Air bags on Ram 1500

[jwedell]

Thinking of installing Air Lift 1000 air bags on my 2013 Ram 1500. Will be towing a trailer close to capacity of the truck and was wondering if anyone has experience with them.

[donniedu]

If your that close that you need additional support, then you need more truck. Air bags will not increase your load carrying capacity.

[searay245se]

The 1500 Ram has coil spring rear end and tends to squat with just alittle weight put on it.I know I had to put the air lift 1000 bags on mine and now the squat is all gone.Here are before and after pics.

[Obrieri]

I have have good results with the system. I installed the Air Lift system 4 years ago on the 2010 Ram 1500. Even through the tough Newfoundland winters the bags & hose system routed through the bumper are tight.

[jwedell]

Thank you all for the replies. Although the capacity of the truck is 1440 lbs my total rear axle weight is only 1100 lbs. The trailer is 25 ft long and weighs 4900 lbs dry, I just wanted a little stiffer rear end support for our trip to Florida. With the Blue Ox Sway Pro WDH the truck and trailer ride level and there is no sway. A stiffer rear just my personal preference. We wish everyone a safe and happy Holiday Season.

[HONDAMAN174]

Take a look at supersprings.com

I went with the sumospring after another member here talked about.

The staff is GREAT! I put myself in a rush/emergency position and they were able to accommodate me.

Doesn't squat like before and on a rough highway could tell the difference in ride comfort even with tires inflated pretty high. $230? Shipped to you and 20 minutes to install and no maintance. Perfect for me.


2014 Stealth Evo 2850 "Woodstock"
2011 Toyota Tundra Rock Crawler TRD 5.7 "Clifford"

[Torch]

I had a 2012 Ram 1500 Quad cab SB towing a 276 Kodiak TT and I installed the Airlift 1000, took me an easy 2hrs to do. I did buy a cheap chisel and rounded off the sharp end so I can push the airbag in. You can look at YOUTUBE for some tips. It made a world of difference. I bought a portable compressor with a 12v extension cord so that I could inflate or deflate at will.

[goduc]

Best towing experience I have had was when I had an 08 F150 and a small 22' 4000lbs TT. I needed to carry a lot of gear in the truck and it dropped the rear a bit. That plus the 500lb TW from the TT worsened it even more. I 1st tried 1000lb bars to try and transfer some weight as well as lift the sagging rear. The 1000lb bars made the ride jerky and bouncy. So I ditched the 1000lb bars and went with some that were 400-600lbs. At the same time I installed the Firestone bags.
The best way to set up the loads with bags is to 1st measure the rear fender wells of the truck empty. Load the gear in then air up the bags to the original height. Then hitch up the TT and adjust as usual. It needs to be done in that order so that if you're using a friction based WD you don't unload the weight from the WD bars if they're part of the sway control.
That combo was the smoothest towing setup to date. Rode like a Caddy.

[PJRNM]

JWEDELL,

I think you are on the right track. I appears as though I tow a tad more trailer, and have had no problems with the exception of a little sag. I plan to do the same thing before next season.

Paul

[wbdavey]

I had the Air Lift bags on my 14 Ram Ecodiesel, but could not get the fittings on top of the bags to stop leaking (I think I scratched the little brass fittings during install). So i replaced the Air Lift bags with bags from Timber Grove enterprises. They were more expensive - about $400, but are very heavy duty and well made. Instead of stuffing a bag inside the coil spring, these bags mount on the axle to the brackets that would attach the factory air suspension. They also use heavy duty tractor trailer type air fittings and lines. Just another option for your consideration.

[Chillbilly]

I used Tembrins chassis enhancement system and they worked great! When I sold the truck I took them off. I still have them and will sell them to you for $100. Contact me.

[whj77372]

Sorry but I feel same as the poster above, if you require air bags to tow at or under the trucks limit, then you need a bigger truck.

[Torch]

Not really, I had an Equalizer 4 point hitch with the air bags and did fine. The bags were more for leveling the truck,not to over exceed it's capacity.

[jwedell]

Originally Posted by whj77372

Sorry but I feel same as the poster above, if you require air bags to tow at or under the trucks limit, then you need a bigger truck.

As I Mentioned earlier all I want is to stiffen up the rear for the tow to Florida. The truck and trailer are no way over loaded. Just like a firmer ride. That's just me. Just looking to see if anyone did it and if they liked the results.

On edit, having a set of Airlift AirCell supports installed. Looks like what I need.

[vocoder]

I put AirLift 5000 bags in my 2013 GMC 1500 and run them about 35 PSI when towing a fully-loaded toy hauler with an equalizer hitch. The difference is amazing. The bounce is gone, the ride is smooth and level and at highway speed, everything feels in-control and solid.

[dustman_stx]

I am a believer in air bags, too. Especially on the new 1/2 ton trucks. The suspension is setup for ride quality rather than towing. In no way do you need "more truck" to tow at published ratings. I opted for the Firestone Riderite system as it has heavy steel mounting hardware. Haven't seen it or attempted to confirm but have been told that some systems actually use plastic mounting plates????

[dustman_stx]

Originally Posted by vocoder

I put AirLift 5000 bags in my 2013 GMC 1500 and run them about 35 PSI when towing a fully-loaded toy hauler with an equalizer hitch. The difference is amazing. The bounce is gone, the ride is smooth and level and at highway speed, everything feels in-control and solid.

My experience exactly with air bags on my F150.

[goduc]

People get too hung up on thinking that if you add some suspension component you don't have enough truck. Since when do Ford/GM/Ram put the best of the best on their trucks? Adding after market shocks or bags to help improve the ride is a heck of a cheaper than buying a 3/4-1ton truck just to get a stiffer ride. Sure the 3/4 ton trucks ride is solid compared to a 1/2 ton and you wouldn't have to upgrade anything to tow 6-7000lbs. But at what cost? $7-8000.00 more over a 1/2 ton. If the 1/2 ton is within specs for towing then adding $2-300 for an improvement in the suspension department makes perfect sense.

[jwedell]

Originally Posted by goduc

People get too hung up on thinking that if you add some suspension component you don't have enough truck. Since when do Ford/GM/Ram put the best of the best on their trucks? Adding after market shocks or bags to help improve the ride is a heck of a cheaper than buying a 3/4-1ton truck just to get a stiffer ride. Sure the 3/4 ton trucks ride is solid compared to a 1/2 ton and you wouldn't have to upgrade anything to tow 6-7000lbs. But at what cost? $7-8000.00 more over a 1/2 ton. If the 1/2 ton is within specs for towing then adding $2-300 for an improvement in the suspension department makes perfect sense.

Exactly. Just as owners upgrade their tires and their WDHs etc.