Fourwheel Camper on a Tundra- Question on rear suspension

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AUTO360

Adventurer
So, my friend has ordered a fourwheel camper and he will be putting it on his 2010 Toyota Tundra. Its a reg cab long bed. Anyway, he was thinking airbags but I told him he would lose articulation doing it that way. Am I correct? I know that airbags can only extend so much until damage occurs. Unless they make airbags that are only attached to the frame and let the suspension droop.....So, I'm thinking helper springs or an add-a-leaf. Be great to hear any ideas concerning this.

Thanks,
Matt
 
bob91yj

bob91yj

Resident **************
Is articulation that big of a concern when you have a camper in the bed? Limit straps will save the air bags if that is a concern. I prefer the infinte adjustability available with the bags.
 
ExpoMike

ExpoMike

Well-known member
If your camper is going to live on the truck 100% of the time, my vote is custom built springs. I had this done on my Ram by National Springs and have been extremely happy. Great ride, great flex, removed the huge factory lift blocks, which in turn eliminated the wheel hop issue in the sand.
 
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AUTO360

Adventurer
Wow, great stuff. Articulation is important. No, he's not building it to be a rock crawler but I believe stock articulation in the rear would excede most air bag capability and he doesn't want to use limiting straps to limit the already limited articulation. Will look into the Timbrens but I do agree that custom made springs will be be best in the long run...The camper will stay on the truck 100% of the time. He's not sure when a lift will happen though so I think the Timbrens may be the answer for right now. He's thinking a 6in suspension lift and 3in body lift in the future.....haha, just kidding. He's thinking like a 2.5in lift. But right now he's doing the camper, a custom trailer, generator and other stuff that requires money so not everything can be done at once. Again, thanks for the help on this.
 
zidaro

zidaro

Explorer
Airbags are much more versatile if you actually use your truck with and without a load. Dump the air and your truck suspension works like it is supposed to. Add some air to manage the load.
Helpers, add-a-leafs, and timbrens either stiffen your ride ALL the time, or greatly limit compression once it reaches the device.
We love to go out and explore, but only carry our TC maybe half the time. I wanted to be able to blast around and enjoy my super sweet ICON suspension when not loaded, and when the camper is on there is NO question that i need some load management.

Slam Specialities bags are one of the manufacturers. You can get them in all sizes. I have 8" dia. bags that takes up to 250psi and has +10.5" travel from full compression. These fit standard firestone brackets but better to design your own to get the travel maximized.
http://www.avsontheweb.com/product.php?productid=1587&cat=425&page=1
 
bob91yj

bob91yj

Resident **************
I think the idea that he has a trailer is even more reason to take a look at the airbags for exactly the reasons posted above. A nice set of custom springs would be nice but as stated above they are built for one set of conditions. I like being able to adjust from this load...

silverton2011001.jpg


To this...

fiestaislandculpvalley058.jpg


I'll agree with Mike that a set of custom springs is a great idea. I'd love to get some so I could lose the lift blocks currently on my truck. Off the shelf lift springs are not necessarily the answer. I know Mike used National Spring, I'm familiar with their product, numerous thin leaves that are relatively smooth riding from my past experiences in vehicles equipped with them. For example, typical Jeep CJ/YJ lift springs are 4-5 very stiff leaves, my buddies National's on his CJ are 12 leaves for 4" of lift.
 
ExpoMike

ExpoMike

Well-known member
Having used helper air bag on my Cherokee to help when we had the Kamparoo in tow, I did custom spec the bags I wanted (used Air Lift Cherokee brackets but found a bag that had more travel then the kit came with, got them to swap out bags) and never had an issue with articulation. Worked great BUT one thing to consider, all bags I have seen, recommend a minimum 10 psi in there "deflated" state. Without that, you can cause the bags to rub weird and create a wear point. The 10 psi helps to hold the shape. This doesn't make a difference in the ride but it did require me to check the bags every time I went to drive it (this was not a daily driver). It just became a PITA to check the air and make sure I had 10 psi. That's why I chose custom springs on the Ram over long travel bags (Carli has them for Dodge).

Air bags are great for a heavy load versus unloaded use, as you can adjust them but if the load will be on 100% of the time, custom springs is really the way to go.
 
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AUTO360

Adventurer
Wow, some pretty good arguments both ways. The camper will stay on the truck pretty much all the time. He will be keeping it at my place here in Arizona.....he lives in Maryland and comes out here to explore the west several times a year. He will have a 6x 12 enclosed trailer behind it so it won't have too bad of a tongue weight. I would say he will be towing it most of the time.....well, lets say 75% of the time.
I will have to show him this thread and then let him decide.
Again, thanks for all the insight....
 
SuperCal

SuperCal

Adventurer
I'm running airbags in my F-150 and I really like the ability to adjust for the load. I use the truck empty, with my FWC Hawk, camper and race car trailer, etc so getting custom springs would be a little tough. What i did to overcome the articulation limiting problems associated with the airbags is run a set of Daystar airbag cradles http://daystarweb.com/productdetail.php?productID=1232 .
 
ExpoMike

ExpoMike

Well-known member
SuperCal said:
I'm running airbags in my F-150 and I really like the ability to adjust for the load. I use the truck empty, with my FWC Hawk, camper and race car trailer, etc so getting custom springs would be a little tough. What i did to overcome the articulation limiting problems associated with the airbags is run a set of Daystar airbag cradles http://daystarweb.com/productdetail.php?productID=1232 .
Click to expand...

Wow, haven't seen that before. Cool idea. How long have you had them? Curious if any long term wear issues with the bags. Thanks for sharing. :)
 
B

bill harr

Adventurer
SuperCal said:
I'm running airbags in my F-150 and I really like the ability to adjust for the load. I use the truck empty, with my FWC Hawk, camper and race car trailer, etc so getting custom springs would be a little tough. What i did to overcome the articulation limiting problems associated with the airbags is run a set of Daystar airbag cradles http://daystarweb.com/productdetail.php?productID=1232 .
Click to expand...

I sure like this solution, have you had any wear problems with the air bags? Looked on line and can not find a review, but the price is right at around $80.00 for a quick fix.

Bill in Stockton
 
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