Air Bags w/ B & W Hitch

[wyosteve]

I'm contemplating buying a slide-in camper and am wondering if air bags can be installed with a B&W hitch already on the truck? If so, any brand recommendations? Thanks in advance.

 

[Garlic]

Pac Brake builds a great set, so does firestone. Most of them have "no Drill" kits available, that is the way to go. I own 2 sets of Ride-Rites by Firestone and have had no issues in 12 years and a whole lot of over loaded miles.

 

[DESL PWR]

On my 03 3500, I have that set-up. No problems installing the Firestone Ride Rites at all. Very easy and they are one of my favorite modifications. An absolute must if you tow or haul heavy. I pull a 40' Toy hauler and hit helped tremendously.

 

[bheiting]

I've had the PacBrakes for almost 2 years with no problems. They looked to be the
most bullet proof when I was shopping for them. What ever product you choose,
call the company for any incompatibilities. I ran the air lines up through the back
of the truck and used the Schrader valves to mount the license plate. Easy access
and monitoring. You can vary the pressure from side to side that way too.

 

[wyosteve]

Thanks for the info guys. I really appreciate it. I think I'll go with the Firestones since there are several retailers near me.

 

[zippinbye]

I have the Firestones and concur with others' comments. Probably the best single mod for ride quality with a towed or in-bed load. Say goodbye to rear bounce and porpoise! I would strongly advocate getting them with on-board air, and the split switches and gauge that allow you to adjust left and right independently. I'm still working on obtaining a camper myself, where I understand it's really nice to be able to correct uneven lateral loading (more air in one bag versus the other), or even use the bags as a quickie leveler for short overnight stops. Firestone recommends 5 psi minimum to prevent damage to the bag, which does not seem to influence the unladen ride. I believe the bags are rated to 90 psi, which is insane ... I typically run 15 to 20 psi while loaded to about 9500 GVWR/19000 CGVWR; I think I took them to 40 psi or so when I overloaded with topsoil (the guy with the loader freaked when my "fancy little pickup that can't handle that sort of load" drove away level with 4500 lbs in the bed!). It's all seat of the pants adjustment to get the best combo of ride and/or leveling. Something you can't do with a bumper fill set-up. Also, I sometimes deflate the bags to drop the trailer tongue, in order to stop the rear beam of my trailer or the boat's outdrives from dragging on a ramp from land to a ferry deck ... another on-the go adjustment that's hard to put a price on. My regret: at the time Firestone offered complete kits with three grades of compressors and accumulator tanks, and I went in the middle. The PSI sounded great, but I disregarded volume. Runs the bags fine, but I use the included air hose and chuck a lot. For instance, it's nice to bring the tires up to rated max for heavy towing (usually a 20 or so PSI increase), and it takes forever. Or to recover from an air-down for off-roading. I have also topped off slow tire leaks on road trips, allowing me to make it home instead of shutting down for the day to get it fixed or blasting it with Fix-A-Flat. When used for any task larger than filling the air bags, the compressor screams but does not flow much. I'm hoping it will burn up from over-exercise so I have an excuse to by a bigger one! But alas, it runs a bunch and gets very hot, but seems indestructable! Bottom line, I would not get to worked up over brands, but get the bags and a larger compresor if you think you would enjoy the versatility of a mobile air station.

 

[JRMora]

I also have the Ride Rites by Firestone and their HD aircompressor and tank on board.



What a huge difference in the ride when towing (what chucking I had is gone). It's also nice to have onboard air for the air bags on the truck and trailer.



Juan

 

[sfritts]

Did you have to remove the helper springs to install air bags I have a 03 and a 11. 5 Lance slide in and could use a little more in the back as the camper weights out at 4,400 lbs.

 

[zippinbye]

No spring removal here. They are not in the way, and provid ea safety margin for a sudden unexpected compression while loaded heavy. Or if an air bag or supply line leaks, or the compressor goes down, you still have 100 percent of stock abilities.

 

[Bill Stockard]

Did you have to remove the helper springs to install air bags I have a 03 and a 11. 5 Lance slide in and could use a little more in the back as the camper weights out at 4,400 lbs.

Air bags on third generation trucks ('03 and later trucks) mount inboard of the frame and do not interfere with the spring pack unlike on second generation ('94-'02) trucks. Firestone and Air Lift kits are a bolt-on no-drill installation. I don't know about Pacbrake kits, but assume they are the same.



Bill

 

[SOLER]

I have the PacBrake bags. They are stout, and do offer assistance in the sagging area, but I don't really like them for the following reason. I have a Lance slide in. It is pretty heavy, but not overloading the truck. I have the spacers on the front springs, and I wanted something that would keep the truck level when I had the camper on the truck. Due to the fact that the PacBrake bags mount inside the frame rails, I get A LOT of side-to-side sway, and I don't like that at all. I have Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks, and they help, but not enough. I also have the longer rubber gromet stoppers for the helper springs. So, what I have to do is just inflate the bags until the overload springs just separate from the longer gromets, and deal with that. But, I'm not level. I wish there were air bags that mounted to the outer frame rails, and above the overload spring pad. But, until I find a good one, I guess I'll have to deal with what I've got.

 

[Bill Stockard]

I have the PacBrake bags. They are stout, and do offer assistance in the sagging area, but I don't really like them for the following reason. I have a Lance slide in. It is pretty heavy, but not overloading the truck. I have the spacers on the front springs, and I wanted something that would keep the truck level when I had the camper on the truck. Due to the fact that the PacBrake bags mount inside the frame rails, I get A LOT of side-to-side sway, and I don't like that at all. I have Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks, and they help, but not enough. I also have the longer rubber gromet stoppers for the helper springs. So, what I have to do is just inflate the bags until the overload springs just separate from the longer gromets, and deal with that. But, I'm not level. I wish there were air bags that mounted to the outer frame rails, and above the overload spring pad. But, until I find a good one, I guess I'll have to deal with what I've got.

What model Lance do you haul? I haul a '03 Lance 1121 which is a 11' 6" with one slide out and all the options.

Have you added an anti-sway bar to your truck? I've found that the Helwig anti-sway bar I added to my truck helps a lot limiting sway. I don't think anything will eliminate all the sway when hauling a heavy high center of gravity load.



Also I discovered my Rancho 9000 adjustable shocks were completely worn out after hauling my heavy Lance for about 30K miles. When loaded with the camper, I travel with the Ranchos adjusted to "9" front and rear. The front Ranchos were very difficult to adjust on my 2-wheel drive truck. I now have Bilstein on the front and new Rancho 9000s on the rear, and so far, I like the combination.



About 10K miles ago I discovered the base plates on my Air Lift 5000 air bags were bent allowing the air bags to be out of alignment and would eventually ruin the bags. I replaced the air bags with Timbrens. So far they are OK; however, they allow more weight to be carried on the overload spring pack which creates a more harsh ride on rough roads. I could remove the Energy Suspension overload spring bump stops, but that would lower the rear of the truck which I don't want. I am considering going back to air bags and am thinking about trying PacBrake air bags since they appear more robust. I still have the on-board compressor with in cab gauges/controls for the Air Lifts on my truck which should work the the Pacbrake air bags.



On the scales with the Lance loaded for travel, my truck is at its GVWR.



Bill

 

[mules4me]

I believe the original question was -will the air bags interfere withthe B&Wgooseneck ball hitch. if I am not mistaken there is a rod that pulls out near where the air bags would be mounted and I am also interested if they would interfere with each other.



Dave

 

[TMRoper1669]

I believe the original question was -will the air bags interfere withthe B&Wgooseneck ball hitch. if I am not mistaken there is a rod that pulls out near where the air bags would be mounted and I am also interested if they would interfere with each other.



Dave

Funny You actually read all the way through just like I did looking for the answer to the original question. Well I am buying a set of bags anyway for my mega cab and I will let you know if there is any problem with a B&W interference.

 

[Bill Stockard]

I believe the original question was -will the air bags interfere withthe B&Wgooseneck ball hitch. if I am not mistaken there is a rod that pulls out near where the air bags would be mounted and I am also interested if they would interfere with each other.



Dave

Yes, that's possibile on your '02 truck since the air bags mount outside the frame rail on top of the overload springs and directly over the axle. The OP's question was for a third gen truck. On third gen trucks, the air bags mount inboard of the frame and in place of the factory jounce bumpers between the frame and axle. On my third gen truck, the top bracket for the Air Lift 5000 bags was not higher than the bottom of the frame rail.



I don't have a B&W hitch, but I have seen several installed. I don't see how a bolt-on air bag kit would interfere with the release rod on third gen trucks.



Bill

 

[JRMora]

Just to get back to the original question:



No, the Firestone Ride Rites air bags do not interfere with the B&W hitch on my '04.



Juan

 

[KSears]

I do have a B&W hitch setup, I just installed Firestone Ride-rites, it doesn't interfere at all with any of the hitch, I do have a5" exhaust which was fairly close but ok. I wish I had put them on sooner, they are great , rides much better, both unloaded and loaded. They were very easy to install. I couldn't see major differences betwween all the makers, I went with Firestone, cheaper than the others, buy them online, nearly a hundred dollars cheaper that way, Got mine from Summit, great price, were delivered immediately.