I'm new to the forum starting today. My situation is similar to VAredRAM's except that I have an '09 Ram 3500HD 4WD SRW pickup. I made an assumption that I'd be able to carry the AF990 w/o any issues as long as I added the Torq Lift superhitch and an airbag kit with compressor and controller capability. I picked up the AF990 after the airbag modification and found as I was driving home that my truck would begin rocking side to side with the condition worsening as I picked up speed past 30 - 35 mph and it is doing some very serious rocking to the point that I believe it to be really unsafe. I haven't hooked up my horse trailer with the camper yet as I have to get the extenders for the hitch. I will be adding a horse trailer and will carry with one horse a trailer weight trlr wt of 5700 lbs and if I carry a second horse, the trlr wt will go up to 6700 to 7000 lbs. Presently just trying to fix the rocking problem w/o a trailer attached. I was operating with the bags holding approx 90 psi with only the camper. I haven't experimented with changing air pressure to see if that would resolve the rocking issue. I read in one of the posts that adding HD springs may help. I would appreciate anymore insight and recommendations.

Other options are Stable Loads, Rear Sway Bar, and Supersprings.

Drop your air bag pressure down,90lbs is way to much. I would start at about 25 lbs and add more if needed. You need to load your springs not the bags to carry the load. Plus with the SRW put your tire pressures to the max 80 psi.

The simplest solution involves checking to see if you are engaged with your overload spring. 90 psi with camper only seems pretty extreme and the more pressure you have, the higher you are riding over the overload spring. Adding the stable loads to ensure spring engagment is simple and inexpensive.

First thing to check is that there are separate filler lines for the two airbags and not a T connection. If they are using the same filler then when you put pressure on one bag in a turn it will push air into the bag on the other side. With more load support you also need more in the way of shock dampening which is the primary function of what we in the USA refer to as shock absorbers. Rancho 9000 or Bilstein 5100 shocks are designed for a camper type of application.Without the horse trailer component it would be better to use SuperSprings but they will not enable precise adjustment of the height of the camper to match that needed for the trailer. You would need to do that with a drop hitch if that will work with your trailer.Search for posts regarding air bags as they do require some fine tuning to work properly.

Your leaf springs should be carrying the majority of weight and the bags just help level you out. I carry the AF811 on a 3/4t with upper and lower StableLoads. My bags are only inflated when I tow my enclosed trailer which weighs about as much as your horse trailer. I have OEM upper overload springs and anti-sway bars. The shocks and wheels are upgraded on mine from the lower capacity OEM. Start by adding StableLoads to your rear and see if you can carry the TC with minimum air in the bags. This should be stable - If not, add anti-sway and better shocks. I would get an actual weight measurement on the rear of the truck - You may find that you are pushing the tire and rim limits of your current setup once you add the hitch weight.

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kerry4951
Explorer
Jan 23, 2014
Other options are Stable Loads, Rear Sway Bar, and Supersprings.
Flyfisher86
Explorer
Jan 23, 2014
Drop your air bag pressure down,90lbs is way to much. I would start at about 25 lbs and add more if needed. You need to load your springs not the bags to carry the load. Plus with the SRW put your tire pressures to the max 80 psi.
Super_Dave
Explorer
Jan 23, 2014
The simplest solution involves checking to see if you are engaged with your overload spring. 90 psi with camper only seems pretty extreme and the more pressure you have, the higher you are riding over the overload spring. Adding the stable loads to ensure spring engagment is simple and inexpensive.
Redsky
Explorer
Jan 23, 2014
First thing to check is that there are separate filler lines for the two airbags and not a T connection. If they are using the same filler then when you put pressure on one bag in a turn it will push air into the bag on the other side.

With more load support you also need more in the way of shock dampening which is the primary function of what we in the USA refer to as shock absorbers. Rancho 9000 or Bilstein 5100 shocks are designed for a camper type of application.

Without the horse trailer component it would be better to use SuperSprings but they will not enable precise adjustment of the height of the camper to match that needed for the trailer. You would need to do that with a drop hitch if that will work with your trailer.

Search for posts regarding air bags as they do require some fine tuning to work properly.
Bedlam
Moderator
Jan 23, 2014
Your leaf springs should be carrying the majority of weight and the bags just help level you out. I carry the AF811 on a 3/4t with upper and lower StableLoads. My bags are only inflated when I tow my enclosed trailer which weighs about as much as your horse trailer. I have OEM upper overload springs and anti-sway bars. The shocks and wheels are upgraded on mine from the lower capacity OEM.

Start by adding StableLoads to your rear and see if you can carry the TC with minimum air in the bags. This should be stable - If not, add anti-sway and better shocks. I would get an actual weight measurement on the rear of the truck - You may find that you are pushing the tire and rim limits of your current setup once you add the hitch weight.
Fuzzy_Bear
Explorer
Jan 23, 2014
I would be willing to be he is not getting anywhere close to contacting his overload springs. Get some StableLoads or other extended bumpstops. Inflate your airbags until the truck is as level front to back and still contacting the overloads. You can take it further and check the distance between the top of the tire and the fender. If both match you shouldn't have any problems.

Doug
Wanderin_fool
Explorer
Jan 24, 2014
Yep, air pressure helped me. I love free and easy fixes! I went from about 60 to 20 lbs and thats with a trailer.Now, given that, we all adjust our individual rigs to an inflation that works best. You dont want to adjust for headlite aim, stock ride height, ect. Like most said, enough to help the suspension but not overpower it. Good luck!
billtex
Explorer II
Jan 24, 2014
Redsky wrote:
First thing to check is that there are separate filler lines for the two airbags and not a T connection. If they are using the same filler then when you put pressure on one bag in a turn it will push air into the bag on the other side.

With more load support you also need more in the way of shock dampening which is the primary function of what we in the USA refer to as shock absorbers. Rancho 9000 or Bilstein 5100 shocks are designed for a camper type of application.

Without the horse trailer component it would be better to use SuperSprings but they will not enable precise adjustment of the height of the camper to match that needed for the trailer. You would need to do that with a drop hitch if that will work with your trailer.

Search for posts regarding air bags as they do require some fine tuning to work properly.

Hey redsky...let's see a pic of your rig?
What is your deal...you joined 1 month ago and post in every section; Class A, TT, TC...
You have nothing in your profile.

We enjoy having new Folks on-board...but you are a mystery...

Man up...let's see your rig.
brholt
Explorer II
Jan 24, 2014
I'll just note that with your truck carrying an AF990 you are probably going to be significantly over the GVWR, and even threatening your rear axle rating, even before you start adding a horse trailer.

For comparison tanked up and loaded for camping with three of us in a DRW CC Gas 4x4 F350 carrying an AF1150 we weighted in at nearly 13,700 lbs.

Note the weight indicated on the drive axle! The AF1150 is only 450 or so lbs more in weight than the 990. Our truck weighs around 7,800 lbs. If yours is a gas regular cab it will weigh significantly less but if yours is a diesel CC it is likely to weight even more than our truck even though yours is a SRW.

In any case I suggest you stop by a scale and see where you stand.
jimh406
Explorer III
Jan 24, 2014
What Fuzzy Bear said.

I would also consider shocks and making sure you tires are inflated properly. Other things you can do is reduce the weight as much as you can by making sure you aren't carrying maximum water unless you really need it and making sure your black/grey tanks are empty.

As you can see from my signature, I also added 19.5s, extended bump stops, and Rancho Adjustables.

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