Air Bags vs Air Shocks

[Mikewgolf]

I need your help in making a decision. I have a Ford F-150 V8 and a 3023 Trailmanor. When I am hook up the Trailer it sets the rear of the pickup down. TM pulls level however the Ford F-150 is not level. I want to raise the bed of the truck and need to know Pros and Cons of Air Bags vs Air Shocks. Which route should I take

Looking forward to your answers.

Mike
Sugar Land, TX

[ripp1202]

Try timbren, cost about $143.00 love them 2004 1500 dodge ram quad cab www.timbren.com also have 3023 Trailmanor and WDH

[Larry_Loo]

Mike, what you need is a weight distribution hitch that will distribute the trailer's tongue load over all four wheels of your truck. This is a typical one manufactured by Reese:

http://www.reeseprod.com/

[CastleRockCamper]

This raises an in-depth question: If the TM is level but the Tow vehicle is not, what options are available?

---Add a WDH, while this is probably the most common solution, but what if the height (stance) of the vehicle is too high to tow the TM level?

*Should you add a leaf to your rear suspension?
*Should you add springs or air shocks to the tow vehicle?
*If you use springs or air shocks, should you use a draw bar with a drop to make the TM level?
*If you use springs, air shocks, or add a leaf, should use a lift kit for the TM to make the TM level for towing?

By trying to correct one issue do you create another, making the TM unlevel (Front higher than the rear) for safe towing? I suppose the question is at what degree is it unsafe to tow the TM?


I believe some WDH's have a small drop built within the system, but will that be enough for Mike?

[RockyMtnRay]

I need your help in making a decision. I have a Ford F-150 V8 and a 3023 Trailmanor. When I am hook up the Trailer it sets the rear of the pickup down. TM pulls level however the Ford F-150 is not level. I want to raise the bed of the truck and need to know Pros and Cons of Air Bags vs Air Shocks. Which route should I take

Looking forward to your answers.

Mike
Sugar Land, TX

Under no circumstances should you be even thinking about trying to level your truck by using some suspension booster on the rear suspension. As Larry_Loo mentions above, the ONLY safe and effective way to level your truck with the TM attached is via a Weight Distributing Hitch. What you think is "sets the rear" down is actually the result of three actions:

The rear suspension is indeed being compressed by the trailer's tongue weight, which is about 700 lbs for 3023. This is the part most people intuitively understand and want to compensate for with some form of rear suspension booster. But it's only part of the problem and actually the least serious part.
Through a teeter-totter action with the truck's rear axle acting as pivot, the front of the truck is being un-weighted (or lifted) by a force that's about half of the tongue weight (the effect is almost the same as taking the engine out of the truck!). That's 350 lbs off the front end which raises the front end by at least an inch, reduces the front tire steering capability, reduces the front tire braking effectiveness and makes the front end feel "floaty"
The weight that comes off the front suspension doesn't disappear into space, rather it gets transferred to the rear suspension and compresses that even more. So you actually wind up with over 1000 lbs being put on the truck's rear suspension.

The final result is the front of the truck goes up an inch or two at the same time the rear goes down an inch or two and it looks like the rear end is really sagging because of the combination of these two movements.

So why do I think that air bag/shocks are so horrible and that they should be banned from sale in this country? There are two reasons:

Raising the rear of the truck until it's level with the front does absolutely nothing to fix the unweighting of the front wheels and transfer of weight from front to back. You still have greatly reduced steering and braking with the front tires.
All trucks have a brake proportioning valve on their rear axle which uses rear suspension compression to determine what percentage of applied brake pressure the rear brakes should get. With the truck unloaded at its normal rear ride height, that's not a very large number...maybe 25%. If you raise the rear of the truck to match the front (which is an inch or two higher than it's normally at), the brake proportioning valve almost completely closes off all brake fluid to the rear brakes and the front brakes have to do over 90% of the braking. That in turn leads to overheated and very rapidly wearing front brakes (which have limited braking effectiveness to begin with). The net result is a huge reduction in the truck's overall braking ability and that is just downright dangerous in a panic stopping situation.

That's why I completely despise air bags/shocks for towing and consider anyone who uses them to be a menace to themselves and anyone else who's unfortunate to have to share the road with them.

By contrast, a properly adjusted Weight Distributing Hitch distributes roughly a third of the tongue weight to the front suspension, a third to the rear suspension, and a third to the trailer tires. So, with a 3023, that means that about 250 lbs are added to the front (instead of 350 lb coming off) and 250 instead of 1000 lbs goes on the rear (so rear suspension compression in minimal). The truck squats equally front and rear (so it stays level) and even more importantly, the brake proportioning valve is opened so the rear brakes will do more and not less of the braking. It's a total win-win situation and the direct opposite of the lose-lose-lose situation that comes from using air bags for leveling.

[RockyMtnRay]

This raises an in-depth question: If the TM is level but the Tow vehicle is not, what options are available?

---Add a WDH, while this is probably the most common solution, but what if the height (stance) of the vehicle is too high to tow the TM level?

*Should you add a leaf to your rear suspension?
*Should you add springs or air shocks to the tow vehicle?
*If you use springs or air shocks, should you use a draw bar with a drop to make the TM level?
*If you use springs, air shocks, or add a leaf, should use a lift kit for the TM to make the TM level for towing?

By trying to correct one issue do you create another, making the TM unlevel (Front higher than the rear) for safe towing? I suppose the question is at what degree is it unsafe to tow the TM?


I believe some WDH's have a small drop built within the system, but will that be enough for Mike?

The ONLY solution is to use a WDH to level the tow vehicle and never, ever to use any booster spring or air system for tow vehicle leveling.

Once the tow vehicle is level, the trailer is leveled by raising or lowering the hitch's ball mount relative to the hitch shaft. Unlike the fixed drop of non weight distributing hitches, nearly all WDH have a fairly wide range of "drop" adjustability (typically 7 inches, some have as much as 12 inches) between the ball mount and the center of the shaft. For instance, when I used my Jeep for towing, the hitch shaft was 14 inches off the ground; with my Tundra the hitch shaft is 17 inches off the ground and that would have caused my trailer to be very hitch high/tail low. But since the hitch shaft ends in an modified L-shape, all I had to do was unbolt the WDH's ball mount from its hitch shaft (L had been pointing up), then flip the hitch shaft over (put the L pointing downward) and rebolt the ball mount to it at a different vertical bolt slot. Even though the hitch shaft is now 3 inches further from the ground, the distance from the top of the ball to the ground wound up exactly the same and so the trailer is still level.

[Caver]

I've attached a photo of my 3/4 TON Dodge VAN with the 3023 attached without the Weight Distribution Hitch (WDH). It was apparent when the dealer and I hooked it up that it was going to need a WDH. I think any of the available hitches would have been fine but I chose the Equalizer (brand name).

You might find it useful to read their installation instructions since they addresses the leveling and weigh distribution that Ray has described. You can also see the flexibility in the height adjustment.

http://www.equalizerhitch.com/Equal-i-zer%20Instructions.pdf

This WDH is more expensive and heavier than some hitches but it's well made and easy to use. If you get one be sure to order the 2 inch ball that fits it. This hitch accepts a 1 1/4 inch shank which is unusual in a 2 inch hitch ball.

May you enjoy level towing. Ray

[Bill]

When I am hooked up, the Trailer sets the rear of the pickup down. TM pulls level however the Ford F-150 is not level. I want to raise the bed of the truck and need to know Pros and Cons of Air Bags vs Air Shocks. Which route should I takeMike -

Don't use either, please!

First, get a weight distributing hitch. Set it up properly, and the truck should be level. If the TM is not level at this point, then you need to raise or lower the hitch ball. The ball height is adjustable on every WDH I have ever seen.

This is the ONLY proper way to level both the tow vehicle and the trailer.

Bill

[Mikewgolf]

Bill, Ray, Leon, Ripp, Larry Loo & CastleRock,

I appreciate all the response. You have given me excellent information to base my decision. I was not even looking into a WDH system.

I was planning to have the Air Bags installed next week. However due to the information you all have sent I am now looking into a WDH system.

Thanks & Happy Camping

Mike & Deb
Sugar Land, TX

All of you make this site awesome

[shunter917]

I used both a WDH and air bags. The WDH allowed me to distribute the weight and tow level, and the bags helped smooth the ride out. I don't know why, but I got better gas mileage, too. Not much, but 1 - 2 mpg. This setup worked well for me.

[Bill]

There is nothing wrong with the bags in this situation. The important thing is to distribute the weight, which only a WDH can do. If you've done that, and the bags improve the quality, go for it. And if it increases gas mileage - hey, that's a welcome bonus!

This situation also arises when your tow vehicle comes from the factory with automatically-inflated air bags/shocks. As noted in the WDH tutorial in the TM Reference Library (TM Info You Won't Find Anywhere Else), if you have factory-installed bags, you should turn off the compressor, hook up the TM and adjust the WDH - and then you can turn the compressor back on again. This should be a one-time only event - you do it when you need to figure out which chain link is the proper one to use on the spring bars. From then on, you just use that same chain link, and let the compressor do its thing.

Bill

[RealJeep]

Just read all of the posts and got many more questions answered than I had been pondering. Time to start shopping for a good WDH. :)

[RockyMtnRay]

Just read all of the posts and got many more questions answered than I had been pondering. Time to start shopping for a good WDH. :)
Yes, there is much collected wisdom here and we veterans are very appreciative of you taking the time to read and research what's already been posted.

As Bill posted over on the thread you started about hitches, these are the salient considerations for getting the right WDH to tow a TrailManor:

By comparison to other travel trailers, TrailManors have very high tongue weights relative to their total weight. Assume the tongue weight can be as much as 15% of the trailer's GVWR. IOW, the tongue weights will be in the 550 to 750 lb range depending on the size of the trailer. For instance, my 2720SL which I do somewhat front-load, has a tongue weight around 650 lbs.
The "approximate" hitch weights posted on the TrailManor company website are majorly, even dangerously understated. Multiply TM's hitch weight numbers by a factor of at least 1.5 to get more realistic weights.
Because the real world hitch weights are in the 550 to 750 lb range, you need to get a WDH with at least 750 lb ratings on the spring bars and 1000 lb bars are not at all overkill, especially on the longer TMs.
As long as you load them properly, TMs are inherently very sway resistant. Accordingly you don't have to worry about or buy the various and sometimes expensive "sway control" devices that owners of standard travel trailers must have on their WDHs. Therefore pretty much any standard WDH from almost any reputable hitch manufacturer will work just fine. As long as it has a reasonable (roughly 5 to 7 inch) range of adjustability for hitch ball height, almost any of the run-of-the-mill Drawtite or Reese brand WDHs will serve you just fine. No need at all to get fancy or expensive here....and that will save you some signifcant dollars.

[Padgett]

Every TV is different & the whole geometry will affect whether a WDH is needed or how it will react to different suspension components. Some there is no question, others might be good.

In my case I simply did not want to add any more load to the 3500lb axle on my TM & IMNSHO the geometry of my Jeep is as near to ideal as you can get in a production vehicle.