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I cant tell you about the F350, but I have a 2017 F250 CCSB with load lifter 5000 airbags installed. The Pin weight of my 5th wheel is 2070lbs empty and my hitch weighs 180lbs. with nothing else in the bed my truck sits level front to rear with only 5 PSI in the bags. I'm sure that I didn't need the Airbags now, but rather have them and not need them than the other way around. I don't think you will have a squatting issue with the F350. I have about 8 inches of clearance between the bed rails and the cap. The axles on my trailer are flipped to where they are spring over axle to raise the 5th wheel to ride level.
I was thinking about adding load lifter 5000 bags to my f250. Do you by chance know if installing them causes any issues with the factory warranty?
I was thinking about adding load lifter 5000 bags to my f250. Do you by chance know if installing them causes any issues with the factory warranty?
I am not convinced (yet) that bags are needed on a 5th wheel setup. The 5th by its placement in the bed of your truck, just slightly forward of the axle and center (laterally) between the frame rails and with pin weights that are well within the OEM parameters, not sure bags have a roll to play.
IF you want better ride, handling and control your investment in better shocks (Rancho 9000 XL adjustable) and a anti-dive bar would make a major difference.
I have done this on the past 3 F 350 trucks I have owned and getting ready to do it on my new on. The difference is nothing short of amazing.
I have a set of Air Lift 5000s on the way now and will use Air Lift's wireless compressor to control them. In my case the rear end sags a little over 3 inches with the fifth wheel and I need them to re-level the truck and take a little bit fo the weight. Air bags by themselves DO NOT affect the factory warranty.
Sway bar, anit squat, various names, comes std on dually and most cars, works in conjunction with the suspension and shocks which operate independently, this links them laterally, adding to stability and control. I run the Big Wig's front on rear on my dually, the are OEM in the front, but by heavy tow and payload the improvement is amazing...
I love the Timbrens. I have a '17 350 DRW and tow a 16K fifth wheel with ~2700 lb pin weight. I had a good bit of sagging that bothered me...I also got a lot of bouncing around on bad roads and expansion joints while towing. I do have an in-bed 50 gallon tank so that probably also lends itself to the sagging. None the less, I added Timbrens after about 8,000 miles of towing and never looked back. They smoothed out the ride on rough roads and I don't feel like they made a huge difference when driving around town. The Timbrens stay in constant contact with the metal plate (don't know the technical name!) attached to the axle so I don't find them jarring over bumps. I read some reviews about this and was worried but that concern was not justified. This is my wife's daily driver so most importantly she loves them!
c.mill, it is tough to say from a picture, but your entire rig looks reasonably level. Maybe the trailer is a little nose high? Before changing anything, you may want to weigh each axle with just the truck and then each axle for the entire rig and post the results.
If your weights look as good as I suspect they may, I won't change a thing unless there is a particular ride or handling issue.
Our unmodified F350 SRW LB doesn’t squat quite enough to engage the overload spring with our fiver on board. The pin weight is in the 2,500-3,000 lb range.
Sway bar, anit squat, various names, comes std on dually and most cars, works in conjunction with the suspension and shocks which operate independently, this links them laterally, adding to stability and control. I run the Big Wig's front on rear on my dually, the are OEM in the front, but by heavy tow and payload the improvement is amazing...
You are absolutely right. It makes an unbelievable difference in control. I have a Hellwig on my current truck. Highly recommend it.
It is actually and technically an anti-roll bar. It helps the truck resists leaning motion (the roll axis). It does do wonders for handling and for towing. IMO, it does little to nothing to control sway (yaw). And absolutely nothing to control dive (pitch).
An anti-roll bar is particularly important for a slide-in camper and for towing a 5th wheel. The slide-in raises the center of gravity considerably and a 5er hitch puts roll forces into the truck well above the center of gravity; especially with a stiff crosswind.
