Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
Jayco RV Owners Forum
 


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 06-10-2015, 03:27 PM   #1
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Dallas
Posts: 377
Air Bags??

A few years back we had a 34' 5th wheel and 2011 F-250. After the first trip it was evident that I needed air bags to counter the soft rear suspension and get rid of some of the drive line shudder.

Our current setup is 2014 Ram 2500 and a 36' travel trailer. The tongue weight is in the 1300lb range (haven't made it to the scales yet) and we're using a 1,400 lb Equal-I-zer hitch. Hitched up everything looks very level and handles fine. On the rough interstates it can get pretty uncomfortable with the bounces and I'm curious if the air bags would do enough about that to warrant spending the money???
__________________
2017 Jayco Redhawk 29XK - SOLD 10/19
2015 Wrangler JKU
2019 Ford F-250
2019 Open Range 310BHS - (a Jayco Division)
drk98 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2015, 03:57 PM   #2
Senior Member
 
TexasRT's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Dickinson
Posts: 481
Yes, a friend of mine was having the same issue. We put the bags on before he left for a fairly long road trip. He said the difference was like day and night, in a good way.
__________________
2015 Pinnacle 36FBTS w/Anderson Ultimate Hitch
2015 F250 SD Platinum 4x4 - 6.7L PSD
Titan 50 Gal. Fuel Tank
Slotted and Dimpled Brake Rotors
Air Lift LoadLifter 5000 Ultimate Airbags with WirelessAIR Controller
TexasRT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-10-2015, 08:39 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Southeastern Ohio
Posts: 102
I put on Firestone Ride-Rites last year. What a difference. The plus is you can put as much or as little air in them as you want.
__________________
2011 Tundra 5.7L Double Cab
2013 Jayco 26RLS
Kevin21 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-11-2015, 03:28 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Dallas
Posts: 377
I ordered a set today and hope to install them before our trip next weekend. Now to figure out what air pressure does the trick....
__________________
2017 Jayco Redhawk 29XK - SOLD 10/19
2015 Wrangler JKU
2019 Ford F-250
2019 Open Range 310BHS - (a Jayco Division)
drk98 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2015, 08:42 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Dallas
Posts: 377
Quote:
Originally Posted by drk98 View Post
I ordered a set today and hope to install them before our trip next weekend. Now to figure out what air pressure does the trick....
I bought the Firestone Air Bags since I had good luck with them on the last truck and they installed easily.

This go around.....not so much. Firestone advertises them as no-drill but on the 2013+ Ram 2500/3500 you do indeed need to drill a new hole where the bracket mounts to the axle. The instructions are also terrible. I wasn't interested in doing that so I returned them and bought the AirLift version. WOW.. what a difference. The instructions were great and the mounting method was much better and didn't require any drilling. The AirLift version is also ~$100 cheaper with a $50 rebate.

I haven't had a chance to tow with it since I installed them but I suspect it'll make a nice difference.
__________________
2017 Jayco Redhawk 29XK - SOLD 10/19
2015 Wrangler JKU
2019 Ford F-250
2019 Open Range 310BHS - (a Jayco Division)
drk98 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2015, 02:01 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Plowtoy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Hamilton, MI
Posts: 429
Im more of a timbren kind of guy. I looked at bags for the Tahoe, but ended up with the timbrens after all. I have Timbrens on front and back of this vehicle. Other than my suspension is warn and sets on the timbrens pretty much all the time, I get no "squat" with the camper hooked up. Hope the bags work out for you!
__________________
'97 Jayco Eagle 314BHS

'03 Tahoe LT 5.3L
Plowtoy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2015, 02:07 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Dallas
Posts: 377
Quote:
Originally Posted by Plowtoy View Post
Im more of a timbren kind of guy. I looked at bags for the Tahoe, but ended up with the timbrens after all. I have Timbrens on front and back of this vehicle. Other than my suspension is warn and sets on the timbrens pretty much all the time, I get no "squat" with the camper hooked up. Hope the bags work out for you!
I really thought about going that route but was afraid that the ride would be too rough once it was loaded. I just need some softening of the suspension when we hit a wavy stretch of road. At least with the air bags I can adjust the pressure if needed and fine tune it. My other issue was 4 Wheel parts would exchange the air bags for me but I couldn't return them. They don't carry the timbren line.
__________________
2017 Jayco Redhawk 29XK - SOLD 10/19
2015 Wrangler JKU
2019 Ford F-250
2019 Open Range 310BHS - (a Jayco Division)
drk98 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-02-2015, 02:08 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
TWP723's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Abingdon
Posts: 6,177
Quote:
Originally Posted by drk98 View Post
I bought the Firestone Air Bags since I had good luck with them on the last truck and they installed easily.

This go around.....not so much. Firestone advertises them as no-drill but on the 2013+ Ram 2500/3500 you do indeed need to drill a new hole where the bracket mounts to the axle. The instructions are also terrible. I wasn't interested in doing that so I returned them and bought the AirLift version. WOW.. what a difference. The instructions were great and the mounting method was much better and didn't require any drilling. The AirLift version is also ~$100 cheaper with a $50 rebate.

I haven't had a chance to tow with it since I installed them but I suspect it'll make a nice difference.

You'll love the Air Lift air bags. They work fantastic!

On the Super Duty's, if you have a factory fifth wheel hitch, you need to drill (1) hole. But as far as installation, very easy. The customer support is great too! Good luck!
__________________
2013 Jayco Eagle 328 RLTS
2021 Keystone Montana 3121RL
2013 F350 6.7L 4x4 CCLB
W/Air Lift air bags (front & rear)
Equal-I-Zer™ WDH & B&W Companion
TWP723 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Jayco, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:44 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright 2002-2016 Social Knowledge, LLC All Rights Reserved.