Air Bag Suspension

Hey guys,

Backstory:

I have a 2021 Tundra SR5 TRD Crewmax.

My truck is primarily used as my company vehicle, in construction, towing a trailer outfitted with residential construction tools. I would estimate the tongue weight to be around 500LBS and likely more... I usually have up to 20 boxes of nails in the front of the trailer, 1 box of nails is 30lbs, so just in nails the front part of my cargo trailer can have up to 600lbs.

I like keeping the weight forward in the trailer for stability and also because I live in Canada. The greater the tongue weight the greater the weight on my rear wheels which helps on snow covered roads.

Obviously this causes my truck to squat, not much but enough that when I back my trailer into my driveway and it's loaded (driveway slops) my trailer hitch ball nut digs into the asphalt in my driveway.

Recommended Solutions:

In my last truck, which was a quarter ton and wasn't used for work, I installed sumo springs. They were cheaper and maintenance free.

With the Tundra I have considered Sumo Springs but I'd rather put airnbags in. Airbags can be deflated to 5 PSI and keep factory ride quality or I can inflate them when needed.

I am thinking about going with Air lift Loadlifter 5000's or Firestone Ride-Rite. I am also thinking, initially to plum the airlines out the rear bumper and use a compressor to inflate when needed instead of installing onboard air. Down the road I'd likely look at the the Air Lift WirelessONE onboard compressor. Not really certain where I'd mount the compressor because I'd like to keep it out of the elements and under the truck does not count with all the snow we get. I also use the truck to get to my hunting camp which is about 10 miles of hard, 4 low, off-roading where I'm already dragging the differential and skid plates in mud.

I'm looking for suggestions or air suspension setups, installs and hoping to hear from people that have installed various different brands to get an idea of quality. I see online a lot of people plumbing both air bags together with a T fitting and then having one airline to fill both bags. This seems not ideal as if you have a off centred load it would cause air pressure in one bag to push over to the other bag.

 

I have a 2017 2wd Crew Max ,I tow a pretty big trailer so I did put the Airlift bags on mine that really helped alot.
Mine had the internal jounce bumper that if I had to buy again would just get the bags without it.When unloaded it rode rough with the jounce bumper.Very good for what you want to do .

 

this is helpful, I was looking at the also have the internal jounce... good to know.

 

No jounce is the way to go TundraAF

 

@TundraAF I'm on my second Tundra and I have installed Ride-Rite bags by Firestone in both. I towed my 7500# travel trailer twice with my first truck before adding bags, what a difference in control! First mod, first week of ownership with my now second truck, was bags. Not that expensive and you will enjoy the ride a lot more.

As far as install, I run separate lines for each bag and put the valves on each side of my rear license plate. If you tee them you will get air shifting from bag to bag during cornering.. or if the trailer tries shaking the truck. The bags actually function like a anti-sway bar as well.

I would also add Daystar plates so the bottom of the bags are not attached to the rear axle. Helps for off-roading and for jacking the truck by the frame as the bags don't get stretched to their max.

 

What @Radial GT said. I run the same set up and did on my Tacoma as well. I always carry a bike pump in the truck as the bags don't require a whole lot of pressure to inflate. And the daystar cradles aren't expensive and especially bc you'll be flexing heading back into hunting camp!

 

This is all great stuff. I'm leaning toward the Firestone Ride-rite bags because I can't find air lift bags without the jounce bumper - they don't list one on the ride rite website for our trucks.

I'm stoked to see these cradles by daystar, on of my concerns with bags was off-roading and that what I liked about the sumo springs. Sumo Springs can go full droop and they're essentially just a bigger bump stop. I wanted the bags to maintain unloaded ride quality. I read now that even at 5psi the bags still stiffen the suspension but if you install the daystar cradles the ride quality unloaded is comparable to stock.

Thanks for all the help and tips.

 

I was planning to run separate lines for the exact reasons you mentioned. I like the idea of the inflation valves being on each side of the rear license plate. I've got a boat load of Milwaukee M18 and M12 tools for my construction company. I'll likely pick up a Milwaukee M12 inflator from Home Depot for $100. Keep that in the cab with a battery and I can inflate the bags that way. The M12 inflator will do 120PSI max and the M18 will do 150PSI. I believe most bags top out at 100PSI so both are viable options.

 

I've only had my bags at 40psi. I was sold after I had to move 200lb of deer corn to my passenger seat to get rid of the squat. Obviously it doesn't do diddly for payload but no carolina squat is priceless!

 

Have you looked at the Roadmaster Active Suspension system? I’ve had Firestone airbags in two previous trucks and think the RAS is a much better system. I did a write-up in my build tread (see link in signature; pg 4). My trailer is 700+lbs plus I have probably 300lbs of gear in the bed when we go camping. Fully loaded up I have 0.5-1” of negative rake and the suspension is much more controlled. Unloaded ride is basically stock, unlike airbags.

As for air bags, I didn’t like the unloaded ride quality with even 5lbs of air in the system. Keeping the bags on separate (no T junction) hoses will allow the bags to help with sway control. I had the complete system with the air compressor on a previous truck and it was pretty slick once I got the air leaks resolved.

Good luck with whatever route you take

 

Well this is another very interesting option. Reading up on this and thinking it may be the way to go. My concern with airbags is leaks and maintenance, my concern with sumo springs is the ride quality. This seems to be a problem solver for both. Now to find a Canadian dealer.

 

Where are you located? I'm in London.

I have similar problems. My trailer tows like shit. I'm using a ProSeries WDH and it's taking away tongue weight. I either need to go to bags or RAS.

 

I'm in New Brunswick. Truck pulls the work trailer fine, also pulls our camper great. My thing is I want to get the sag out of her. I also imagine it'll kill my leaf springs to always have the load I've got on them.

Only thing I'm not psyched with when towing the work trailer is that I feel the trailer a lot. Every bump in the road I can feel the trailer pull on the truck. I was thinking about getting a shock absorbing hitch to see if that would make the ride a little smoother but they're so expensive and I don't really care that much.

 

Ride rites do have the separate air lines for each side, as stated, and come with a wifi controller. The wiring harness is short if the compressor is moved to the engine bay, you’ll need to mod. Many reviews in the wifi system describe failures of the ECU, Which is what i had. Im not sure if they have corrected this problem. Im just running manual fill lines through the license plate now. Ultimately, I think a custom leaf pack is a better option but i haven’t gone that route yet. Squat or not , weight is weight in the snow and can help with traction. The RR’s are cheap and easy with Daystar cradles for a quick squat fix. Just dont do what I did.
https://www.tundras.com/threads/ride-rite-daystar-dont-do-this-and-a-few-questions.52026/

 

There are a couple of threads about the RAS here (if you haven’t seen those yet). Airbags are a great option if your weight will vary. Then you can adjust the height accordingly. To be fair, my issue with leaks were more from the installer not paying attention when doing the full compressor system. That system had the full gauges in the cab; not the modern wireless system. I installed bags on my last truck (F150) and ran the fill hoses to the rear bumper. Kind of clunky to fill with my portable air compressor but simple and never leaked.

As for longevity, I’ve never had a system longer than two years so not sure which is better.

 

I have the same truck as you, except I'm on the TRD Fox suspension. My unloaded ride is slightly bouncier after the Ride Rite bags and Daystar cradles. It's not bothersome, but others might feel differently. I have experimented with PSI from 5 to 20 and can't seem to find a number where I can't feel that the bags are there, if that makes sense. They're so great when loaded up, but I was hoping to not notice them when I have an empty bed, and that is not the case.

 

While I was recently recommended both bags or add-a-leafs for similar concerns, I opted for the add-a-leafs for a maintenance free approach.

 

Firestone bags

$400 W217602445 Ride-Rite Kit for Toyota Tundra

W217602445 ($280 AMAZON) hooked up to a 12v small compressor with built in gauge mounted in the console and TRD sway bar

$401 PTR11-34070 TRD Rear Sway Bar

PTR11-34070 ($240) Around $550 DIY

 

I appreciate all the feedback and suggestions. I ended up getting the

$239 Timbren TORTUN4 Suspension Enhancement System

Timbren TORTUN4 suspension helpers. Like sumo springs but different.

nice setup, unloaded the truck sits about 1.5” above the timbren. This week I was pulling the trailer, I’d guess 500lb tongue weight but likely higher. Also had 35 gallons of diesel and gasoline in jerry cans, a 5500 watt generator and a 125,000BTU diesel heater in the bed. Truck squatted 2.5”. Plus some aluminum staging

 

I went the blue (lite duty) Sumo Spring route on my 2018 2wd. We primarily tow a Lance 2285 with it. It weighs about 6500# fully loaded. The Sumos made a big difference in the handling, the ride is slightly stiffer but the best thing is rear squat was 1 1/2” -2 1/2” (with a WDH) before and is now only 1/2”. Front end stability and steering is way better.