I have a F350 dually and I am looking at buying an RV that is speced out at 16,000lbs fully loaded. The RV dealer suggested a F450 to pull the camper or to use "air bags" to beef up the rear suspension of my F350.

My question is : what is the RV dealer refering to when saying "air bags"?

Is there another soultion such as additional leaf srings to increase the weight cpability of the F350.

OneTon4Fun

 

air bags when used with your suspension would help as long as there rated heavy enough or else they will just pop

 

I put air bags on the rear of my 2004 crewcab longbed dually as soon as I got it . 5200 pounds extra capacity. I didn't want the tongue weight of my trailer to "kill" my springs.

 

I've installed Firestone Ride-Rite air bags on my Super Duty. They have worked out very well when towing my trailer.

www.fsip.com/riderite/

 

How much do the air bags cost?

Are they hard to install?

OneTon4Fun

 

check out www.jegs.com I think they had the best prices when I bought mine around $500.00 with the air-lift digital controller.their not too bad to put in, finding a place i liked to mount the air pump was probably the hardest part. keep in mind ,although their great for towing, legaly these change nothing as far as your weight ratings go....one ton4fun I dont think youll have a problem with that weight on a 350 dually but you should get all your weight numbers gvwr,gcwr,tire capacity off the door & get some solid numbers off the camper dry weight,pinweight. then go down to the towing trailer& 5th wheel forums & ask away those guys can tell you everything you need to know.also check out the rv.net forums their a great source of info.

 

check this out ton www.pacbrake.com

 

I have an air-lift 5000 series kit with the Smart air controller in my 05 F359 and tow a 17000 lb Fiver with no problem. Got mine from truckspring.com great prices and good people. Hope this helps, good luck, Larry

 

I have the air bags but think the Trail-Air hitch and the center point suspension made a much bigger difference in towing experience. I tow 17k and am over the GCVW of 23.5k by about 8%. I also added the SCT Heavy Tow tune when towing so the braking is vastly improved. Even tho I am over GCVW, I am OK on all the axles of the Truck and the fiver.

 

I put Firestone RideRite Air Bags on my truck. They were about $275 from Summit for the set. Installation was about 4 hours including removing and re-installing my Reese Signature Series fifth wheel hitch rails. The Firestone air bags are kit #2400 for the 05- 06 F-350 Superduty.

My pin weight on my 19,000 lb trailer is 3700 lbs and I run 75 psi in the air bags to bring the truck back up to level. I run about 15 psi when I'm not towing.

 

Do the air bags last over time and the elements?

Seems like a big investment for a rubber air bag - has anybody ever added a few more leaf springs to the existing stock springs?
OneTon4Fun

 

airbags wil last a long time & there better than a extra leaf as you can let the air out when your not towing leaving almost a stock ride. also if you buy the air-lift bags with the digital controller(at the same time) you will get a lifetime warranty on the bags because the controller always maintains at least 5 psi in the bags.

 

Just removed my Airlift bags and installed the Furestone bags, nothing wrong with the airlift except they wouldn't work with my 5th wheel hitch I had installed, If you are getting the Reese signature hitch or any under bed rail kit you will need the Firestone kit ot he new Airlift when they bring it out (they told me in about 2 months) that works with that type of hitch, Also have the trail-air king pin and center point system all thre make for a nice ride.

 

I had semis with the same kind of airbags that lasted for years and years with no problems.

 

Has any one tried to remove 1 or 2 load leafs and then use air bags to get a better
ride? I don't tow more than 3500# but drive the truck every day, some ride would be nice.I have thought of doing this to both ends.