Air bags vs overload springs

[Tireguy397]

Air Lift 5000 air bags really do a great job of leveling our Excursion when we tow our 31 ft. XLR. I don't even use the bars on my weight distributing hitch anymore and couldn't ask for a better ride or tow. i love to tick the DW off by inflating the bags with the trailer unhooked. It makes her Excursion look like my Road Runner did back in the seventies when I would pump up the air shocks. I wonder if she would let me put some L70-15 tires on the Excursion like the Road Runner had? Nah, they couldn't handle the load.

[DrippingDuo]

Air bags (bought and installed by my son-in-law) were the best answer for leveling and traveling issues.

[duramaxlbz]

I have both air bags and helper springs. They work great.

[DocGTO]

Wireless on board air and Firestone Airlift 5000 bags. Works like a charm.

[bareftn]

Originally Posted by duramaxlbz

I have both air bags and helper springs. They work great.

Looks like in your pic. you have two sets of springs? Which one is the helper springs and I don't see the air bags

[clutchd]

Originally Posted by bareftn

Looks like in your pic. you have two sets of springs? Which one is the helper springs and I don't see the air bags

The lower set of springs is the main leaf pack, the upper set is not really helper springs, but are factory overloads. Those 2 terms have become inter changeable now. What oems did was use 2 spring pack instead of one so when not towing/hauling heavy the ride was nicer. Then when towing/hauling the weight caused the second set of springs to contact the upper spring perches and act like one large spring pack.

The air bags are inside the spring right under the fram

[ferguson65]

Originally Posted by Tireguy397

Air Lift 5000 air bags really do a great job of leveling our Excursion when we tow our 31 ft. XLR. I don't even use the bars on my weight distributing hitch anymore and couldn't ask for a better ride or tow.

And that's exactly what air bags AREN'T for.

I have the Airlift 5000 ultimates on my F350. Easy load leveling and no degradation in ride when empty. Even better now that I got the WirelessAIR compressor kit from Airlift installed. Very happy with the whole system.

[bareftn]

Originally Posted by clutchd

The lower set of springs is the main leaf pack, the upper set is not really helper springs, but are factory overloads. Those 2 terms have become inter changeable now. What oems did was use 2 spring pack instead of one so when not towing/hauling heavy the ride was nicer. Then when towing/hauling the weight caused the second set of springs to contact the upper spring perches and act like one large spring pack.

The air bags are inside the spring right under the fram

Thankyou for getting back to me

[banda]

Originally Posted by Tireguy397

I don't even use the bars on my weight distributing hitch anymore

Originally Posted by ferguson65

And that's exactly what air bags AREN'T for.

I agree. Quick Google search brought up the following:
Weight Distribution Hitches vs. Airbags
https://www.etrailer.com/question-9834.html
https://www.etrailer.com/question-90387.html

[goduc]

So my 12 Ram 2500 CTD has 2176lbs of payload capacity. If I add Firestone bags that add 5000lbs more weight carrying ability does that mean I can carry 7176lbs in the bed of the truck. My tires can handle 6830 lbs as I upgraded to some 18" 275/65/18 BFG KO2s. So I'm guessing my real limit would be the tires at 6830lbs does that seem right? With my empty rear axle weight of 2950lbs that means I could load 3880lbs in the rear. So the wife and I are light weights and total weight is around 270lbs, add in the 5th hitch of 175lbs that would leave us with a 3435lbs for pin weight. So realistically a pin of 3000lbs would be feasible.

[4mula1fan]

Originally Posted by goduc

So my 12 Ram 2500 CTD has 2176lbs of payload capacity. If I add Firestone bags that add 5000lbs more weight carrying ability does that mean I can carry 7176lbs in the bed of the truck. My tires can handle 6830 lbs as I upgraded to some 18" 275/65/18 BFG KO2s. So I'm guessing my real limit would be the tires at 6830lbs does that seem right? With my empty rear axle weight of 2950lbs that means I could load 3880lbs in the rear. So the wife and I are light weights and total weight is around 270lbs, add in the 5th hitch of 175lbs that would leave us with a 3435lbs for pin weight. So realistically a pin of 3000lbs would be feasible.

You're kidding, right?

[CWSWine]

Originally Posted by goduc

So my 12 Ram 2500 CTD has 2176lbs of payload capacity. If I add Firestone bags that add 5000lbs more weight carrying ability does that mean I can carry 7176lbs in the bed of the truck. My tires can handle 6830 lbs as I upgraded to some 18" 275/65/18 BFG KO2s. So I'm guessing my real limit would be the tires at 6830lbs does that seem right? With my empty rear axle weight of 2950lbs that means I could load 3880lbs in the rear. So the wife and I are light weights and total weight is around 270lbs, add in the 5th hitch of 175lbs that would leave us with a 3435lbs for pin weight. So realistically a pin of 3000lbs would be feasible.

Is this meant to be funny - At least I hope so!!! Air bags add zero to the max payload of what the truck can carry. You would exceed you MAX AXLE weight by hundreds of pounds with the numbers you are posting and you should never exceed max axle weights and put your love ones in the truck.

[twiggw]

5000 lb air bags mean they can support 5000 lbs without popping! They add no capacity to your vehicle.

[PenJoe]

Air bags only assist in what your GVW is. Any upgrades to tires will only assist with what your GVW is. Neither adds TV GVW capacity as stipulated on your 2500 CTD door plate. If you have the "opportunity" to go across a weight station scale, that's the numbers they will hold you to.

DOT officers have been known to sit at state border crossings doing random checks. Their primary duty is trucks, but their ultimate duty is to keep the roads safe. It can get pretty pricey and inconvenient to be over the max GVW. These officers have a job to do and they can pretty well compute in their heads if the rig will pass muster. And rest assured, if you had an accident the GVW will come into play. If nothing else, think about the most precious cargo sitting next to you.

As the GPS says when missing a direction, "Recalculating-recalculating"

[duramaxlbz]

Originally Posted by bareftn

Looks like in your pic. you have two sets of springs? Which one is the helper springs and I don't see the air bags

The top ones are the helper springs. There is the air bags crappy pics.

[duramaxlbz]

And as stated the bottom is the factory 2500 leaf springs. And in fact the top ones are helper springs. I installed them. And the bags..

[PHS79]

I run airbags on my truck, not because I over load it but to level the truck back out when it is loaded. I have a small 3" lift installed in my truck and it sits level with nothing in the bed, but even with a 550lb ATV in the bed it squats noticeably (about 1.25"). With the 900 lb TW of the camper (with Reese dual), and a couple hundred lbs of firewood and misc in the bed it is very noticeable with the rear down about 3.5". But if the truck had the stock rake (front end down, rear end up) the rear would only be 1/2" low.

Mine has 5000lb Firestone Ride-Rite bags with a Airlift Quick Shot air system. With 35 lbs of air in the bags (and WD hitch on) the truck is back to level.

[doc73]

That is the down side to many lifts.. They fail to mention that you loose your hauling ability a lot of times because the new Springs do are not made to do anything but lift a vehicle.

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