bucking, you could always just put a couple bags of feed back there all the time ? Or something else stable/heavy for its volume.

 

[Yukondiesel]

I'm a pretty cautious person when it comes to equipment, just because I rely on it and I'm kinda hopped if I break it being a dummy. The idea of a gawr of 3500 is sort of shocking to me, I figured it would be higher than that. Given that the max towing is 7700lbs as stated by GM.

The horse trailer is probably the heaviest I tow but it's only 3-4x times a year, it's around 5500lb. The deck trailer varies depending on use but I'd say it never exceeds 3500lbs with say building materials.
All done with a drop hitch, not fancy weight distribution hitches.

In the box, I doubt it has seen 1000lbs. With the exception of maybe flooring for a cabin or Moose/Bison and gear returning from a hunt.

With the bucking, my concern is that we get these really nasty frost heaves from permafrost thaw and pur highway looks like a shelled road in Kabul in some places. I just don't want kiddo, the dog and my coffee airborne if I fail to slow in time.

 

[ARCowboy]

I'm a pretty cautious person when it comes to equipment, just because I rely on it and I'm kinda hopped if I break it being a dummy. The idea of a gawr of 3500 is sort of shocking to me, I figured it would be higher than that. Given that the max towing is 7700lbs as stated by GM.

The horse trailer is probably the heaviest I tow but it's only 3-4x times a year, it's around 5500lb. The deck trailer varies depending on use but I'd say it never exceeds 3500lbs with say building materials.
All done with a drop hitch, not fancy weight distribution hitches.

In the box, I doubt it has seen 1000lbs. With the exception of maybe flooring for a cabin or Moose/Bison and gear returning from a hunt.

With the bucking, my concern is that we get these really nasty frost heaves from permafrost thaw and pur highway looks like a shelled road in Kabul in some places. I just don't want kiddo, the dog and my coffee airborne if I fail to slow in time.

Glad to hear you are respectful of mechanical limitations.

You can check the GAWR on the sticker underneath the driver door, but the M220/D46 axle it should be 3500# (mine is). 3400# FGAWR which, when combined, is higher than the Max GVWR of 6200#. Payload is (depending on installed options) ~1450-1500#

GVWR and GAWR are the limitations of towing AFAIK. Tongue weight is the real limitation factor. I don't know the specifics of your trailer, but with a 5500# trailer your tongue weight is probably between 550 and 825 (10-15%) of gross trailer weight.

Worst case: 1450-825 = 625# remaining for passengers, doges, and gear. Assuming you're 200, dog is 60, and coffee is #0.5, that's 365# remaining.

A 7700# trailer with 15% tongue weight is 1155, so with you and dog and coffee that's only 34# remaining.

A weight distribution hitch like this Curt could help remove some of that tongue weight with the magic of physics (Specifically Newtons 3rd Law: the law of action and reaction).

I will say that the OME HD rear leafs completely removed the bucking in the back end of my truck on the uneven roads/dips/ruts/whatever at 35-45mph (That's 56-75kph in maple syrup units) and were a huge improvement. They're the 660# to max GVWR constant load leafs and I keep decked (200#, myself @ 200#, ARB bullbar 200#, and at least 60# of tools/gear in my truck at all times). Serious improvement, but meant for constant loads.

I think airbags are the right way to go for intermittently heavy loads. Certainly seems like some of the sumosprings (solo, for example) would not cause bucking in anyway since it is not connected to the frame and would separate when the shock bottoms out ?

 

[Yukondiesel]

If I'm honest, I had never really given much thought to the gvwr/gawr until I just read your explanation. I have hacked large flay deck loads but know my 1ton will handle it as it's never even close to the max towing. Maybe 1-2 times ever, when I needed to move a tractor or a stuck friends 30ft halibut boat.
I can safely say that with our road conditions, deeply cold winters and salt. No airbags will go on anything I ever own again. I played with the OME leafs idea, as I run their HD suspension on my jeep TJ with great success. I have heard terrible things about bump contact with timbren and add a leaf. So sumo seems to be the only other option for sporadic use, or bit the bullet with OME.
I may end up selecting the lighter 1000lb blue sumos and pick up a weight distribution hitch, if only for the pony coach.

 

[2018Midnight]

The Sumo Stops can be cut.
I have a cut pair that I purchased here on the forum to install but have not yet.

He had the cut Sumo Stops, and Hellwig Helper springs installed and was towing a 15 foot trailer.

 

[madcratebuilder]

If you search YT for "420motors" he has video on the Sumo stops in a ZR2. It may give you some help in deciding on blue or black. Another option would be a upgraded rear leaf spring, Deavers are good. No change to total weight but does improve ride.