2013 Dodge Ram with or without air suspension?

[jsmitty2100]

Looking into buying new pickup. Have it narrowed down to the Ram. Found 2 Ram 1500 quad cabs at similar price points, one with air suspension, one without. What is everyones opinion/experience on the air suspension for towing? How will it effect the WD hitch? Current trailer is a 2003 Trail-lite 6200gvw, but are going to upgrade in the near future. Thanks

[DirtyOil]

APT wrote:

DirtyOil wrote:
The air suspension replaces the twin tube shock absorbers and coil springs...As for being unreliable? hardly... many ppl here use airbag supplements or enhancements to their OEM suspensions

Enhancements and supplements are not the same as replacing. Single point of failure vs. multiple.

Exactly, remove dual tube shocks, coil springs for air bag...pretty simple eh?

[ib516]

I think the air suspension is a huge leap forward in pickup truck sophistication and design. I think to NOT go with it when there's an opportunity would be a shame. I have no input on how it would work with a WD system, but you have to think that would have been a consideration in the design.

[NC_Hauler]

jsmitty2100 wrote:
Looking into buying new pickup. Have it narrowed down to the Ram. Found 2 Ram 1500 quad cabs at similar price points, one with air suspension, one without. What is everyones opinion/experience on the air suspension for towing? How will it effect the WD hitch? Current trailer is a 2003 Trail-lite 6200gvw, but are going to upgrade in the near future. Thanks

You say you're going to upgrade in the near future....to what?? Depending on what you plan on 'going to"....you may want to prepare for that...if it's a TT in the same 6200 GVW weight range, then ok, but if going to a heavier/longer TT or even thinking about a 5er, you may to rethink what you're planning on purchasing...again, depending on what you are going to upgrade to in the near future may make a difference as to what truck you want to purchase..

[BurbMan]

skipnchar wrote:
The proper way to set it up is with the air turned off, set the WD system then turn the air back on.

That's true with air-assisted load leveling like the 1500 Suburbans and some other SUVs have. If you have air bags in place of actual springs, like the big rigs do, you'll sit mighty low with no air in them....

Best to read the owner's manual before dialing in a WD hitch with that suspension.

[APT]

DirtyOil wrote:
The air suspension replaces the twin tube shock absorbers and coil springs...As for being unreliable? hardly... many ppl here use airbag supplements or enhancements to their OEM suspensions

Enhancements and supplements are not the same as replacing. Single point of failure vs. multiple.

[DirtyOil]

Air suspension is an optional suspension system on the Outdoorsman 4x4 with 3.92 gears (at least here in Canada) The air suspension replaces the twin tube shock absorbers and coil springs, the height difference is depending on cab configuration of 0.5 to < 1" higher then conventional setup. Another feature to the air suspension is you can lower the truck while hwy cruising (unloaded) to reduce drag. As for being unreliable? hardly... many ppl here use airbag supplements or enhancements to their OEM suspensions...after all, we no longer putt around in Model T's anymore. Denying the benefits or longevity of the air suspension is like comparing beat up, worn out OEM shock absorbers to brand new Bilstein shocks, even though the OEMs were most likely Bilstein products to begin with!! (Bilstein supplies shocks to most auto manufacturers)(course replacing any old worn out shock with any brand of shock is going to make a difference.. for how long is anyone's guess)

If I was in the market for a new pick-up, the Outdoorsman with optional air suspension, 4x4, hemi with 3.92 diffs, would be my choice

last year I lent the out-laws the wife's 2012 Ram Sport(rambox)hemi 4x4 with 3.92 gears to pull his 7200# TT which normally sits behind his 01 F350 7.3 ( it was in the shop) while we were on a family reunion, asked how it pulled? Brother in-law said pulled fine through the Canadian Rockies just as well as his 7.3 did. (wife uses her truck to pull 3 horse trailer usually only have 2 horses but trailer is old and heavy)

[modern_family]

Air suspension.. Just another thing to fail. I would stay away from it since you are towing. If you were not towing at all, they are nice to have.

[puma_28db]

before you buy, crawl under rear axle on driver side. look for gear ratio tag. if it has the 8spd trans it will likely have 3.21s. dont trust the window sticker! i just bought a 2013 ram thinking it had 3.55s. learned a week later that it has 3.21s. which lowers the tow rateing by about 2,000lbs. after doing some research, i think chysler is rateing the the trucks on the gear ratio in the axle, not the trans and axle. i have posted a thread, 3.21s vs 3.55s, which shows gear ratios in trans. if the number are correct, the 8spd/3.21 would be just as capable as the 6spd/3.55.

[APT]

1500 pounds is good. I still say skip the air suspension and focus on WDH adjustment.

[jsmitty2100]

The Ram I am looking at with the air suspension is the 5.7 liter with 3.92 gears. It has a payload of 1487 lbs. and tow rating of 10,150 lbs. This is plenty for my current Trail-lite trailer and should give me room to upgrade to something a little bigger in the future.

[APT]

Ram went soft on the IRS spring rates starting in 2009. They have the lowest GVWR at 6800 pounds. Ford/GM have about the same payload for the same cab/bed configurations. Ford/GM also offer optional packages that increase GVWR/payload.

I have no idea why. Marketing the best ride won over capability? Tow ratings are competitive, as are power, fuel economy, and design/materials. Payload doesn't sell enough half tons I guess.

[thomasmnile]

APT wrote:
I caution about the 2009+ Ram 1500. They have the lowest payloads in the class. Seriously, your current RV would probably put it over the GVWR and maybe rear axle rating. If you want a Ram, get the 2500 gasser or 3500 diesel.

Why is that, anyway? Looked at all the Big 3 half ton offerings and configurations for maximum towing/payload capacity and Ford just seem to plain own towing/payload for half ton trucks. Is this an acknowledgement by Ram and GM that half tons are primarily the new family sedan..................:h

[APT]

I caution about the 2009+ Ram 1500. They have the lowest payloads in the class. Seriously, your current RV would probably put it over the GVWR and maybe rear axle rating. If you want a Ram, get the 2500 gasser or 3500 diesel.

reference 2013 payloads.

I',m generally against air suspension for towing anything when using a WDH. At a minimum they complicated WDH adjustment.

[skipnchar]

If set up correctly it should make little or no difference. The proper way to set it up is with the air turned off, set the WD system then turn the air back on.