Air Helper Springs

[CaspersCruiser]

Yesterday, I took delivery of a certified pre-owned 2014 Chevy 2500HD diesel. My mission for the truck will be to tow a Ranger Tug R27 that I will take possession of in early April. In the glove box, I found documentation for Ride-Rite air helper springs that were installed by the previous owner. To be honest, I didn't notice them when I was looking at the truck and the dealer never mentioned them. I have zero experience with these things. What are their advantages/disadvantages? Should I have them removed? According to the manual, a certain minimum air pressure is required and they lose 3-4 PSI weekly. It seems to be a lot of maintenance will be required.

 

[lone ranger]

These are the best things since sliced cheese,however they should not leak.have someone go over the system,it's cant be to big of a problem to solve a air leak.they make for a great suspension upgrade.get under there with a soapy spray bottle and find that leak.

 

[recray]

Greetings,
As we are picking up our R27 in May with our Silverado HD2500 2x4, would it be advisable to install air spring helpers before hand or wait and first see how the truck handles the tongue weight? There is also a mechanical rear spring helper that is out as well. Curious on any experiences in this area. Thanks. Ray & Pam

 

[Scuffy]

We have a 2009 Chevy HD2500 with the Duramax Diesel. We have towed our R27 in excess of 10,000 miles and only have about 700 or 800 pounds of tongue weight on the truck. I never saw the need for air bags. The truck sits level with the trailer attached and the trailer tongue is level with the ground when hooked up to the truck. Check our album for copies of actual weight slips to verify tongue weight. It pulls straight with no hint of tag wagging at any speed :mrgreen:

 

[PhilR]

Last year I installed Roadmaster Active Suspension on my 2013 Chevy 2500HD Diesel, mainly because I have a 3,000 lb truck camper. It also makes my truck more stable when towing the boat....a side benefit. Big advantage....does not make for a hard ride when the truck is empty, and no maintenance required.

phil

 

[recray]

Thank Dave and Phil. I'm thinking now we will pick up the boat and see how the truck handles the load and modify the suspension as necessary in the Seattle area. Ray & Pam

 

[CaspersCruiser]

These are the best things since sliced cheese,however they should not leak.have someone go over the system,it's cant be to big of a problem to solve a air leak.......get under there with a soapy spray bottle and find that leak.

I have only had the truck for two days so I don't know if there's a leak or not. The documentation says pressure loss over time is normal, not to exceed 3-4 psi per week.

What makes these things so good to have?

 

[scross]

I am towing our R25 Classic with a specially equipped Toyota Tundra. I would not consider using the Tundra for towing without my Firestone airbags as part of my towing setup. You can adjust the air pressure in the bags to raise or lower the ball height with the loaded trailer attached to ensure the trailer is exactly level (fore and aft) with the ground. I use a digital level to check for the trailer being level to the ground. The reason that is important is that if the trailer is level with the ground then you are balancing the trailers load evenly between the two axles. Having the load evenly distributed between the two axles reduces tire wear and improves trailer braking performance.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

You can adjust the air pressure in the bags to raise or lower the ball height with the loaded trailer attached to ensure the trailer is exactly level (fore and aft) with the ground.

OK, thanks. It's making sense now. I just haven't had any experience with them or talked with anybody who uses them. What do you use to inflate them? Someone on another forum said he uses a bicycle pump. The bags were just about flat when I took delivery of the truck. I used a portable air tank to inflate them to 10 psi.

 

[scross]

Mine lose one or two PSI each month, not each week. I have two tire type valves that are mounted near the truck hitch to fill the bags. On mine, 10 PSI is an around town setting when not towing. Your best PSI for non-towing driving may be different. I use about 35 psi in mine for towing my trailer. Your best trailer towing pressure setting could be quite a bit different than mine depending on your rear suspension configuration and your trailer tongue weight. Again, the goal is to set the pressure in the air bags to get the trailer frame parallel to the ground.
And the air bags do provide a feeling of more stability in the trucks handling all of the time. They were a great addition to my truck. I add pressure to my air bags with a small 12 volt air compressor powered through a truck cigarette lighter outlet. Some air bag installations have a dedicated compressor "built in" to control the pressure.

 

[REO6205]

I have Firestone air bags on my Tacoma. They're great. They lose about two pounds a month. I inflate them with a bicycle pump and use a bike air guage for accuracy.
Around town, empty, I run about five pounds. With the R-21 twenty pounds seems about right. A load of firewood takes thirty pounds.

They're four years old now and there hasn't been any deterioration of the bags or lines. I spent most of one day installing them. A professional garage could probably do it in a couple of hours.

 

[scross]

One more thing. Yes, you can get the trailer level by using a ball mount that has the right amount of drop or rise. But doing this alone will probably result in your truck's rear end sagging down. For best towing control you want your truck in a level attitude too - not nose high with little weight on the front wheels.

 

[snydzy]

Just a note: Airing-up the “helper springs” doesn’t change the lever-type action that tongue-weight plays in lifting the truck’s front suspension when it rolls through dips and over rises with a heavy trailer in-tow. A weight-distributing hitch, on the other hand, keeps that suspension-upsetting action in check by keeping those sudden changes in weight distribution muted......and the truck in control. I'm all in for weight distribution hitches for hauling heavy trailers with tugs...

 

[BB marine]

I installed the Firestone airbags on my Tahoe to in the attempt to use it as a tow vehicle to pull my 26 Cutwater. They worked great ! I kept 3 to 5 PSI in the bags with no load ( the ride was not compromised), and put 20 psi in them before putting the tongue on the hitch. Tahoe stayed level. After unhooking the trailer from the Tahoe I adjusted the air back to 3 to 5 PSI or the ride is definitely compromised.

After installing the bags on the Tahoe it was brought to my attention that even though the rig is level the weight on the rear of the vehicle is the same. Meaning the steering Axel is still light and presents hazards while driving in the rain ,braking and steering. The air bags raise the the rear end of the vehicle but the weight is the same. I argued the point that the rear tire of the trailer gains weight because the load is level. The shift in weight is minimal. The air bags strictly assist the suspension that is on the vehicle or in some applications the air bags are the suspension. The only way to shift the weight is to make adjustments in the load less ( tongue weight ) or Weight distribution bars. Weight distribution bars actually shift the weight off the rear Axel and distribute it to steering Axel and trailer Axels and when the bars are adjusted right the trailer and tow vehicle ride level. Part of the set up is to make sure the front of the vehicle drops down to assure weight is applied to the steering Axel to help prevent hydroplaning, better breaking and steering control. I also installed these on the Tahoe. I have pictures of the setup in my photo album.

In all the efforts to use the Tahoe as a tow Vehicle it just wasn't big enough. It was an 8500lbs tow vehicle and all additions made it a better 8500lbs tow vehicle not a 11000lbs tow vehicle. I purchased a Chevrolet 2500HD 4WD 14000LBS capacity much better! Even with the heavier suspension the truck does lower when the trailer is lowered on the hitch. I set up the Weight distribution on the 2500 HD .We have only towed it once about a1000 miles and handled nice reduced sway, better ride in the cab , rode level.

Brian Brown
26 Cutwater
PORT-A-GEE

 

[jld]

IMHO, if you have a fairly recent 3/4 ton HD truck you shouldn't need airbags to have a level ride with the addition of only 700 or 800 hundred pounds of tongue weight (payload). Of course if you already have added 1,000 lbs of payload to the truck, not including the boat, then things might be different.

While airbags are often properly used, sometimes folks misuse airbags, especially when towing 5th wheels and trailers. I have seen cases where folks put airbags on 1/2 ton trucks when they really should have a 3/4 ton truck, and airbags on a 3/4 ton truck when they really should have a 1 ton truck. Truck payload has much more to do that just changing the springs.

If all the towing and payload numbers are within the trucks limits and the truck doesn't sit level, then the truck is a good candidate for airbags. Personally, I would not add them to a 3/4 HD truck without first hitching the trailer (with boat of course) to the truck and seeing its stance.


Jim

 

[scross]

Please see this 13 minute video is you are interested in the impacts of using air bags vs weight distribution hitches. Weight distribution hitches are a MUCH BETTER solution to the sag problem and unleveled trailer than air bags alone.

http://www.fastwaytrailer.com/blog/weig ... s-air-bags

BUT, if you have an aluminum I beam frame trailer like I do, your manufacturer most likely does not recommend the use of a weight distribution hitch. Tuff Trailers told me, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!", So air bags were the best remaining solution for my set up.
I also learned something from the video that, while the air bags will reduce the front axle rise, they do not add any of the weight back to the trucks front axle like I thought they did. In the video, the front axle weight using air bags was about 10% lower than the front axle weight without the trailer attached.

 

[CaspersCruiser]

Please see this 13 minute video is you are interested in the impacts of using air bags vs weight distribution hitches.

That video IS illuminating!

 

[harry ames]

The firestone bags are great. I use them with everything I tow for leveling or ride control.