Towing with rear air suspension

After 10 months of waiting for a Tundra, my dealership got an allocation for a truck similar to what I had attempted to order. I picked up the truck on Thursday, and have been putting it through the paces.

So far my biggest concern is the amount of rear squat I get when hooked up to an empty trailer. I tested the trucks ability to raise and lower the rear unloaded but when I put the trailer weight on the hitch, the truck appears to sit on the bump stops. Any suggestions to help with squat?

Thanks in advance!

-Andrew

 

Get a weight distribution hitch.

 

This was with a weight distributing hitch and (2) 1,000lb bars.

 

See image for weight distributing bars.

 

I don’t know how much tongue weight the trailer has. I have been towing it for 8 years with an 01 Chevy 3500 dually, so it has never been a concern until now.

I’ll see if I can find some instructions online for the WDH.

Regarding the air suspension, I put the rear air in the low mode, then lowered the trailer onto it just a bit and put the rear air into high mode. It took The weight off the trailer foot, but did not raise it more than 1/4”. I would have expected it to raise the rear the 2” from low to high.

Is there an air pressure adjustment on the air compressor I could increase?

 

Read this current thread on the subject.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/leveling-22-platinum-with-avs-air.99893/

 

How much does the trailer weigh?

 

9-10k when loaded

 

Just played around with the adjusters without the trailer, and set the rear 1" higher. I now have 39" from ground to bottom of the fender flare and went from 1-3/4" travel between the axle and bump stop to 2-3/4".

If the bags do not have enough force to lift the rear of the truck with the trailer on it, then I don't think this adjustment will help with the squat though.

 

Wow man, that’s your problem right there, need to lighten up a bit. That’s a lot to ask of a crew cab 1/2 ton. Before you add people , etc?

Going to really struggle to get under the payload of that truck I think.

can you lighten it up? That and dialing in the settings up like the others have mentioned is the best bet

really need a bigger truck for a full 9-10k trailer imo , especially if that’s before people or other gear get in

 

I towed with it, and brakes were good, stability was good, power was good.

I just need to work on the squat a bit, not go get an F-450.

 

Didn’t really mean to run out and get a f450, I was just suggesting that it may help to lighten the load a touch and maybe shift some weight back in the trailer at least until you can get some accurate measurements for tongue weight.

anyways, good luck!

I was also just saying that for me if I’m towing a full 9-10k trailer plus occupants, I would go bigger truck but alas I have my personal tow ratings that I’m comfortable with a 1/2 ton.


What’s in the trailer out of curiosity?

 

I really do need to work on shifting some weight from the front of the trailer to the rear.

The trailer is a 24’ steel framed trailer with a V front end and a pair of 5200# axles.

 

When I got mine my the set point on the AVS system was so low that I could stand on the tailgate and jump up and down and hit the bump stops. I had to adjust it myself. All good now I triple tow and have no issues with sagging or ride comfort. It does still bottom out on big dips. I think Toyota should have put a secondary spring system for the airbags in the back.

 

I hope someone comes out with some aftermarket helper springs.

 

You need to know your tongue weight, towing 101. Did you not research payload towing capacity going from a DRW to a 1500 truck? You'll need some replacement springs, possibly supplemental airbags in the rear. Not sure you're going to get where you want with rear end, but I'd exercise caution.

 

As others have stated, you need to know the tongue weight, but you also need to make sure your hitch is adjusted for your trailer. Your hitch is probably set up for your 1-ton dually. That's where your problem is. I had a travel trailer that I towed with my 2020 Tundra and when I first bought it, although it was within the specified hitch and towing weight of the Tundra (even when full of water and cargo), the RV dealership said that they almost weren't able to adjust the hitch enough to make it work. 3/4 and 1-ton trucks sit higher and leave the hitch in about the middle of the adjustment range.

 

Update-

Some adjustments to the WDH and the ride height sensors on the truck, things are looking good with trailer and about 1500# of cargo. I will be adding 3k centered on the axles, but things are looking good.

I am doing a short 240 miles round trip tow this weekend, and am ordering some E rated tires for a 1,000 mile tow I have next weekend.

 

I got back last night after towing a ~10,000# trailer 250 miles with 4 adults and luggage in the truck.

The motor and transmission were great
The brakes were great
The stability was OK-ish, I had a little sway and felt uneasy a few times. I am getting a new anti sway bar for my WDH, and getting E rated tires to help with this.

Overall, I was quite happy with the truck. I will be doing a 1,000 mile tow this weekend with the truck with the same trailer but only 2 adults in the truck. I won't have tires yet, but I plan to run the OE tires at 50-55PSI.

 

smoked that payload rating on that thing, lol.

be careful out there !

 

Nice to see someone out using their truck for truck stuff. We need more of this and less fretting over which tonneau cover is most water proof.

My old travel trailer would sway all over the place. I finally figured out filling the water tank would make it tow perfect. Keep messing around with your weight distribution and it should settle down.

 

@yukonrider,

An interesting thing too is that I was having most of the sway before I realized that I was not in tow mode yet. After I put it in tow +, I had almost no issues. I don't know if tow+ did anything to help with that or if it was just the road, or wind, or other external conditions.

I did notice the transmission works very differently in tow+, it holds gears much longer and in general seems to work better for towing IMO.

 

ya, in general toyota nails the tow/haul programing.

even for my lighter boat, it really works nice