Airbags needed??

[Rick Leary]

Mechanically, not much. But that's only a small part of the reality. In an accident scenarios It all depends on the extent of damage and injury to the other party and how aggressive the attorney is. The legal costs in any overweight incident will far exceed component replacement cost due to being over weight. That's the reality many RVer's fail to recognize. Been there and done that.

[scottz]

Originally Posted by waynemoore

Ok great I may have learned something new. BUT I still am not sure so I will weigh mine front, rear and the entire truck.

You should; you need that information.

I called the port of entry in my area to ask about a public scale, they told me to come over and use their scale; no charge. I weighed everything, with and without the 5th wheel; about 9 weighs. Just be ready and don't get in the way of the trucks.

[Donjamin]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

What I have seen is the CA highway patrol pull over 3/4 ton trucks pulling fivers, weighing them, ticketing them, and requiring them to disconnect the trailer on the spot.

I’ve have been towing 5th wheel trailers in California for over 20 years with a Ford F-250 SD Crew Cab. I have never once been pulled over by the CHP and had my rig weighed. I was pulled over once for driving in the middle lane of Hwy 99 south of Bakersfield towing my 5er. The officer said I should have been in the far right lane/truck lane... LOL. If you have driven Hwy 99, the truck lane is one bumpy, torn up ride.

[Mr. C]

Yes you need air bags. Bought mine at Amazon. Airlift with the compressor. Go on Airlift website and determine which ones you need and go to Amazon with the model number. You are right at the GVW max for your truck or maybe over.

[Dave W]

I just learned something - my air bags have too many maintenance issues. I guess I had better start doing more then adding 25 psig air when towing then dropping back to 5 psig when empty over the past 6-7 years and 30,000 miles with two 5ers

[beeje]

Don't know if this works for everybody, but where I live the local dump has scales that you have to weigh in and out to determine how much you left at to dump. We pay a fee according to the weight. If you have a similar situation go do this.

Take your truck there ( loaded for your heaviest trip) with whatever passengers will be in the truck and truck full of fuel.

Explain to the attendant what you are trying to do and hand them a sheet of paper with this written on it.

Trucks front axle
Trucks front & rear axle (whole truck)

Get them to write the #s down as you position the truck.

Now go get your trailer (loaded for your heaviest possible trip) and take it there with the truck loaded with the same stuff and hand them a sheet of paper that says.

Trucks front axle
Trucks front and rear axle
Whole truck and trailers front axle
Both truck axles and both trailer axles together. (whole rig)

Again get them to write down the weights as you position the rig.

From these weights you can do the math and determine what all your REAL weights are.

Total truck weight hitched up
Total weight on trucks rear end (pin weight)
Weight of the campers front axle
Weight of campers rear axle
Total weight on camper axles.
Weight of the entire rig.

The only thing you will not be able to determine is the weights of each individual wheel position which is very important for the camper. If you can get each wheel position weights you would be surprised at the #s.

For example here are my camper wheel position weights from the only time I was able to get them individually.

Drivers front 2740 lbs
Drivers rear 3400 lbs
Passenger front 3300 lbs
Passenger rear 2920 lbs

As you can see the #s are vastly different which is part of the reason why so many people are having trouble with blow outs with the junk ST tires that come on a lot of units ( A whole other issue I know)

On this weigh in here are other weights
Whole truck with trailer 12100 lbs Trucks max is 13025 lbs
Both trailer axles 12360 lbs Trailers max axle weight 14000 lbs
Pin weight 2768 lbs 18.3% of trailer weight
Total trailer weight 15128 lbs Trailers max weight 15560 lbs

Sorry for the long post but these #s are very important to know or at least have an idea what they are loaded as heavy as you can possibly be.

Truck 2014 GMC 3500 Crew cab long bed dually.
Camper 2011 3455sa Montana

[waynemoore]

Originally Posted by scottz

You should; you need that information.

I called the port of entry in my area to ask about a public scale, they told me to come over and use their scale; no charge. I weighed everything, with and without the 5th wheel; about 9 weighs. Just be ready and don't get in the way of the trucks.

I did not say I have not weighed my TV or rig. I just have a problem with weighing the front axel then the back axel and adding them together to get the truck weight. Seems like some to the weight would over lap but what do I know?

I just want to prove to myself that they do add up.

[GAinaMontana]

Word of caution. If using scales like you used at the dump be sure the certification is reasonably recent and have the operator zero the scales before you start the process. These scales are used to find the difference between a loaded truck and the soon to be empty truck and not a single accurate weight therefore the need to zero as dirt, water and debris can throw the weight off. As the owner of a 50 ton truck scales for many years, I can attest to the inaccuracy of a poorly maintained scale.

I don't claim to be a suspension expert, but if I had the kind of per wheel weight variations you have I would be checking my suspension very carefully. Having high/low weight variations diagonally would be a mystery to me.

Again, no expert, just years on the farm.

[Ed and Carole]

Definitely install air bags, either Air Lift or Firestone. Rig should be level when hitched to truck. Install a compressor for a few extra $$. You will definitely notice the difference.

[The Bone]

All this weight stuff drives me crazy.

First of all the GVWR refers to the amount your truck can carry and stop safely. However thats just for the truck. So my truck has a 10,000 payload rating which means that the total amount of weight should only be 10,000 pounds for the truck to be able to stop safely.

My trailer has a total loaded weight of 13,000 pounds. Thats a estimate from the manufacturer. Now the brakes on the trailer should be bale to stop that trailer without the trucks brakes doing all the work.
So none of you weight police ever separate anything and get all twisted up over not being able to stop safely.

There is a limit to how much weight the rear axles are designed to carry BUT Ford Dodge and Chevy always add a cushion of weight to them which means that they are able to carry more than they say.

If you have a 1 tone or a 3/4 tun they both carry the same and pull the same same motor and transmission same axles in some cases. DRW trucks are built more for heavier loads yet the have same motor and transmission but heavier rear end. You can over load them also and some do.
Just not sure that everyone needs a DRW to go camping a few times a summer because they may be a few hundred over weight.

Just make sure the trailer brakes and truck brakes are in good working order and you will be fine.

P.S. Air Bags are a nice addition to my truck. Helps level the truck and helps the shocks cushion the ride when the truck isn't loaded. They don't increase the load capacity of my truck. Thats not what they do.

[browens62]

I installed.
Timbren Rear Suspension Enhancement System on 2016 Ram 2500 with 2018 3121rl

Only drops maybe 2 inch. 1 inch drop before the the rubber makes contact with the rear axle.

[miton 5052]

We use Timbrens as well, they will not blow out,as did our sons firestone bag did then it was a really rough ride

2007 RAM 2500
2014 3582 with upgrades

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by browens62

I installed.
Timbren Rear Suspension Enhancement System on 2016 Ram 2500 with 2018 3121rl

Only drops maybe 2 inch. 1 inch drop before the the rubber makes contact with the rear axle.

Does the truck sit level when loaded?

[mlh]

Quote
Just not sure that everyone needs a DRW to go camping a few times a summer because they may be a few hundred over weight.
Thanks The Bone.
Lynwood

[solidhank]

Was told the Timbrens make for a rougher ride when empty. 2 retailers that sell Timbrens and Sumosprings both recommend the Sumos. Only tow a couple of times a year for long distance [1500 miles]. TV drops about 3 inches when hooked up. 5th wheel is level though. Any thoughts?

[Montana Man]

Originally Posted by solidhank

Was told the Timbrens make for a rougher ride when empty. 2 retailers that sell Timbrens and Sumosprings both recommend the Sumos. Only tow a couple of times a year for long distance [1500 miles]. TV drops about 3 inches when hooked up. 5th wheel is level though. Any thoughts?

I was considering sumos but there is no performance data on them. Trailer Life mag did a lousy piece on them and left out any usable information. But, they got new parts for free. I had dialogue with SumoSprings directly and they can't tell me much either. He did explain what they were made out of like it mattered. He did say they would refund me if I didn't like them. I am thinking nobody in the world has measured truck bed height loaded before and after installing these springs. Which leads me to believe that leveling when loaded does not occur.

[scottz]

Originally Posted by Montana Man

Which leads me to believe that leveling when loaded does not occur.

In my case, leveling is not the objective. With my hitch as low as it will go, and the truck squatted 3-4 inches, the Montana is still slightly nose high. It tows just fine and the lights are fine. Leveling the truck to the unloaded point would only aggravate the undesirable nose high attitude. I run with 30psi in the bags to improve ride quality; it does not change my loaded ride height.

[mazboy]

just a side note on air bags. I just discovered a NON air bag system. https://www.suspensionconnection.com...d-support.html


i'd be interested in this system.

[solidhank]

Looks like a Sumosprings knock-off. 50 bucks cheaper though.

[The Bone]

only thing about other things like timbrens and other type bump stops is they are not adjustable. With air bags you can increase the air pressure to get the ride you want. You can also increase the pressure on bumpy roads to take some of the bounce out. Air bags are a active part of the suspension by helping to cushion the ride along with the shocks.