Firestone coil-rite helper air bags

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by ROBERT ONEILL

I don't think that any manufacture of single axle trailers, TT of Utility or special purpose trailers, would recommend a WDH due to the possibility of frame damage

Escape sells and installs them on their trailers.
I'm sure somebody will point out that Escape did a frame recall on certain 19' trailers that built during a specific time. Maybe WDH aggravated the problem in that case.

You could check though to see if you should think what you think. There may be several others that do recommend WD for their trailers.

[Glenn Baglo]

Originally Posted by GaryM

OK, you win! I'm not going to argue with you. A vehicle with a frame is much stronger than a uni-body vehicle, so go ahead and take your chances!

I'm not arguing that a vehicle with a frame isn't stronger. I'm only saying that improvements in uni-body construction have made WDH work well.

One could say that batteries should never be stored on concrete, except that the cases are now made out of impermeable plastics, so that's no longer true.

That's all.

[Joe MacDonald]

I had a 95 Chev lumina APV, came with factory air shocks, very expensive and only lasted about two years a set. I bought a set of LiftRite airbags and installed them in the springs, changed the air shocks for regular heavy duty shocks, and put another 200,000 KM on the van, the air shocks were originally load levelling from the factory, the air bags took their place, worked fantastic, had no issues, and no squat on the rear end, I towed my 81 Trillium 5500 for a lot of those, and never had an issue with sway or poor handling. in MY opinion, I would rather do this than a WDH on a unibody frame, and if you buy the auto levelling kit, it doesn't affect the ride when unloaded, and you never have to attach anything other than the tongue of the trailer. Don't underrate convenience, it plays a big part

[Gompka]

I was able to try these out over the weekend on a quick camping trip and I have to say the results were great. The rear squat was totally eliminated and the car felt more stable overall. The headlights regained their proper aim and I was not flashed by any on coming traffic. I think this was a great mod.

[ZachO]

I have the airbags for my Tacoma and they work great. I'm using them for two reasons:

1 is that Tacomas have always had weak rear springs; not intended for towing
2 is that my truck is 20 years old and needs new leaf springs, and even with brand new springs, refer back to "1"

So the airbags are there to beef up the rear suspension and also because installing air bags (did it myself, as mentioned it's a pretty easy install) was way cheaper than new leaf springs, and even with new leaf springs I'd still be sagging. So they're being used both as a band-aid until I can afford new springs, and because I'd need them either way.

They work great for me. My trailer always pulled nice, straight and stable, but I was sagging pretty badly before the bags.

[Mike_L]

I wanted to beef up my rear springs so I went to the auto wrecker and bought an identical used set. I used the original main leaf and added the other three leafs with the original three. Now I have also no sag when loaded although the ride when empty is a little stiff.

[ZachO]

Yeah Mike, I'd say that's by far the best option for anyone handy to improve their suspension, whether they tow or not. What I probably should have done is re-arc my springs, add a leaf, then add air bags for towing.

The process to work with the leaf springs isn't very complicated...just a pain. There are multiple jacks involved, getting the truck jacked up high then jacking the axle up a bit to take the pressure off the springs. Every time I decide to go through the process there's some part of all that which keeps me from moving forward on it.

But I'd say what you did is definitely one of the best inexpensive ways to go for leaf spring vehicles.

[John in Santa Cruz]

Originally Posted by Mike_L

I wanted to beef up my rear springs so I went to the auto wrecker and bought an identical used set. I used the original main leaf and added the other three leafs with the original three. Now I have also no sag when loaded although the ride when empty is a little stiff.

see, thats the nice thing about airbags... drop them to 5psi when running empty, and you get the stock comfortable ride... 30 or 40 PSI with a heavy load, and the vehicle rides at the same height as empty, its the best of both worlds.

I put overload springs (beefier than stock coil springs) on a couple of my older volvo station wagons and realized while they rode great when heavily loaded, the ride was way harsh when empty.

[Spongelander]

I had the headlight-in-the-eyes sag as well, and asked for Casita members' opinions about what to do. Air bags seemed the best bet.
I recently installed the Firestone air bags on my 2017 4Runner to reduce the 2" of sag in the rear and 1" of lift in the front that results from hitching up my Casita, with its 350#+ tongue weight.
The result was that I got back one inch in the rear and 1/2 inch in the front, and the ride felt much more firm and stable. I know I shouldn't change two variables at once, but I did; I also replaced the factory shocks with Rancho 9000s, adjusted to max firmness.
The kit was less than $100 and took about two hours to install.
I previously had a 1999 Tacoma. The best thing I ever did to that vehicle was to install a Trailmaster add-a-leaf spring set to the rear, along with Rancho 5000 shocks.

[redbarron55]

Waaaaaay back in the 70s the government studied trailer towing and not much has changed.
They suggest that the best rigging would be air bags and a weight distributing hitch.
The bags level the TV and the hitch transfers weight from the rear to the front.
When I towed with a VW Sportwagen the air bags leveled the car and helped a great deal, but the front end was still light and with the front wheel drive the traction was reduced and you could tell going uphill on turns, especially in the rain with wet roads.
One good thing about the front wheel drive Town and Country is that it is rated for a WDH (actually requires one over 1800 lbs).
The WDH and the self leveling rear suspension makes the T&C a pretty good setup.
Other minivans are rated at the same 3500 lbs, but the others are not rated for the use of the WDH, which I feel is a big improvement.
Air bags or self leveling is a big boost, but the WDH is as well.
The 1970s study indicated that the air bags gave about 1/2 of the benefit of a WDH.