Airbags vs. weight distribution hitch

Thinking of adding the airlift 5000 bags to my sr5 trd off road. Main reason is to eliminate using my weight dist. hitch. Curious who has towed with both? Is one superior? I’m just tired of hulling the hitch and bars around. My trailer is 4000lbs and has around 550lbs tongue weight. I’d like to hear pros and cons from people who has used both. Thanks!

 

You may be able to get away with that on a 4000# trailer with that low of a tongue weight. I tow a 16' trailer with 4 wheeler and side by side without either of these and it's likely around that weight. They do not do the same thing though. The weight distribution setup will likely ride better and reduce sway on the trailer as an added benefit. The Airbags merely reduce sag in the back.

 

The pros of the WDH:

• Shifts weight back to front axle (improved braking/handling)
• Shifts weight back to trailer axle

The cons of the WDH:

• Setup times
• Weight of the actual system

The pros of the airbags:

• Levels off your truck/removes the squatting appearance

The cons of the airbags:

• You're not shifting lost weight back to the front axle, in some cases you make it worse.

We tow a ~3500lb Casita that has a tongue weight of ~500 lbs and have towed with multiple vehicles/setups. You can feel the difference, and if you take it to a scale you can see it.

As a side note, we've also towed this trailer with neither bags or a wdh, just a anti-sway bar. The bags over nothing is just visual, however with the WDH you can feel the better handling/braking and it still keeps the truck/trailer level with no rear rake.

 

I just watched a video on it. You nailed it. I think i will keep my wdh.

 

Keep the wdh, add air bags.
I have both and very happy.
Either way, keep the wdh.

 

What airbags did you go with? I use a WDH but there are times airbags would be used as well, I"m on the fence about which airbags to get.

 

I've had the ride rite bags, they worked fine. When you setup your WDH make sure you know how much psi is in the bags because you'll have to replicate that each time. Changing the psi will mean you need to dial the wdh back in. I've used both in the past, but for my use cases, it was to dynamic and a pain to setup/manage. I use just a WDH now, but obviously my loads aren't that high. YMMV.

 

I have the Firestone kit with a self adjusting kit hooked up to my OBA.

 

I know my setup doesn’t match the OP’s thread title.

I am using a WD hitch and I have installed some Timbren SES bumpstops. The goal is have a level ride with the trailer on the hitch. I also enjoy the stability and handling that I get from the WD performance.

If you run without WD you will feel the trailer trying to lift the front tires off the pavement. This will affect braking and steering. Airbags alone will not do much to help other than eliminating squat.