air bags on truck

Cummins12V98 wrote:
...Well Sir if you are over your weight ratings and you kill one of my family members I will drain your insurance coverage then I will go after you personally. And I will win and you will have nothing.

So if you want to play roulette by towing over your limits you better have a huge umbrella policy.

There is no way you could prove it in court.

dfb wrote:

krazymatt wrote:
Depending on your tow vehicle there's probably no doubt that it will pull it especially if its' a diesel but the problem arises if you get in an accident where someone gets hurt or killed and the lawyers will have a field day with you for negligence.

Not true! Insurance pays if the fault is yours. No regards to weight. If the other party is at fault, the weight of your vehicle is not relevant. In either case, you and your vehicles are insured. The only issue is who is at fault. Weight is not an issue. Where does thus stuff come from?

Well Sir if you are over your weight ratings and you kill one of my family members I will drain your insurance coverage then I will go after you personally. And I will win and you will have nothing.

So if you want to play roulette by towing over your limits you better have a huge umbrella policy.

beaudin12 wrote:
We were told that by adding air bags to our truck we could pull a 5th wheel that is heavier than the manufacturers recommendations. Does anyone know about this? We have been told by more than one RV dealership that this is so.

You have been told wrong!!! You are legally responsible for having an adequate tow vehicle. RVers with inadequate tow vehicles involved in accidents where there were injuries have ended up in jail with felony charges. The only thing that will stand up in court is the manufacturers tow specifications, not dealership or personal opinions.

beaudin12 wrote:
We were told that by adding air bags to our truck we could pull a 5th wheel that is heavier than the manufacturers recommendations. Does anyone know about this? We have been told by more than one RV dealership that this is so.

Its done every day. BUT...the devil is in the details. Much depends on the size of the truck/year model/engine/tranny/etc. Half ton trucks are very limited in how much weight they can safely carry.

However adding bags is like adding more springs to the rear suspension ...and you will need to upgrade tires and wheels also.

Check out our truck camper forum as those guys know how to safely mod a truck to carry more weight plus weight police types aren't as noisy.
Its common to add more rear suspension/19.5" wheels and tires to a 3/4 or one ton truck to carry more weight but not exceed the axle ratings.

I hauled commercially legally with several different one ton DRW trucks. We kept air bags on all the 4wd models to keep the truck level. Many 4wd one ton DRW sit level and sag a bit when weight is added. A sagging truck draws dots attention around a scale house so its easier to add air to keep the truck level.

Air bags threads are a hoot on a rv forum.

The air bags will level the truck and Rv. If your truck is squatting, it will help your towing by putting the tow vehicles ride level. If you have a 3/4 ton truck, and add badg or helpers, you will increase your in bed weight capacity. The only difference in the 3/4 ton to 1 ton is those springs. Period. What will really help your load capacity is the dually. Notice load,not tow. Since many 3/4 tons can only add 2000 lbs, and the one ton dually is more than 4000 lbs, in the bed. The one ton dually is what you want for large fifth wheels with pin weight hitting over 3000 lbs.

krazymatt wrote:
Depending on your tow vehicle there's probably no doubt that it will pull it especially if its' a diesel but the problem arises if you get in an accident where someone gets hurt or killed and the lawyers will have a field day with you for negligence.

Not true! Insurance pays if the fault is yours. No regards to weight. If the other party is at fault, the weight of your vehicle is not relevant. In either case, you and your vehicles are insured. The only issue is who is at fault. Weight is not an issue. Where does thus stuff come from?

Water-Bug wrote:
NEVER put airbags on a 1/2 ton PU.

OK Water-Bug...I'll bite... Why Not?

Paul Clancy wrote:
They do add capacity the same as adding a leaf. They do not change the manufacturer rating of the truck.

That's right except on rv.net - if you install a F250 cab on a F750 chassis the 250's door sticker GVW adjusts all components on the 750 chassis at the molecular atomic level to limit their strength to the sticker weight. ??

mdamerell wrote:

Me Again wrote:
20k is an axle with four tires. An axle with two tires is 12k or the tread width depending on state etc. Tandem axles (8 tires) are 34k.

Most standard 18 wheelers are 12+34+34=80k

Chris

Not true, depends on tire and axle rating. My Steer axle was rate at 14,000# and I ran J(? it's been a while) rated tires to support that. My drive axles were actually rated for 40,000# but limited by bridge law to 34,000#. Still maxed out at 80,000# but gave some wiggle room to scale it out. The super singles are an example of 2 tires on an axle rated for 20,000#

Bridge Law to protect road and bridge surface. Also controls distance between axle sets.
Single axle 20,000# (based on axle and tire rating but 20,000#)
tandem axle 34,000#
spread axle 40,000# (think it was 8' center to center of the two axles)

Close on the spread axles. It is a 10 foot spread to carry 40,000.

Love my Firestone bags. I also installed the onboard compressor which I can control from the cab. It comes in handy as I can adjust as I drive. My toy hauler has the spare tire mounted on the bottom of the trailer in the rear. I drags so I release the air which raises the rear of the camper in circumstances ( backing into my driveway ) when needed.