I've seen a lot of discussions on adding air bags to the rear, but have never understood if it really helps the ride quality. My Sunnybrook 29dbs has a hitch weight of around 1200 lbs. It rides pretty good, but an improvement would always be welcome. Do air bags improve the ride when towing?

What they do, at least for me, is reduce the "porpoising" that occurs when going over expansion joints and during accelleration and braking. One thing that annoyed me was the incessant bouncing as the stock suspension struggles to settle when absorbing bumps with all that weight. Airbags have all but eliminated it. Yes, the rear suspension is less compliant, but when loaded, you don't want to be running to the extents of your suspension anyways IMHO. I have em, and am very satistied with the difference.


Mike

Roegs,

I had them on my 2500 and had the same satisfying results
as Mike. I had a remote compressor and an in-cab guage and could modify them on the fly as the road conditions changed. I plan to ad the set I bought for my 3500 as soon as I find the time.

Regards,
Bob

Agreed with VFR, but then again my king pin weight is 3200lbs. Edited by: neverenuf

I for one would not tow without them. 36ft. Cameo 3 slide, and you would not know it was there. I find the unloaded ride is also improved with a min pressure present in the bags.http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/smileys/Approve.gif

Thanks for the replies. I'm towing with a Hensley hitch, and the drob bar is already set for my existing rear bumper height when the WD bars are tightened. I'm assuming that the air bags will lift the rear of the truck somewhat. How much will the bags need to lift the rear in order to provide a better ride quality?


Thanks again!

Roegs, I set up by pressure, with 25 lbs in bags unloaded, which will reach about 40lbs or so when I set the 5-er on it. This seems to make the ride smoooooth, (also carry 75 lbs. in rear tires) and keeps the truck at a positive rake. I hate a squattin' truck, it looks like a dog scootin' across the lawn. When empty, I keep 5-10 lbs. It seems to raise an empty truck about 3/4 inch by my eye. I carry a compressor when towing, but do not have it hooked into the bags, so I fill em and keep em there.

Now, how does that relate to a tow behind?? I would experiment, load er up and air the bags so as not to raise excessively, and see how she rides. I am guessin' that in the 15 lbs range might be close.