F350 Air bags or not?

[Howie]

I recently bought a 34' Cougar 5th wheel and a 2011 F350 SB. I am looking for advice/experience concerning whether air bags might improve the ride a slight bit. My F350 drops 2" when loading the 5th, it drops from 42 1/2" to 40 1/2". The front end is then slightly higher as expected but it drives fine. At this set up the 5er is just slightly high in the front but not enough to be of concern and the clearance space from the 5er to the top of the truck bed is 7 1/2". The ride is ok but because of the short bed it would be nice to slightly ease the up and down movement if on bumpy freeways, etc. I was thinking of putting air bags on it and then just slightly inflating for a cushion.

I have an Andersen hitch and it is set a the lowest setting so if I raise the bed an inch or two with air bags that increases the heighth of the front of the 5er. I think I can change the setting on the king pin as there are adjustment holes but I have never tried this.

Thoughts on your experience or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[mhbell]

Originally Posted by Howie

I recently bought a 34' Cougar 5th wheel and a 2011 F350 SB. I am looking for advice/experience concerning whether air bags might improve the ride a slight bit. My F350 drops 2" when loading the 5th, it drops from 42 1/2" to 40 1/2". The front end is then slightly higher as expected but it drives fine. At this set up the 5er is just slightly high in the front but not enough to be of concern and the clearance space from the 5er to the top of the truck bed is 7 1/2". The ride is ok but because of the short bed it would be nice to slightly ease the up and down movement if on bumpy freeways, etc. I was thinking of putting air bags on it and then just slightly inflating for a cushion.

I have an Andersen hitch and it is set a the lowest setting so if I raise the bed an inch or two with air bags that increases the heighth of the front of the 5er. I think I can change the setting on the king pin as there are adjustment holes but I have never tried this.

Thoughts on your experience or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I put air bags on any truck that I use to pull a 5th wheel. I use them to bring the truck up level after hooking up the 5th wheel. I would not be without them. I just installed a set on my truck. I got air lifts with the jounce bumper inside of them in case of loss of air the bags won't be ruined. If you are interested you can see the link below where I show how I installed mine. Better steer ability and head lites not shinning in oncoming traffics eyes when traveling at night. improved the ride a small amount. Well worth the money IMHO.
Mel
Click here for my install.

[Tbos]

My F350 squats 2” too. It sits just a little lower in the rear but not enough at this point for me to buy bags. I need to see how much lift would bring it to level. When the Alpine is not connected I sit rear high.

[MattHelm21]

If bouncing is your only concern then I’d be looking at shocks first. I’ve found that factory shocks just aren’t up to fifth wheel towing for any considerable length of time. Bilstein 5100’s are the way to go. That said, I went with Airlift ultimate 5000’s and the wireless one controller on my F450 because the 2 to 3 inch squat was causing me to get flashed by oncoming drivers at night when hitched. The trailer was also just a hair nose low and raising the bed 2 inches killed two birds with one stone.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by MattHelm21

If bouncing is your only concern then I’d be looking at shocks first. I’ve found that factory shocks just aren’t up to fifth wheel towing for any considerable length of time. Bilstein 5100’s are the way to go. That said, I went with Airlift ultimate 5000’s and the wireless one controller on my F450 because the 2 to 3 inch squat was causing me to get flashed by oncoming drivers at night when hitched. The trailer was also just a hair nose low and raising the bed 2 inches killed two birds with one stone.

You sure should not need air bags for such a light 5er, you do need a good set of shocks, Bilstein 5100 work great for me with a slightly larger 5er.

[Hblick48]

My F250 has the tow package that adds the overload springs like the F350. With my Montana hitched, the rear dropped 2 1/8 inches. The rear overload spring was engaged, but the front one wasn't engaged. Add airbags, and when you raise the bed, you are disengaging the overload springs.

I just added SuperSprings SSS-3 SuperSway Stops. They replace the factory overload spring pads with adjustable spacer so that the factory overload springs engage sooner.

I have yet to tow, but my truck now drops 1 inch when hitched. Both overload springs are engaged.

Here's the link: https://www.supersprings.com/shop/sss-3/

[ChuckS]

My truck isn’t a Ford but I did install firestone airlift kit with on board compressor and gauge. Run with 15 lbs when empty. Levels truck when 5er is hooked up. I also replaced stock shocks ... airlift has been in use for 11 years now. No regrets.

[cayovelez]

I would go with Timbrens. I have managed to get all my buddies to switch to them and they all love them. Make sure you call Timbren for the proper application.
http://timbren.com/

Just my 2 cents

[mtofell]

Love my airbags with my 5th wheel. I've had two different trucks and added them to both. The ability to regulate and not use them when not needed is great. They really stiffen up the hinge between the truck and trailer and help reduce the rythmic bouncing over uneven roads.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by rhagfo

You sure should not need air bags for such a light 5er, you do need a good set of shocks, Bilstein 5100 work great for me with a slightly larger 5er.

I will state again you should not need bags, bags don't stop bounce as they are just another spring. To stop bounce requires dampening that is what shocks do. Bilstein's do a better job of dampening in both directions.

The package below rides GREAT the 5er is at full GVWR of 12,360# and the pin is 2,600#!

[Local150]

I installed bags on my silverado,, best thing I ever did. Drives much better,, and it definitely took some of the " bounce " out.

[rhagfo]

Originally Posted by Local150

I installed bags on my silverado,, best thing I ever did. Drives much better,, and it definitely took some of the " bounce " out.

Air Bags are Air Springs, don't really don't dampen bounce. The only device on any vehicle that dampen bounce is SHOCKS.

Air Bags only compensate for weak or overloaded springs.

[captcolour]

Does a better pin box like a max air help with the bounce at all?

[chuckster57]

Originally Posted by captcolour

Does a better pin box like a max air help with the bounce at all?

I went from a solid pin box to a Rota Flex and it helped a lot. I also have air bags, as my previous fiver was a lot bigger and heavier pin. When in the truck it made the rear suspension about an inch off the overloads and I would bounce with the bumps.

Current fiver didn’t really need the bags but I had them, I use less air pressure. A customer upgraded from the Rota Flex to a Trail Air and I got his pin box for an excellent price. Best money I’ve spent.

[rhagfo]

In reality the first items to do to correct “bounce & chucking” is to have sufficient pin weight and a 5er that tows level.
Next steps would be sure you TV shocks are up to the task. Then start looking at pin boxes, hitches and bags.

[My97offroad]

I run firestone ride rite airbags on my F-350, it makes a world of difference when pulling our 5th wheel.

[Tatanka Ob Waci]

We have a 2015 Silverado 3500HD, Duramax w/Allison pulling a 2014 Raptor 384PK toy hauler that is 43' long. Tongue weight is 3300#'s.

So far we have only changed the king pin box to a Morryde and it seems to help some. I have a bulged disk in my neck and when we get onto rough roads, especially with the expansion joints I'm usually in pain by the end of the day. Some folks have talked about things like air springs and then changing shocks. With my health issues, what IYHO would be the best money spent to get a smoother ride.

[MBBCop]

I am firm believer in the airbags. 2015 F-250 11,400 Avalanche 5er. Had the sag and I was down on bump stops. Put air bags on raised it back up level ( 42" top of wheel well) and rides like a Cadillac (well almost). Now hit bumps all the shock is absorbed by airbags and not my back teeth anymore.

[jtyphoid]

Whether air bags will "improve the ride" depends on several factors. As mentioned by others, air bags are like another spring, but an adjustable one. In nearly all cases, air bags will allow you to raise the rear back up to normal ride height, which gets you off of the heavy load springs (which are really stiff) and gives you back full suspension travel before you hit the bump stops.

Getting off of the heavy springs and avoiding hitting the bump stops certainly reduces some of the jarring aspects of the ride, so if those are your primary problems then you'll probably be happy with the improvement.

In my case, with an F350 dually, even the regular springs are fairly stiff and the ride is fairly rough. Air bags didn't help with that at all, either unloaded or when pulling our 16K fiver.

I saw only slight improvement from air bags on both an F350 SRW and our current F350 dually.

I don't have any personal experience with either of these, but if I had know about these before I went with air bags, I would have replaced the rear leaf springs with a full air suspension replacement from either Kelderman or Autoflex.

[5J's]

Originally Posted by jtyphoid

Whether air bags will "improve the ride" depends on several factors. As mentioned by others, air bags are like another spring, but an adjustable one. In nearly all cases, air bags will allow you to raise the rear back up to normal ride height, which gets you off of the heavy load springs (which are really stiff) and gives you back full suspension travel before you hit the bump stops.

Getting off of the heavy springs and avoiding hitting the bump stops certainly reduces some of the jarring aspects of the ride, so if those are your primary problems then you'll probably be happy with the improvement.

In my case, with an F350 dually, even the regular springs are fairly stiff and the ride is fairly rough. Air bags didn't help with that at all, either unloaded or when pulling our 16K fiver.

I saw only slight improvement from air bags on both an F350 SRW and our current F350 dually.

I don't have any personal experience with either of these, but if I had know about these before I went with air bags, I would have replaced the rear leaf springs with a full air suspension replacement from either Kelderman or Autoflex.

I thought full air ride sounded good but, $4000 is a bit steep! [emoji33]