Towing sag

[BGrateful]

I have a 2021 Gladiator Mojave that has a significant sag when towing my popup (well under towing capacity). Any suggestions for a remedy?

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[LouisvEarlleJT]

Is it tongue heavy? That'd be my guess. Or a combination of tongue weight and stuff in the bed.

 

[BGrateful]

Tongue weight says 450 pounds before adding anything.

 

[TheRealStreetcommander]

The Mojave may sag more than other models due to it's high-speed suspension setup priorities. I think what LEJT was asking is if you've actually measured your tongue weight as-loaded. Put a scale under the actual tongue, with trailer attitude near where it will be when hooked up to your JT. That measured number is your actual tongue weight. Tongue weight should be near 10% trailer weight as a rule of thumb. This is contentious with differing views.

A crude way to check would be to simply place weight on the bumper (you and a buddy or two maybe) and measure your sag. Add your weight's up and correlate those into sag measurements. If the two of you weigh 400lbs and three weigh 600lbs, how does the resulting sag compare to the trailer sag?

I've found that sag is not necessarily a bad thing. It limits suspension up-travel, but that can assist in handling because it gets the axle closer to the bump stops and can limit oscillating roll. Same deal, everyone has their own opinions and every vehicle handles differently. Only way to tell is to tow and see. Then, adjust your receiver height and other controllable variables until it handles well to you. Understand that your trailer to tongue weight ratio, as you shift it, can dramatically change your vehicles handling characteristics and you should be prepared for that.

There are aftermarket load managing options, but most aren't tested or approved by the factory. Not a deal breaker, but requires more dedication.

 

[Coldtoes]

I have a 2021 Gladiator Mojave that has a significant sag when towing my popup (well under towing capacity). Any suggestions for a remedy?

I agree with Therealstreetcommander about the softer suspension on the Mojave being at least a large contributor. As far as remedies I'd suggest a weight distribution hitch. It is designed to distribute some of the weight forward to the front axel, and will help level out your truck (but not necessarily completely). I don't think they are commonly used on popup trailers but I don't see why they couldn't or shouldn't be.

 

[jav_eee]

It's widely known that manufacturers understate their advertised tongue weights. Plus they usually "weigh" them dry and unequipped (no tanks, batteries, extra accessories).

If you're really curious how much it weighs you can get a trailer tongue weight scale off amazon. For science!

 

[obrianmcc]

If it didn't sag you would be driving a brick every other day ... look into air bags or extended bump stops like Sumo. I started with air bags .... I eventually had issues with the air lines and pulled them. I'm now using Sumo bump stops with a spacer block added to the rear when I tow ... seams to work well.

 

[Labswine]

I measured my droop one time when hooking up my trailer (Sonic SN220VBR). I have a '20 Overland (ordered 5/19, delivered 7/19) which also has slightly softer springs/coils in the rear for the 'nicer' ride characteristics.

Before hooking up the WDH bars, just the trailer sitting on the ball, mine drooped 1 1/2". Hooked up the WDH bars and the droop was only 3/4".

 

[BAWEsome]

I have a 2021 Gladiator Mojave that has a significant sag when towing my popup (well under towing capacity). Any suggestions for a remedy?

Weight distribution hitch should help significantly

 

[Jaxmax]

I have a Mojave and tow several trailers the rear is soft. White Rabbit (RIP) who was in here turned me onto Max Tow springs, still progressive but firmer, but with an RSI cap on and towing or not towing I really like them. White Rabbit had them with and without a cap on and said the weight of the cap made the ride nice, no cap a bit too stiff. Max Tow springs are shorter then Mojave springs so I put a set of Icon aluminum 1 3/8” spacers on rear. I wanted to stay away from things that could limit articulation, but the ride is much better, just towed about 5500 lbs in a landscape trailer with no WDHitch, and right was great, gas mileage sucked though!…..Jack

 

[Snake Eyes]

Before you start throwing air bags etc at it. Make sure it is completely perfectly set up with a WDH/Sway. And I mean perfectly. Do all the proper measurements to get the correct percentage for the WDH. There are calculations online to use.

Then take everything to a CAT scale and get ALL your measures. JT alone, JT with loaded trailer, axle loads of both the truck and the trailer. This will also give you the real tongue weight.

After getting all that make sure all are within the appropriate range. Tongue should be 10-15 % to avoid sway from too much weight in rear.

You should not have sag with a proper setup using the WDH.

Once you are all correct on everything, then think about sumo, etc.

I have a Sport S Max Tow with a 20 ft 4700 lb travel trailer. It has a WDH with Sway. It rides 100% even front to back on truck. No sag, no soft. Proper set up is key before you start adding in other things.

 

[Jaxmax]

I agree with Snake Eyes on the hitch if needed, but comparing his Max Tow Sport 7600lbs tow to a Mojave 6000lbs. tow capacity is the big thing, the Mohave suspension is great at soaking up any kind of bumps and high speed runs across speed bumps but the springs are soft for towing it hauling. That 450lb. Hitch weight is a lot do a weight hitch……Jack

 

[BGrateful]

I agree with Snake Eyes on the hitch if needed, but comparing his Max Tow Sport 7600lbs tow to a Mojave 6000lbs. tow capacity is the big thing, the Mohave suspension is great at soaking up any kind of bumps and high speed runs across speed bumps but the springs are soft for towing it hauling. That 450lb. Hitch weight is a lot do a weight hitch……Jack

I can’t imagine what the tongue weight would be if we did load a 4wheeler on the front.

I have a Mojave and tow several trailers the rear is soft. White Rabbit (RIP) who was in here turned me onto Max Tow springs, still progressive but firmer, but with an RSI cap on and towing or not towing I really like them. White Rabbit had them with and without a cap on and said the weight of the cap made the ride nice, no cap a bit too stiff. Max Tow springs are shorter then Mojave springs so I put a set of Icon aluminum 1 3/8” spacers on rear. I wanted to stay away from things that could limit articulation, but the ride is much better, just towed about 5500 lbs in a landscape trailer with no WDHitch, and right was great, gas mileage sucked though!…..Jack

Thanks! I’ll look into those.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I agree with Snake Eyes on the hitch if needed, but comparing his Max Tow Sport 7600lbs tow to a Mojave 6000lbs. tow capacity is the big thing, the Mohave suspension is great at soaking up any kind of bumps and high speed runs across speed bumps but the springs are soft for towing it hauling. That 450lb. Hitch weight is a lot do a weight hitch……Jack

500 pounds of tongue weight really made my Overland's butt sag. I can imagine a Mojave with that much tongue weight.

BTW - a WDH does NOT reduce tongue weight, but it can help with sag and put some weight up on the front axle to keep steering more stable.

I loaded everything up, strapped the car down where I figured it belonged, figured the weight of the trailer plus the car was just shy of 5,000 pounds total. So I was aiming for 480-490 pounds tongue weight. I was a bit high but decided to leave it there as the ranges given by real experts (those who engineer and built trailers) say anywhere from 8% to 12% - some saying it varies with the weight of the trailer.
I put the scale under where the ball fits the trailer tongue. I raised the trailer's jack up until the wood block under it moved indicating all tongue weight was on the scale. I gave it a bit of wiggle to make sure it wasn't hanging up, and was sitting on the hydraulic scale PERFECTLY straight.

I had to use air bags to control the sag and not look like I was hunting coons at night, shining lights into the trees.
Spacers - fine, great, but take the weight off and suddenly it's like the HS kid's Camaro with air shocks on the back holding the thing up away from his way to big rear tires.
With air bags I can drop the truck to a more normal height when not towing or hauling heavy stuff by dropping the pressure to the minimum 5 psi.
I measure the rear before hooking up and try to air up enough to keep the height close to normal while not maxing out the air bags!
Keeping each bag on its own air line, independent of the other, helps with stability and roll control. The air can't move back and forth between them. Plus if I ever have one side of the bed loaded down with more weight, I can give that bag just a bit more air.

Overlands have pretty soft springs.
Tow rating is 6,000 pounds.
But damn, the ride is fantastic, especially when my wife has commented twice now on how wonderful the ride is in my truck.

 

[MrJeep]

Overlands have pretty soft springs.
Tow rating is 6,000 pounds.
But damn, the ride is fantastic, especially when my wife has commented twice now on how wonderful the ride is in my truck.

I swear Jeep must have bad quality control. My rear overland springs are like rocks when the truck is unloaded. When towing the whole Jeep rides better.

I used the poor mans method using spring rate (K, which I know is progressive but rough average numbers should be ok) On mine the rear sags at a rate of almost exactly 300# per inch at the fender where the spring is. (Used my body weight on the tailgate to do the math.) Thus I know I'm getting close to 600# at 2" of drop or less due to progressive K. This new trailer I have that is lighter and has a longer tongue only sags just over an inch when towing so its much lighter on the ball. I expected some sway issues but there are absolutely none, I may try backing the TJ up a little more.

I experienced really bad sway one time with my wife Land Rover and a surge brake trailer and it was scary, but manageable and we moved the Jeep closer and got rid of the sway. With that experience, and good electric brakes, I feel much more confident about approaching the sway point and losing a little weight off the tongue.

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