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Old 12-10-2012, 05:40 PM   #1
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Firestone Air Bags

Hello everyone, back in March of this year we purchased a new Jayco Eagle 320 RLDS. Great camper with big living & bedroom slides. We towed it around the state this summer with without much issue. The problem is that I'm a "level" freak and no matter what configuration I try with my WD hitch, whether it be ball height or pitch, I can't level the truck/trailer. I have about a 2in. drop from front to rear. Is this acceptable? The loaded trailer has a 1400lb. tongue and I'm pulling it with a 2012 Ford F-250 crew cab with a 6.7l diesel. I guess I'm asking has anyone used the airbags and what do you think, and do the air bags help any with "bounce". Thanks
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Old 12-10-2012, 06:14 PM   #2
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Do you have the WDH with the bars that distribute the load?
You should be able to lift the rear of your truck above level if you tried.
You should be able to attach the TT to the TV, crank down the the jack, TT up which will lift your TV.
When you think it's about level, install your WD bars. Some have chains, some have L-brackets.
Then crank up jack on the TT and the truck should be sitting level. You'll have to experiment a little to see what setting (# of links, L-bracket position etc) gives you level truck.
To level the TT, that will be ball height and pitch.
Attach a picture of your WDH set-up and the rig hooked together if you can.
Hope this helps.
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Old 12-10-2012, 06:15 PM   #3
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I have the airbags in my truck and It's very nice, especially when you get the compressor on board. If it's not level pump it up a bit. What is the weight rating on your leveling bars? I wouldn't think you should have a 2" drop if everything is set up correctly.
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Old 12-10-2012, 06:46 PM   #4
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Can’t help with the air bag question. I would think that every time you change the air pressure you change the ride height, messing up your WDH.

What brand WDH do you have? It is absolutely critical that you do not transfer to much weight forwards. If you do you will risk major handling issues. The owner’s manual will help you calculate how much rear-end drop to have.
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Old 12-10-2012, 07:22 PM   #5
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We had Firestone Air Bags on our 2500HD Truck for towing our Pinnacle.
Firestone makes a great Air Bag product.
The Air Bags kept the truck bounce down to a minimum by stopping the truck from bouncing off the overload springs when towing the 5er.

The 3500HD we have now tows much better with our Pinnacle's 3400 lb pin weight, no air bags, no bounce, much better ride.
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Old 12-10-2012, 08:19 PM   #6
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While not exactly on topic....I had the Firestone Ride-Rite air bag helpers on my old Class A motorhome. They made the vehicle more stable, level and firmed up the rear suspension. On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd give the improvement in driving, handling and stability a 9.9

I had them on for 9 years with no problems. Loaded, I ran them at 95lbs psi.
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Old 12-10-2012, 08:26 PM   #7
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I believe on my Equilizer setup, it recommends getting to 0-.75" higher in the front when hitched to the TT versus being unhitched.
If it was more than .75" higer in the front, then they recommended making an adjustment.

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Old 12-10-2012, 09:14 PM   #8
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Hey Doug, here's my setup. My hitch bar is a 2.5in. Reese Titan. Hitch head is a Reese 15k and trunnion arms rated at 1500lbs. When I hook up, I actually raise the truck over level to assist in attaching the trunnion arms so I don't break my back. Then I retract the tongue jack to it's present 2in. sag. Current ball height is 24in. When I tried raising the ball height, my trunnion arms seemed to go past parallel, which I was told is a big no-no. Do I need to increase or decrease the pitch?
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Old 12-10-2012, 10:57 PM   #9
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The way I go about it and believe the instructions are as follows.
1. Trailer unhooked. Adjust tongue jack until trailer measures equal distance from frame to ground at front and back.
2. Measure from ground to top of tongue where your ball mounts up into.
That measurment will tell you how high the top of the ball should be on your tow vehicle with nothing hooked up.
Get what ever shank drop you need to put your ball at that height

Measure from the ground to the front wheel wells of the tow vehicle unloaded = A

Attach TT without your weight distribution bars. Measure from ground to the front wheel wells of the tow vehicle - B

Now install your weight distribution bars and get to a set-up you think is good.

Measure from the ground to the front wheel wells of the tow vehicle set-up ready to tow = C

C = between A to A +0.75"

If C is greater than A + 0.75", then you need to increase leverage of the weight distribution bars until you get to ~C= A +0.5" ideally.

C should never be less than what A was

Once you get your weight distribution bars set up. Then check the height of the trailer front and rear again.

If the front of the trailer is 1" or less lower than the back, your probably good.

If the front is more than 1" lower, than you can pitch you ball up by removing 1 washer (thats if it's the same design as my Equilizer)

If you need to lower the front of the TT a little, add a washer to pitch the ball down.

Ultimately the best set-up takes a little testing to see what tows the best, but following these basic principles will get you close.

Here is the complete instructions. Scroll down to the setup procedure.

Hope this was helpful.


http://www.fastwaytrailer.com/pdf/e2...0710_small.pdf

Best regards,
Doug
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Old 12-11-2012, 08:02 AM   #10
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It helps to raise the truck and trailer a lot before you hook up the weight bars, not just a few inches. I raise mine until my 4000# jack starts complaining a bit haha.
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Old 12-13-2012, 11:52 AM   #11
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I use the firestone airbags I got the deluxe version and They are great. I can adjust while driving which helps.
They inprove the bounce for sure...My truck is 1/2 ton (Silverado)and I added air too improve the factory ride
I hook up the trailer and measure the bumper hight
I then add air to bring it to the starting level this is good if you drive at night as lights stay at factory level
Compresser is nice too fill tires
This is my first trailer and I have ezlift and about 500# hitch wt.
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Old 12-13-2012, 09:30 PM   #12
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Thanks for the advice Doug [and everyone], Camping World set me up when I bought the camper. They said it looked fine so I left. It was with a 2in. hitch bar w/ adapter. It was windy that day and I was all over the road on the way home. Later on this fall, I decided to buy the Reese Titan 2.5 in. hitch bar and redo the setup. I had to buy a longer safety chain to accommodate the longer Reese bar. The bigger hitch bar seemed to solidify the the ride, but still had the sag. So- although the camper is covered and in storage, I went over there yesterday and started to try different applications. My hitch head has a toothed washer for pitch adjustment. Taking a copy of your instructions, I raised the ball 2in. and adjusted the ball pitch forward and now have achieved heavenly levelness!! I can't wait to tow it next spring. I'm not bashing Camping World as they have always been helpful. Thanks Doug, U the man, Terry
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Old 12-13-2012, 10:57 PM   #13
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I've got the Firestone Ride Rites and any issues I had with sag are long gone. I have a 32TSBH and an Equalizer 12k. Had to drop the L-brackets a couple notches to accommodate the lift from the bags, but the results are stellar as you can see The porpoising has also been greatly reduced. I run at 75lbs and the camper is from 9000-10,000 depending on the trip.

John
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Old 12-14-2012, 08:21 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TCNASHVILLE View Post
Thanks for the advice Doug [and everyone], Camping World set me up when I bought the camper. They said it looked fine so I left. It was with a 2in. hitch bar w/ adapter. It was windy that day and I was all over the road on the way home. Later on this fall, I decided to buy the Reese Titan 2.5 in. hitch bar and redo the setup. I had to buy a longer safety chain to accommodate the longer Reese bar. The bigger hitch bar seemed to solidify the the ride, but still had the sag. So- although the camper is covered and in storage, I went over there yesterday and started to try different applications. My hitch head has a toothed washer for pitch adjustment. Taking a copy of your instructions, I raised the ball 2in. and adjusted the ball pitch forward and now have achieved heavenly levelness!! I can't wait to tow it next spring. I'm not bashing Camping World as they have always been helpful. Thanks Doug, U the man, Terry
Glad you got it level Terry.
Something just didn't add up.
The instructions are very helpful in understanding the procedure.

Best regards,
Doug
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