Towing: Have Rear Air Springs To Level Truck

Cobra4B · July 12, 2007

have air lift helper springs to level out my truck when towing. Does this negate the effect of a WD setup?

It's my understanding that a WD setup transfers the trailer toung weight to the front wheels so the truck is evenly weighted.

However, if the air bags are inflated so that the truck is level wouldn't this have the same effect?

I was going to get a WD setup, but on the truck forum someone said the WD won't offer any help w/ the bags inflated.

Thanks,

Brian

C & A s Dad · July 12, 2007

Brian, I am not sure what you are towing or your tongue weight but I also have AirLift bags in my rear coils on my Yukon XL. I run them at 25 PSI when towing my camper and use them in conjunction with an Equal i zer brand WD hitch. The hitch was great by itself but the air bags really helped my contol and took care of almost all of my "lope and bounce" when I am on those roads that seem so wavy.

A WD hitch is deisgned to move some of the tongue wt to the front axle simply helping to evenly distribute the weight. A guy explained it to me by telling me to imagine the WD bars as wheel barrow handles. When you lift up on the bars, it move wt to the front. In an ideal situation, the truck would "squat" equally on all 4 corners when hooked up. You may not achieve that but it will at least keep the front end from lifting.

Look at the Equal i zer. It not only is a great WD hitch, it also has built in sway control that works.

How much are you towing and what is your tongue weight?

Cobra4B · July 12, 2007

I'll be towing my Z06 on a Texas Rollback open trailer. The Z w/ mods is under 3100lbs, but lets use 3100 to over estimate. The trailer is supposedly 1800 so that makes for 4900lbs.

I don't know the toung weight, but it's a double axle trailer. I'm going against the grain and modding a GMC Canyon to tow it.

I've done my homework... the S10/Sonoma was rated at 5900 when properly equipped and the Canyon/Colorado is rated at 4000 simply because GM softened up the rear suspension for ride quality figuring that people wanting to tow more would simply buy a 1500.

Oddly, that didn't happen, people seem to be buying up competitors mid-size trucks i.e. Tacoma. So... for '08 the Canyon/Coly are rated to pull 5500... go figure.

Anyway... I've decided to keep my "little" truck because it gets 25 MPG highway and 20 around town, plus it only has 19k on it and is paid for.

That all out of the way... I have added air lift rear bags, an extra air/liquid trans cooler, and a full 7-pin harness w/ valley inertia brak controller (like the prodigy).

Now I'm trying to figure out if I need the WD setup.

JoshS · July 12, 2007

You are absolutely right -- with airbags, you won't get much help from weight-distributing hitches. In fact, if you use the airbags to get the truck back to level, then you won't be able to get much tension on the weight-distributing bars.

BUT -- you won't have sway control. Consider that.

C & A s Dad · July 12, 2007

Josh, I do not want to sound like I completely disagree with you but if his tongue wt is anywhere near what I think it is, the airbags will not level the truck. My air bags max at 30 psi and I run them at 25. They certainly raise the rear of my Yuk XL when hitched but not all the way to level. I get good tension on my bars on my Equal i zer and do not have the brackets on the highest setting. Without my hitch I am getting over an inch of lift on my front end and I cannot remember exactly, but I am getting only about 1/8 " of lift in the front when the bars are hitched.

He will know if he needs a WD hitch and my bet is he will need one. Or at least it will make his towing much more controled especially with the limited wheel base of his tow vehicle. Hey with a a Z 06 hanging behind me, I would want to take every precaution to protect that bad boy.

JoshS · July 12, 2007

Josh, I do not want to sound like I completely disagree with you but if his tongue wt is anywhere near what I think it is, the airbags will not level the truck.

Yes, I agree. If the airbags cannot get the truck back to level, then you'll still get some benefit from LD.

Cobra4B · July 12, 2007

Josh, I do not want to sound like I completely disagree with you but if his tongue wt is anywhere near what I think it is, the airbags will not level the truck.

Yes, I agree. If the airbags cannot get the truck back to level, then you'll still get some benefit from LD.

Thanks guys... makes sense. The air-lift brand bags I have have a max pressure setting of 100 psi. I want sway control so I'll go w/ the WD anyway.

I'll mesure the front and rear heights, then load it up and do what's needed to get it back to unloaded measurements.

I'll fill the bags first and see where that gets me, keeping it no more than 90 psi or so, then I'll use the WD to finalize it.

Cobra4B · July 13, 2007

ttt... am I on the right track?

C & A s Dad · July 13, 2007

When you start doing your research on WD hitches, look at the Hensley Arrow. It is by far the premier WD hitch but a new one cost about $3,500.00. The more reasonable choices are the Equal i zer like I have or the Reese Dual Cam. I chose the Equal i zer over the Reese becaue of ease of set up and simplicity. I have heard good things about the Reese though.

Cobra4B · July 13, 2007

When you start doing your research on WD hitches, look at the Hensley Arrow. It is by far the premier WD hitch but a new one cost about $3,500.00. The more reasonable choices are the Equal i zer like I have or the Reese Dual Cam. I chose the Equal i zer over the Reese becaue of ease of set up and simplicity. I have heard good things about the Reese though.

I really hope you're off by a factor of 10.

kaferman · July 13, 2007

Thats alot of weight for a rating of 4,000 pounds. But, not unreasonable. I had a canyon, and pulled a 4400lb travel trailer. It did OK, until I hit some hills, and it strained pretty hard. Tongue weight was 350, I had WD and sway controller, no air bags.

just me $0.02

C & A s Dad · July 13, 2007

When you start doing your research on WD hitches, look at the Hensley Arrow. It is by far the premier WD hitch but a new one cost about $3,500.00. The more reasonable choices are the Equal i zer like I have or the Reese Dual Cam. I chose the Equal i zer over the Reese becaue of ease of set up and simplicity. I have heard good things about the Reese though.

I really hope you're off by a factor of 10.

Nope, the Hensley runs somewhere around $3,500.00 new if I remember correctly. It is accepted as the absolute best hitch in the industry but I just could not justify the cost. Of course people who have them say you cannot put a price on safety. They are right so I use my $450.00 Eual i zer and drive very conservatively when towing.

When I was researching this Hensley's website showed a demo video of a Dodge Intrepid pulling a 30+ ft Airstream. They showed the driver swerving and braking to demonstrate how stable this hitch is. They also do a great job making you feel guilty if you buy anything less than their hitch.

ZZ327 · July 13, 2007

if your trailer starts swaying just downshift, That usually brings it back in control for me, and if it happens its usually because Im going too fast! Get trailer brakes too for the trailer too!