Airbags for towing?

[Martinjmpr]

Can someone school me a little on airbags for towing? Despite the fact that our little trailer is only about 2000lbs, I'm thinking the tongue weight must be close to 200lbs because on our recent Arizona trip I noticed the rear of the Suburban sagging noticeably when the trailer was hooked up:
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It's also noticeable here in this picture from Valley of the Gods:
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In terms of how it rides, it's not really an issue but when we were trying to find our campsite at VOG, it was a real hassle that my headlights were pointing to the sky instead of the ground!
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I don't want to add a spacer to the rear springs because I like the way the truck sits when it's NOT hooked up to a trailer, so I thought maybe I'd explore the idea of air bags. Do they go inside the coil springs or outside? And do I need to have on-board-air in order to use them? My thought is that I would only inflate them when I was hooked up to a trailer - as soon as I disconnected the trailer I'd deflate the bags so as to give me a softer ride and also to prevent them from being damaged. .
Is there anybody else running air bags for towing on a GMT-800 'Burb or Tahoe?

 

[Choff]

I have been running air bags on a leaf spring 2005 GMC Savana AWD in Wisconsin for over 100,000 miles and love them for towing and daily driving, I have a very simple direct lines to each bag, and just air up when towing. Only have had to replace air lines once.
I notice cornering improved and side to side rocking.
No problems with cold weather.
Check out AIRLIFT or Firestone air bags, easy to install.
Choff

 

[tbisaacs]

You can pick up a set of helper bags that fit inside your coils. They have a Schrader valve on them and you air up as needed.


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[LandCruiserPhil]

I love air bags, they give you more stability and a better ride when you need it. Keeping the ride great loaded and unloaded is key to keeping your ride wife approved.

Pictured ~800# of tongue weight using airbags - ▼not recommended▼

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I love air bags, they give you more stability and a better ride when you need it. Keeping the ride great loaded and unloaded is key to keeping your ride wife approved.

Pictured ~800# of tongue weight using airbags - ▼not recommended▼

Holy crap, please tell us that isn't your extremely unsafe setup.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I love air bags, they give you more stability and a better ride when you need it. Keeping the ride great loaded and unloaded is key to keeping your ride wife approved.

Pictured ~800# of tongue weight using airbags - ▼not recommended▼

How do you get 800lbs of tongue weight from that? Looks like maybe a 4000lb trailer - shouldn't tongue weight be between 400 - 600 for that setup (10 - 15%?) Unless you are carrying all your lead weights and bars of gold in the front of the trailer I wouldn't think it would be 800lbs!

 

[digitaldelay]

How do you get 800lbs of tongue weight from that? Looks like maybe a 4000lb trailer - shouldn't tongue weight be between 400 - 600 for that setup (10 - 15%?)

I would think that trailer is closer to 6000 lbs.

Jason

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[TheNorm]

We put airbags in our 08 Jetta TDI when pulling a trailer on a 4000 mile road trip. Tricky to install, but the air lines are reachable just under the bumper so it's easy to inflate and deflate.

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[uscg2008]

I had them on my old Tacoma and man did they make a world of difference. I had firestone riderites and daystar lower cups

This is what they looked like with no pressure and with the daystar cups

All filled up and seated

This is without pressure I got the bags As you can see when I was loaded down with a completely full trailer I was definitely sitting nose high

 

[chilliwak]

Martin would it not be better to go with an add a leaf or other kind of spring upgrade to take the extra weight? Perhaps you are concerned about a rough ride? Just thought I would throw that option in there. Cheers, Chilli..

 

[kojackJKU]

no leafs in the back of the burb Chilli....a good chev man like yourself should know that! ha ha!

Martin, Airlift 1000s inside your coils. I used them on my Jeep and worked awesome when towing my trailers! air down to like 7psi when empty. They are good to go. just make sure there is always air in them. even if its just 7psi! I am installing them this spring on my z71 as well. I am thinking of getting a bigger trailer now that I have a rig to tow it!

 

[Martinjmpr]

no leafs in the back of the burb Chilli....a good chev man like yourself should know that! ha ha!

Martin, Airlift 1000s inside your coils. I used them on my Jeep and worked awesome when towing my trailers! air down to like 7psi when empty. They are good to go. just make sure there is always air in them. even if its just 7psi! I am installing them this spring on my z71 as well. I am thinking of getting a bigger trailer now that I have a rig to tow it!

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I downloaded the instructions for the Airlift 1000s and was pleasantly surprised that I don't have to remove the coils to install them. I'll go ahead and order those and hope to have them on before camping season starts.
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Why do you keep air in them? Is that so the bag maintains its shape and doesn't get pinched between the loops of the coil?

 

[Martinjmpr]

Martin would it not be better to go with an add a leaf or other kind of spring upgrade to take the extra weight? Perhaps you are concerned about a rough ride? Just thought I would throw that option in there. Cheers, Chilli..

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As KojackJKU already pointed out, 1500 Suburbans have coils, not leafs. Anyway, the only time I need the extra capacity is when I'm towing - I don't want a stiffer spring that is going to make the truck ride like a buckboard when I'm not pulling the trailer, especially since our vacations usually consist of us driving somewhere, setting up a camp and then spending several days driving around (without the trailer) seeing and doing stuff.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

How do you get 800lbs of tongue weight from that? Looks like maybe a 4000lb trailer - shouldn't tongue weight be between 400 - 600 for that setup (10 - 15%?) Unless you are carrying all your lead weights and bars of gold in the front of the trailer I wouldn't think it would be 800lbs!

The weight info is from the manual. Add in full propane and 2 batteries and 800# looks like I underestimated the correct tongue weight.

To the OP, As you can see air bags make this tongue weight possible.

 

[kojackJKU]

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I downloaded the instructions for the Airlift 1000s and was pleasantly surprised that I don't have to remove the coils to install them. I'll go ahead and order those and hope to have them on before camping season starts.
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Why do you keep air in them? Is that so the bag maintains its shape and doesn't get pinched between the loops of the coil?

Yes, and it stops condensation as well. If you live in areas that freeze, if you don't keep air in there, and condensation starts then the bag will freeze together and tear. and it just keeps the bag positioned. They are awesome. Even putting lots of gear in the back of your rig ad some air and you don't get that mushy crap feeling from your rig.