Air bags or not?

[Danny V]

Howdy. Newbie here. We are making Preps to go full time in the next few months. We have a 2020 F350 4x4 pulling a 2022 Forest River Sabre about 11,600 lbs. I am wondering if I should get air bags installed? If so do I go with Airlift or Timbren SES?

 

[Gronk]

Is the weight you give the GVW or dry weight? If it is the gross vehicle weight then you will have somewhere around 2500 pound pin weight. You shouldn't need any kind of suspension assistance with that weight. If the weight is the dry weight, then it is a useless number. Look at the sticker on the left side of the trailer and get the GVW and multiply that by 22 to 25% for an estimate of the pin weight. Then look at the cargo carrying capacity of the truck. Subtract the weight of everything you plan on putting in your truck including yourself and anyone else. If the pin weight is less than the number you came up with iyou are golden and shouldn't need to add air bags or Timbrens.

 

[SaltyVetAdventures]

You will get all kinds of opinions. But the simple fact is that if your are within your trucks capabilities you should not need air bags. If you are over your trucks rated capacities then air bags aren't the "legal" answer.

With that said...air bags or other suspension enhancement almost always make the ride more stable and more comfortable.

5th wheel pin weight should be 15%-20%. Toy haulers can have a higher pin weight when not loaded with toys in the garage.

To set up your truck and trailer correctly and ensure you have the best experience do the following...
1) go to a CAT scale (truck stop) and weigh your truck with just you and a full tank of fuel. You will have two numbers, steer axle (front) and drive axle (back).
2) go back to the CAT scale with your your truck and trailer. Make sure the trailer tanks are all empty. Now you have 3 numbers. Steer axle (probably a bit lighter with the trailer), Drive axle (definitely heavier now). Finally, you have your trailer axle.

These numbers are completely made up for this example...
Truck only: Steer = 5000, Drive = 3000
Truck and trailer: Steer = 4900, Drive = 5000, Trailer = 10,000

Your truck weighs 5000+3000= 8000 lbs.
With the trailer your truck now weighs 4900+5000=9900 lbs.
The trailer is transferring 9900-8000=1900 lbs to your truck.
Total trailer weight is 10,000+1900=11,900 lbs.

Now you can generally figure how much weight you can add to your set up. Remember water is about 8.6 lbs per gallon. All your clothes, bedding, food... Add all the people in your truck, the dog, coolers...

You want to check the max GVWR for your truck and make sure your truck doesn't go over that number when towing. F350 non-dually GVWR is somewhere around 11,900 lbs (don't quote me on that). Check your door jamb sticker.

In my example above with random numbers the pin weight (or hitch weight) is too light at only 10% of the trailer weight. This would be about perfect for a bumper pull but a 5th wheel should be 15%-20%.

If this seems complicated...it's really not once you get it. Just go line by line in my example and use your actual numbers. Getting weighed at a CAT scale is about $12 or so.

I get weighed a few times a year "for fun" when passing a scale just to see where I am at with weight when loaded up in different camping "configurations".

 

[FL-JOE]

Bags do not increase your towing capacity, they will simply level out your truck.

When we initially went FT back in 2012 we started in a F350 4x4 SRW with the short box. Our fiver at that time caused the truck to sit about 3" low when hooked up. I put air bags on the rear of that truck.

Currently we have a F350 but it is DRW with the long bed. Even though our current fiver is 44' the truck only squats about an inch when hooked up, therefore I am not using bags now.

If you tow after dark it is nice to keep your truck level so your headlights work properly, plus on very windy tow days I used to increase my psi in the bags for a little more stability.