I tow a 27 foot Forest River and have 4 kids (getting bigger every year also). If the rear is getting a little "squishy" when loaded down with everything and everyone, then either brand of bags in the rear will make a world of difference! Once you get them on and put about 30 psi in them you will notice it. Load it down with your trailer, hook up your weight distribution bars, then add a few more pounds of air in the bags and you will track down the highway very safely.

I feel very comfortable with my setup, I'm sure you will too.

James

 

Posting a followup:

I ended up installing Airlift 5000 airbags. Install was easy, directions were great.

Took a 2400 mile round trip towing the travel trailer with it as well.

Truck has to be on level ground to get both bags with equal pressure. If ground is uneven and I put 20 psi in each and then move to level ground, one goes up in pressure and one goes down.

I found that when I put 20 psi in when trailer is attached, it is 10 psi when trailer was not attached.

I probably should have flipped my shank over so that I could lower the hitch head one notch to keep the trailer level but I did not, so I did the trip a little nose high on the trailer.

I use a 14K Equal-i-zer brand hitch. I noticed that since the rear of the truck was raised, my bars were not necessarily providing as much sway control (not as much cranking to put them on or take them off). I never swayed, nor have I ever swayed before the bags.

So overall the ride was not much different, but the truck was higher in the back by about an inch (almost level but still back down a little). If I went to 30 psi when the trailer is attached the truck was pretty level but the ride became a little unstable, probably because the trailer was too nose high.

I'll probably lower the hitch head a notch and try 30 psi next trip. The only thing is that my weight distribution bars may not do anything at that psi.

When 30 psi is in the bags, my front wheel well height is about the same with or without the weight distribution hitch engaged.

 

The reason it felt unstable with more air in the bags is because you effectively unloaded the WD bars. At the beginning of a trip i can run 40 psi with no trouble. By then end if a trip due to items being used and/or moved to the rear i'm down to 20 psi to get the same ride.

 

Where are you guys mounting your compressor's?

 

Mounted mine on the driver side, between the 1st and 2nd running board mount...it fit EXACTLY between them - so exact I was able to place it and let go of it as I got the self-tapping screws into the drill. I'd imagine that my results may vary from others since those mounts could vary a little bit (millimeters) on each truck:


I went with the Wireless One option...mounted the manifold on the first body stiffener aft of the compressor:


TIP If you go with the Wireless One option: Consider putting in a ground switch on the manifold. My remote batteries happened to die maybe a month after getting it, and with the manifold set at my "not towing" setting (15psi) I couldn't add air to my "towing" setting (65psi) because the manifold was still set at 15 and would start venting. Had I wired in a ground switch cutoff, it would not have had power and not have been able to sense the additional air pressure - letting me manually add more. I had to unplug the harness at the manifold to add more air until I could run by the hardware store and get new batteries for the remote (needless to say I carry spares in the truck now).

 

I used the Firestones. The only regret I have is I joined bot airlines together for one fill up. I find the truck rocks a lot more side to side on unlevel roads. Later I will split the lines so each bag has it's own fill up.

I got them for leveling but it does make the ride nicer too with a trailer.

 

Not sure I understand; will you adjust each airbag on the fly depending on the road surface?

 

It is better to have the bags on separate lines. You don't have to adjust for road surfaces. You adjust for the amount of load you are carrying.
I set my air bags to level the back when needed, and to firm up the ride a little when unloaded. I set them and forget them... no need to adjust while traveling. I like a more firm ride... it makes handling better in my opinion.

 

I'm only asking for clarification because I will most likely pull the trigger on some airbags this spring.... but I'm still unclear why it is better to plumb each side separately. I can understand if you maybe have uneven loads in the back of the X, but even then, how uneven can it be given the limited space? As far as tongue weight goes, the load will be right in the middle of the airbags where the exact PSI in each bag would be ideal.

Another question on airbags...do they do the same thing as weight distributing bars? If you have one, do you need the other? Based on one reply in this thread and a comment from a trailer tech who put new axles under my toyhauler, I'm inclined to believe that if you have airbags, WD bars become unnecessary.

 

I'm assuming it's to keep air from transferring from the compressed side to the unloaded side.

 

Ah, that makes sense. Thanks.

 

What copsey said is correct.
You will still need a proper WD hitch with bars. Air bags do not distribute weight, they only add support for the rear suspension.

Let's put it this way... you could, effectively, set your WD bars to lift the rear of your Ex completely off the ground if you were inclined.... air bags cannot do this. The WD bars also throw some of the tongue weight back onto the trailer. If you read the stickers on hitches, they specifically call for WD hitches over a certain tongue weight.

If you tow heavy, don't compromise safety. Air bags are absolutely not a substitute for a proper WD setup. They only add to the body-roll / handling characteristics of the vehicle... and they work GREAT at doing that.

Hope my rambling helped.

 

I currently use WD bars and will keep them when I add the air bags. Thank You!

 

You are very welcome!
And thank you for being safe on the roadways while towing.

 

Yes I too used WD Hitch. The air bags only level the truck due to the heavy load and add some stiffness to the ride. I want to separate the air lines so the air stays 30 PSI on each bag rather than allowing the air to travel across to the unloaded side.

When I fill the bags I pump them up with an air hose at home. Seldom do I need to add air during travel but I also have a jump box with a compressor that is just fine. I am retired and not in a hurry when traveling. Sometimes the trailer has a compressor for the quads so I can still fire up a generator if needed. It is nicer when retired and there is no rush to get moving.

The new setup will have 2 schrader valves and gages to monitor the air pressure. I have them mounted now at the right rear on top of the plastic panels so I can get to them even when loaded in the back. They stay clean and dry with ease of access. Only once I pumped up to 60psi but the ground was really rutted and I wanted the extra clearance with the heavy load. Normally it is 30psi.