My rear is sagging (the truck that is)

R

RonT

Well-known member
Looking for opinions and experience (good or bad) with air assist helper springs to level your truck when loaded?

During our summer travels (including a fabulous fest at the Barnyard), I was somewhat disappointed in the amount of sag on my 2015 F250 with moderate tongue weight. We were really blinding folks when traveling at night.
I looked into replacing the rear leaf springs with heavier rated ones but don't want to have the rear jacked up when unloaded.

The air bag springs made by Air Lift or by Firestone seem to be a more practical (but pricey) solution. I would also spring (pun intended) for the compressor package and in cab controls.

Thoughts?
Ron
 
Are you using a weight distribution hitch? If not, using one will level you right out. If you are getting that noticeable a sag the tongue weight is more than moderate.
 
I have been using air lift shocks on my Ranger for several years, mainly for when I put a heavier load in the bed, or my single axle trailer with a nose heavy load. Of course a Ranger does not take a whole lot to make the rear sag. I do not have an on board compressor, I just use a small portable 12 volt compressor, since the shocks do not require very much air. I do only use the air shocks a couple times a year though, if needing them more often I would probably have an on board compressor, so that it only takes a push of a button to raise or lower the shock pressure. When I have a nose heavy load on the 18 foot trailer I do have a load leveler hitch, which not only brings the rear up level while putting more of the weight on the front, but also makes the ride smoother.
 
Denny - I have a weight distribution hitch however, my travel trailer is a 26 foot tow hauler with the axles centered under the vehicle area, leaving the trailer tongue heavy. I've gone through the range of adjustments on the hitch without a lot of success. When I had it cranked up really tight. we experienced severe cyclic bouncing on certain concrete paved roads.
I also show hit and miss engines and with three of these in the bed plus the travel trailer it really sags. I had the truck weighed and even with the hit and miss engines, I am well below the gross rating for the truck / trailer combo.
I will find somewhere to measure the tongue weight and go from there with that knowledge.
Thanks
Ron
 
I'm not sure if they're available for your truck, but I installed Gabriel HiJacker air shocks on a number of 1960's-1980's Chrysler cars that I owned that had weak rear leaf springs. They were about $120 (but this was 15-20 years ago). I did not go the compressor route, but simply plumbed them to a common valve stem that was discretely mounted through the rear bumper. Everything necessary for installation was included in the kit. While I lacked the ability to control ride height on the fly, I carried a small 12V compressor in the trunk and could easily adjust them without much hassle.
 
If you're sure you need more rear lift, I highly recommend the Air lift or Firestone air bag set-up. While air shocks would certainly help, the bags will have less adverse effect on ride quality. The full system, with compressor, is very nice but ,as you said, very pricey. You might give it a try without the compressor, to see if you really need it. My last motorhome had the Firestone bags on the rear, that were on there when I bought it. I never really needed them, just kept a little air pressure in them and all was well. Several years ago, a friend was an Air Lift dealer and I helped him install several systems. They sure make a difference in the way a large motorhome rides and handles.
 
Changing your leaf springs will not necessarily jack your rear end up. It would depend on the set up and geometry of the new leaves.
It will likely give you a noticeably stiffer ride though. A good spring shop could advise.
 
RonT":w4aaktan said:
Denny - I have a weight distribution hitch however, my travel trailer is a 26 foot tow hauler with the axles centered under the vehicle area, leaving the trailer tongue heavy. I've gone through the range of adjustments on the hitch without a lot of success. When I had it cranked up really tight. we experienced severe cyclic bouncing on certain concrete paved roads.
I also show hit and miss engines and with three of these in the bed plus the travel trailer it really sags. I had the truck weighed and even with the hit and miss engines, I am well below the gross rating for the truck / trailer combo.
I will find somewhere to measure the tongue weight and go from there with that knowledge.
Thanks
Ron
Click to expand...
Yeah, it sounds like you have more tongue weight than your distribution system can compensate for. You may very well need an air ride system to handle it. :surrender:
 
I pulled the trigger and ordered Air Lift Ultimate 5000 air bags (#88396) and the HD air compressor kit (#25854) so that I can monitor pressure and adjust on the fly as needed. These bags also have integral bumpers inside and can be run deflated with no damage. I ended up getting what I think is a really good deal from SDTrucksprings.com with the complete package shipped free for $520. I had an online order filled out for them and called to ensure they were in stock. The person answering the phone (Nick) applied a coupon code and got the priced down from $554.99 to 520.
I like to shop local but the parts store (Advanced) price was near 900 for the same items.
I'll post pictures and a review when they are installed.

Thanks for the input.
 
RonT":21z5uj9z said:
I will find somewhere to measure the tongue weight and go from there with that knowledge.
Click to expand...
You definitely want to do that. I have gotten to the point where every time I am loaded up and going very far, I stop at the first CAT scale I come to. Some loads can be a surprise. I have been known to respot tractor positions in truck stop parking lots.

Having weighed my truck without a trailer, I can now approximate my tongue weight from just the axle weights. CAT scales give you 3 weights each time. To get the whole picture, including an accurate tongue weight, I weigh once coupled up to get truck front, truck rear, and both trailer axles together. I then drop the trailer so the jack is on the same platform with the trailer axles and each truck axle is separate. Get a reweigh. A little arithmetic will tell you tongue weight and percentage of trailer weight.
 
Being from a Ford dealer....you went the right way....Our boss here has them and does heavy work with an F350sd....Kevin
 
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