Level Towing

How heavy is your camper on the tow ball? Maybe you need an adjustable height tow hitch to set your camper ride level.

Any idea of the weight of the load in the Rodeo?

Just by the way, stiffer springs in the rear may not help much. Just turns the axle into a pivot, lifting the front end.

If you really do have around 260kg on the tow ball then it is too much. Even then you must have a lot more weight in the back of the car for it to still be sagging after fitting heavier springs.

I looked up the specifications for a 2000 Rodeo on two sites and both had the towing capacity listed at 1800kg. Your trailer may be under that limit but something so short in length with nothing all that far in front of or behind the axle should not need a ball weight anywhere near 180kg let along 260kg. It does not have long heavy ends to swing around like big caravans and should therefor tow well with less than 10% ball weight.

I have a Hilux from back around that era. It has a maximum towing capacity of 1800kg and a maximum of 180kg on the tow ball but the towing information in the handbook says a weight distribution hitch must be used for any ball weight above 90kg. The same may apply to your car but a WDH can not be used in rough off road conditions because of the risk of the angle between the car and trailer exceeding a certain limit. If that happens the tow bar, the chassis or the hitch can easily be damaged.

A WDH levers the rear end of the car up taking weight off the rear axle and redistributing it between the front wheels of the car and the wheels of the trailer. That is why some manufacturers say they must be used. Your heavier springs don't take weight off the axle and they can not redistribute weight. All they do is lift the rear of an overloaded car and make it look good.

They also alter the handling characteristics by placing more weight on the outside rear wheel than the outside front wheel in corners or during emergency swerving. This will make the car prone to going into sudden oversteer instead of the factory designed understeer. That can leave you with your hair standing on end if you don't know how to control it, particularly when towing. under/oversteer

You are going to have to get some of that weight off the back of the car otherwise your chassis will be at risk of bending. The risk is much higher on lighter weight earlier model utes like yours and mine. If you have to lift the rear with aftermarket springs then the car is overloaded.
Bent Chassis

This bending problem is caused by the amount of heavy material located behind the rear axle. The weight of this material does not change but the stresses going into the rear end of chassis as it has to constantly lift this material suddenly or stop it falling quickly as the car goes up and down on rough roads will far exceed the loads on the chassis when the car is stationary. In other words, the end of your chassis will be flexing like a diving board with someone bouncing up and down on the end of it.

Not only can this bend the chassis but it can and has broken many axle housings. Your ball weight is on the end of a lever i.e. the distance between the ball and the axle. Whatever you put on the ball with be much higher on the axle. How much higher will depend on that distance.

All of the forward folds have a higher ball weight than most middle weight caravans due to the design. I own a FF so I have some first hand knowledge. Fully loaded mine is 220kg on the ball, up from 160kg quoted. My vehicle is modified to handle that weight and it is within the limits. However if the vehicle in question has a ball weight capacity lower than the trailer then the options are very limited. Change the trailer or the tow vehicle. It is very unlikely that the ball weight can be lowered to the capacity of the current vehicle.

Thanks to all those concerned members that have given me a lot to think about. It may be time to upgrade the tow vehicle. Happy motoring.