RCorsa Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 I have a new 2022 F250 with Max Tow Package but its a Shelby build so the shocks/suspension have been modified. Id still like to do a bit of medium/heavy towing of my surf boat (10-11K) so I'm considering adding an air suspension. Is this something the Ford Dealer will do or will I have to take to a specialty shop. There aren't many/if any I can find in my area which is why Im wondering. Do any of you have suggestions?. Based on my Boat/Trailer my tongue weight is around 1000 which is way under the capacity listed in the door sill .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmcken81 Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 I don’t think you’ll need airbags, which also take away from off-road articulation, based on the tongue weight. If you’re concerned about rear sag, look at Timbrens or Sumo bags…they only attach on high side and don’t affect articulation. Also, they only come in contact with the axle when under a heavy load…don’t affect unloaded driving. My two cents. PS Love your truck, but would want power running boards myself. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyall Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 Adding air bags is at best a 1/5 difficulty project if you get the 'right' ones (no drill), albeit time consuming on the first side. Unless you are strapped for time no need to farm out. Just have a six-pack ice cold. (FYI, tongue/trailer weights are listed on a sticker on the receiver itself. Door jamb sticker is payload. There is no substitute for CAT weights. Boats should be closer to 8% gross.) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCorsa Posted February 7, 2022 Author Share Posted February 7, 2022 Thanks. Wasn’t sure if they are needed so I guess I will try it without. I had Tibron bump stops on my old raptor which helped a bit when towing less weight. (7k). I did watch a few videos on installing the air bags. Didn’t seem too hard but would clearly be easier for a shop to do on a lift. Truck does have power running boards btw. Can’t imagine getting in without them. Lol Lastly I’m not sure what you mean about boats being 8% gross.? I know the total weight of boat and trailer (10500) and had my dealer measure the tongue weight which was about 10% of the total (1000) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doyall Posted February 7, 2022 Share Posted February 7, 2022 15 minutes ago, RCorsa said: ... Lastly I’m not sure what you mean about boats being 8% gross.? I know the total weight of boat and trailer (10500) and had my dealer measure the tongue weight which was about 10% of the total (1000) That is kind of confusing. Tongue weight on a boat usually more around 8% of the gross boat/trailer weight. 10% shouldn't present a problem. Better heavier than lighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmcken81 Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 (edited) First, if your payload is beyond 2k+, even with Shelby Baja, bags shouldn’t be an issue with 1k tongue weight. Another thing about Airbags, we have Airlift 5000 on our F150 max tow v8, which attach upper and lower…if you try off-road articulation, the bags will/may rip. If you use Airbags that only connect on one side and have a cradle on the other side, you shouldn’t have articulation problems. That said, Timbrens/Sumo’s only connect on the high side, and engage only under heavy load…don’t affect unloaded ride, but Airbags do. Glad you have power running boards, else one Hell of a first step getting in or out.? Edited February 8, 2022 by sjmcken81 Relevance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjmcken81 Posted February 8, 2022 Share Posted February 8, 2022 (edited) 23 hours ago, RCorsa said: Thanks. Wasn’t sure if they are needed so I guess I will try it without. I had Tibron bump stops on my old raptor which helped a bit when towing less weight. (7k). I did watch a few videos on installing the air bags. Didn’t seem too hard but would clearly be easier for a shop to do on a lift. Truck does have power running boards btw. Can’t imagine getting in without them. Lol Lastly I’m not sure what you mean about boats being 8% gross.? I know the total weight of boat and trailer (10500) and had my dealer measure the tongue weight which was about 10% of the total (1000) RCorsa, See above Edited February 8, 2022 by sjmcken81 Edit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shftn6 Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 I added air bags on my 450 and don’t use them with my 17,000 lb 5th wheel 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted February 11, 2022 Share Posted February 11, 2022 Yea, that's relevant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hayweezie Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I had the airlift 5000 bags on my 250 just to reduce the bounce after hitting a bump in the road. The roads in Alabama have a lot of pot holes. My trailer pin weight was 1,800 pounds and truck payload was 2,600. The truck only sagged about an 1 inch when hooking the trailer up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtlasBlue350 Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I have Airlift bags on my Duramax 2500HD and found they really helped smooth the ride when hauling the 5th wheel. Not sure if I'll add them to my 350 when it arrives as I'll need to test it for a bit to see how the ride is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon966 Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 I had a 2020 7.3 Tremor F-250 and towed 15K once a month bumper pull. I had to add sumo springs to control sag. Now that I've ordered a 2022 250 6.7, I'm considering airbags as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted February 14, 2022 Share Posted February 14, 2022 If you go with bags, I would recommend the 7" bags over the standard 5". They do the same work at a lower pressure so you get a lot better ride out of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlgtr04 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 On 2/14/2022 at 9:56 AM, Robin Hood said: If you go with bags, I would recommend the 7" bags over the standard 5". They do the same work at a lower pressure so you get a lot better ride out of them. I recently was able to see this exact thing in side by side truck, quite a noticeable difference. When my F-250 comes 7" bags will be added shortly after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkzoot Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 An interesting video on airbags using scales to show the effects. https://youtu.be/XBZu39pQ8Gg 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamabuckeye4life Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 1 hour ago, winkzoot said: An interesting video on airbags using scales to show the effects. https://youtu.be/XBZu39pQ8Gg Very interesting video thanks for sharing. I would have like to seen them add a little air to the bags with the weight distribution hitch connected to see if it makes it better or worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Sounds like they make more money selling equalizer hitches to guys with under-rated trucks and over loaded and/or unbalanced trailers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlgtr04 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 12 hours ago, winkzoot said: An interesting video on airbags using scales to show the effects. https://youtu.be/XBZu39pQ8Gg Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JN ford250 Posted March 2, 2022 Share Posted March 2, 2022 Very interesting video thanks for sharing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP25 Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 I have a F350 CCSB on order and will be towing a 30ft bumper-pull toy hauler. Currently pull it with a 2017 F150/equalizer 4 pt, and added Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) for the squat (which it absolutely fixed). I assume I will still have some squat with this trailer on the 350, with roughly 1,000 pound tongue weight (but maybe not?). Does anyone have any experience using RAS on a Super Duty? It's a great product and the only negative is that it raised the rear of my 150 by an inch. I keep seeing positive reviews with the timbrens and sumos, but wonder if RAS is still another option, or if that product is better suited for the half tons. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rangers09 Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 1 hour ago, BP25 said: I have a F350 CCSB on order and will be towing a 30ft bumper-pull toy hauler. Currently pull it with a 2017 F150/equalizer 4 pt, and added Roadmaster Active Suspension (RAS) for the squat (which it absolutely fixed). I assume I will still have some squat with this trailer on the 350, with roughly 1,000 pound tongue weight (but maybe not?). Does anyone have any experience using RAS on a Super Duty? It's a great product and the only negative is that it raised the rear of my 150 by an inch. I keep seeing positive reviews with the timbrens and sumos, but wonder if RAS is still another option, or if that product is better suited for the half tons. Thanks! Haven't used RAS, but did install air bags on my F-350 SRW to elimainate squat, as my pin weight was about 3,000 lbs. With only 1,000 lbs of pin weight, I doubt you will get much, if any squat, especially if you spec the F-350 for max GVWR. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP25 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Do air bags work better for a 5th wheel application vs a bumper pull application? Or is it all the same? I used to hear stories about the bags making the unloaded ride pretty terrible on half tons, but I wouldn't think that is an issue on these super duties because they are considerably more heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf1 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 I only keep 5lbs in my bags on my F350 when unloaded. I did not feel a difference. When pulling my fifth wheel it really helps the ride. Much smoother and it handles much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP25 Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 12 hours ago, Wolf1 said: I only keep 5lbs in my bags on my F350 when unloaded. I did not feel a difference. When pulling my fifth wheel it really helps the ride. Much smoother and it handles much better. Good to hear. That might be the option for me since I think the next trailer will be of 5th wheel variety. Did you do an onboard compressor, or do you just fill them up as needed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bshort Posted March 22, 2022 Share Posted March 22, 2022 Our TT has an approximate 900 pound tongue weight. With the trailer attached and camping stuff in the bed, it will squat a few inches. 20 pounds in the bags brings it all level. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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