Air Bag Question

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jalciere

jalciere

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2011
Posts
12
Location
Pepperell, MA
I just had air bags installed on my 2012 Tundra TRD 4x4. (Air-Lift Load-Lifter 5000). I'm curious about how much I should inflate them when I tow my 5W. The trailer, a Cougar X-Lite 26SAB, has a "hitch weight" of about 1200 pounds -- which I assume to mean a pin weight. I towed it last season without the air bags, and had no problems. I noticed very little squat. However, there are some bad sections of highway here in Massachusetts, where truck and trailer buck-and-bounce if I don't see them and slow down in time. I bought the air bags to give the rear suspension a little more beef for occasions like those. My instincts are to inflate the bags enough to level the rig, or just slightly more. Suggestions would be much appreciated.
 
Hi jalciere.  You're correct on the pin weight=hitch weight...for a 5th wheel.  You are also correct for your instincts for airing them up.  At least for the initial airing.  Level the truck.  The rest will be some trial and error.  I found in my old F-250 (a 2008 longbed) I had to have near 60+ pounds in the bags.  The same trailer with my new truck (2011 shortbed) only needed about 40 - 50 pounds to help minimize the boucing (about 20 - 30 pounds just to level my truck).  Please note that last part there...the airbags will not eliminate the bounce.  But they will help.  We have some pretty rough concrete roads around Houston, and the airbags took it from a white knuckle experience to a "hey...I can deal with this" experience. 

One thing I can highly recommend, since I didn't see it in your description, is the Airlift 72000 wireless remote compressor.  With that, you can sit in the cab of the truck and adjust the air "on the fly".  You can adjust as needed for the particular situation.  You can actually use any compressor kit, but the wireless means no wires or air hoses needing routed into the cab of the truck.  It is an awesome setup.
 
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