Just picked up a 2009 Thor (MVP) Tahoe 284SA. GVWR is 13K.....see pic below


Starting off with maintenance and necessities first:
Purchased a new Blue Ox BXW2000 hitch. Tongue weight is approx. 1600#. Set up was straight forward and all sits very close to level. Towed 10 miles at 55mph and all feels solid and no sway. Freeway and wind will later determine how it feels under adverse conditions.
Purchased new Good Year Endurance tires ....285/80R/ 16E
Next few weeks....I will have roof professionally resealed with Dicor self leveling sealant (all protrusions) and a complete roof coating will be applied (Dicor). Normally I would do this maintenance myself....but older age and heights....drove me to decide on having it done.

Questions:

1. Can air bags be added to smooth out bouncy ride? If so, any brands recommended?
2. Shocks on my truck are OEM Motorcraft. My truck has 66K original miles. I prefer a smooth factory ride and do not go off road much unless I am traveling to a camping spot. What shocks are recommended for a smooth factory ride yet capable of the heavier tongue weight of this toyhauler (1600#)? I read the Bilsteins 4600 are stiff.

Thanks!

 

Your trailer is longer than mine, but 1600 lbs??? Are you running with the garage empty? Mine goes up to 1400 lbs from 940 when I have nothing in the garage.

Air bags are going to help a bit. Air bags and a WDH aren't mutually exclusive but the presence of air bags makes the configuration of the WDH more interesting. Air up the bags first, then configure the WDH.

I put Rancho 9000XL shocks on my F-350. It was a good move, certainly better than OEM. They are adjustable. Crank them up when towing, dial them down when unloaded.

 

Yes, the 1600# TW is unloaded. We do not plan on carrying quads or dirt bikes; we purchased for the utility nature of the toyhauler. Will carry bicycles, large cooler, etc...but nothing really heavy.
Shocks were just an idea due to age of OEM ones.
I was intending Air Bags to provide a smoother ride, not necessarily to level out truck. The camper package on my truck has the extra leaf spring and that has helped with keeping truck pretty level even with the 1600# of tongue weight. I just thought the air bags would smooth out ride some.

 

I love the ride with air bags vs stock and would add them. I have had good luck with Firestone bag kits and they are easy to install. As far as shocks I have always gone with Bilstein but do the bags first and see how you like it. Nice rig!

 

I agree with Hookd do the air bags first. My bumper toyhauler pull is a little larger than yours and the airbags make all the difference especially with bouncing.

 

I'll give the air bags a try. Any major differences between Firestone and Air- Lift?

Shouldn't the shocks be changed out simply due to their age?

 

[QUOTE=SoCalAngler;18611564Shouldn't the shocks be changed out simply due to their age?[/QUOTE]

My OEM shocks were shot within 5,000 miles. One of them was leaking. Compress the two rear shocks and compare how they rebound. The leaking shock was obviously toast.

 

I put a set of Firestone air bags on my 2011 F250 diesel and it made a huge difference.

 

Air bags work like a progressive rate spring. For example, If you start at 50 PSI in the bag and add 1000 lbs the truck drops 1/4" and the bag pressure will increase pressure to 60, if you add the same 1000 lbs without the air bag the truck drops 1/2" instead. Shock Absorbers or as they were originally Dampers do just that, they dampen the inherent rebound effect of the springs compressing and extending/rebounding back and forth after hitting a bump. You can check cars by going out to one corner and start pushing down on it to get the car moving then you stop and it should stop very quickly (2 or 3 strokes) if the shocks are still good if not and it keeps going longer time to replace. Older 1/2 tons worked the same way. Newer trucks and heavy duties you can't use this test.

Typically shocks are only good for around 20,000 to 30,000 miles. Some people will say you don't need to do this but after 40 years of driving most everything on wheels my experience and training (former ASE Master Mechanic Certified) say yes you do. You have to remember that shocks are using oil passing through valves to dampen the rebound. Because of road surfaces this happens thousands of times a second whether we see or feel it or not and hopefully you don't feel it. So because of these actions the valves in the shocks wear out and the oil gets dirty.

If you have gas charged shocks they have a very low pressure charge of normally nitrogen to help prevent foaming of the oil. Oil foaming is bad and accelerates the wearing of valves. Personally I dislike gas charged shocks and prefer the none charged shocks.

 

I went and installed the Bilstein 4600 Heavy Duty. Ride is firm and solid. Did help some with bounce.

Next I will install air bags to assist with leveling and further improve ride while towing.

Not sure if I go with Air Lift or Firestone? Thoughts on these two?

 

Im not sure their is much diffrence in brands. I have air ride on min and haven't had any issues. It was on the truck when I bought it so I didn't have a choice.

 

Either brand is good, i have the Load Lifter Ultimate's, I would recommend the ones with Jounce bumpers, If I have to drop all my air I do have protection to not damage the bags.

I have both on board air plus back up with the manuals in the fuel door, really nice that way so I'm ready either way.

 

I installed Firestone Air Ride air springs on our 2019 F350. They seem to work as expected, but I can’t say if they’re any better or worse than other brands.

The kit was a “no drill”:installation, and I’d classify the instructions as a “good first draft”. Some of the print was quite small, and because our kit serves multiple vehicle configurations, there were a couple of if / and / or / then steps and a couple of extra hardware leftover. I downloaded the instructions before ordering the kit. The kit uses SAE hardware and the truck hardware is metric, so you need both type of tools.

Link to example kit instructions: https://www.firestoneip.com/rr-kit-i...W217602600.pdf

You’ll need to think about “dual channel” (individual inflation valve for each air spring) vs “single channel” (one valve for both springs). I went with the d/c configuration.

And, you’ll also need to think about “manual” or “on-board” inflation. Manual means you will need an external compressor to access the valves and inflate the air springs, kind of like inflating a tire. On-board means you’ll install a compressor in your truck, hook it up to the battery and the air spring hoses, and then use a control panel in the cab (or a phone app) to inflate, deflate, and monitor the air bags.

I’ve initially gone with manual inflation, and I carry a VIAIR 12V compressor and a pressure gauge. i’ll decide about on-board inflation after we’ve completed a few trips with our new truck camper.

HTH,
Jim / crewzer

 

I like my on board for when I know what the load is (my Denali, my tool trailer, tow dolly with the wife's car on it. But I do use the manuals when I'm not sure how much weight the load is or when I pull my transfer tank (my compressor is in the tool box portion of my tank) out for more load area. I highly recommend both but if you're not sure I highly recommend putting them in the fuel filler compartment, easier to get to, they stay clean and really no harder to put in I found, I've had them there and next to the plate on the bumper.
If you add on board air later half the routing is already done.