Arctic Fox 1150 & Airbags

[suzmax]

So...after saying we didn't want anything too big that hung way over the back of our pickup, you'll be surprised to hear that tomorrow we are bringing home a 2000 Arctic Fox 1150. Yup. We'd been looking at it off and on for a couple weeks.

Here's the deal...it's damaged. The guy we are buying it from (he's the original owner) backed into something and bent one of the jacks in Yellowstone. Then he couldn't get the jack to go up and it was pouring rain. So he figured he'd drive out of the rain and then try to fix it. Well, the jack caught on something and tore the side of the camper, the side with the slide. His wife had been wanting a small 5th wheel so he figured it was time. We got it for $2,000. Northwood Manufacturing gave us and estimate of $3-4,000 to fix it. BUT...my husband and our friend are going to take on the job. Our friend builds and rebuilds everything, my husband is also quite handy and our friend is a fiberglass guy and has "all the stuff" to work on it apparently.

Oh, he's also throwing in the Torklift brackets since he won't need them anymore. And it has a nice 130 watt solar panel. The inside is in great shape. And we didn't see any signs of leaking (and we looked!).

Since it's so big and heavy, we figure we'll need airbags. The original owner (who has the same exact pickup and year as ours!) doesn't use anything. He says it handles fine. But we'd like to be sure to save our pickup. It's a Dodge 1 ton dually. Any recommendations on air bags?

I'll post pics after we have it home.

Susan

[suzmax]

campn4walleye wrote:
Congrats! I know you're excited and hope the repair goes well. Can't wait to see the pics.

P.S.

You're much braver than we are to attempt such a repair, but with the price, elbow grease (and a bit more) goes a long way!

Thanks! Yeah, we hope it goes well too! I'll definitely start a thread on it.

[suzmax]

sailorbuoy wrote:
I have an '08 Dodge Ram 3500 dually with an Eagle Cap 950. When we first loaded the camper on it I thought the OEM springs would handle the load just fine. What I didn't like was the side-to-side sway motion. So I had Roadmaster install their sway bar and that made a 98% improvement in cornering motion. We took a month long trip in Calif. and the horrible freeways and expansion joints just made the ride brutal. We cringed every time we crossed a bridge.
So I did research on air bags and SuperSprings. Air bags at some point could wear out (my truck weighs in at 8300 lbs.and with the EC at close to 4K I'm right at the maximum GVW for this truck).
So I decided to go with the SuperSprings and what a difference that made in ride quality. We no longer cringe or fear expansion joints. A 90% improvement over standard OEM springs. They did raise the rear of the truck about 4 inches so when camping we use the yellow blocks to raise the front end for leveling. They also add 74 lbs. to the weight of your vehicle. But when the camper is off the truck it does have a very rough ride. Those springs want to carry a load!?

Very interesting!!! It was extremely windy yesterday (when isn't it where we live?!) when we brought our TC home and we definitely felt the side to side sway. But it wasn't as bad as our old class A motorhome!

[suzmax]

dadwolf2 wrote:
Please send us pics as the camper undergoes repairs.

I will definitely start a thread on it!

[suzmax]

brholt wrote:
Congratulations!

I'm not sure what model truck you have or its payload rating. My 2013 F350 has a payload rating of 6,200. When I put our AF 1150 it sagged a bit in back. Added upper Stableloads and we were good to go. Truck handles the weight just fine.

I would definitely try the Stableloads first.

Yup, I think that's the route we'll go! Thank you!

[suzmax]

2BLAZERS wrote:
My best mode for carrying the weight of my AF 1150 was SuperSprings.... we also have airbags but only use the airbags for a little leveling out IF towing. I got the airbags first, should have done the SS first.

My next truck will get SuperSprings before airbags. And Super Springs are a lot cheaper than airbags with compressor and incab adjustment.

Just my .02

Thank you! I think we're talked out of airbags. 🙂

[sailorbuoy]

I have an '08 Dodge Ram 3500 dually with an Eagle Cap 950. When we first loaded the camper on it I thought the OEM springs would handle the load just fine. What I didn't like was the side-to-side sway motion. So I had Roadmaster install their sway bar and that made a 98% improvement in cornering motion. We took a month long trip in Calif. and the horrible freeways and expansion joints just made the ride brutal. We cringed every time we crossed a bridge.
So I did research on air bags and SuperSprings. Air bags at some point could wear out (my truck weighs in at 8300 lbs.and with the EC at close to 4K I'm right at the maximum GVW for this truck).
So I decided to go with the SuperSprings and what a difference that made in ride quality. We no longer cringe or fear expansion joints. A 90% improvement over standard OEM springs. They did raise the rear of the truck about 4 inches so when camping we use the yellow blocks to raise the front end for leveling. They also add 74 lbs. to the weight of your vehicle. But when the camper is off the truck it does have a very rough ride. Those springs want to carry a load!?

[campn4walleye]

Congrats! I know you're excited and hope the repair goes well. Can't wait to see the pics.

P.S.

You're much braver than we are to attempt such a repair, but with the price, elbow grease (and a bit more) goes a long way!

[dadwolf2]

Please send us pics as the camper undergoes repairs.

[brholt]

Congratulations!

I'm not sure what model truck you have or its payload rating. My 2013 F350 has a payload rating of 6,200. When I put our AF 1150 it sagged a bit in back. Added upper Stableloads and we were good to go. Truck handles the weight just fine.

I would definitely try the Stableloads first.

[2BLAZERS]

My best mode for carrying the weight of my AF 1150 was SuperSprings.... we also have airbags but only use the airbags for a little leveling out IF towing. I got the airbags first, should have done the SS first.

My next truck will get SuperSprings before airbags. And Super Springs are a lot cheaper than airbags with compressor and incab adjustment.

Just my .02

[suzmax]

wcjeep wrote:
Highly recommend Torklift Stableloads before airbags. You may find the airbags are not necessary. I have found airbags can unload the suspension. The airbags can carry some of the weight instead of vehicle suspension. The Stableloads engage the vehicle suspension right away. There are two versions. With your 3500 you may have access to either.

With Torklift product in the past I've seen various vendors have a sale. It seemed to vary month to month. You may find stuff cheaper by doing a quick search. One time I bought something from Texas, it was drop shipped locally to me.

Thank you! It sounds like maybe airbags aren't the way to go.

[suzmax]

kerry4951 wrote:
Congrats on your new to you AF1150. I carry its sister, the AF1140. I installed Firestone air bags 4 years ago and never used them. They came off a few months back after I added air one day and found out that one was leaking. It gave me a great excuse to remove them for good. I depend on my Supersprings (which dont ever leak), Stable Loads, and Sway Bar. I could not be happier with the ride and the stability.

Thank you! So good to know! Yeah, we're pretty excited.

[wcjeep]

Highly recommend Torklift Stableloads before airbags. You may find the airbags are not necessary. I have found airbags can unload the suspension. The airbags can carry some of the weight instead of vehicle suspension. The Stableloads engage the vehicle suspension right away. There are two versions. With your 3500 you may have access to either.

With Torklift product in the past I've seen various vendors have a sale. It seemed to vary month to month. You may find stuff cheaper by doing a quick search. One time I bought something from Texas, it was drop shipped locally to me.

[kerry4951]

Congrats on your new to you AF1150. I carry its sister, the AF1140. I installed Firestone air bags 4 years ago and never used them. They came off a few months back after I added air one day and found out that one was leaking. It gave me a great excuse to remove them for good. I depend on my Supersprings (which dont ever leak), Stable Loads, and Sway Bar. I could not be happier with the ride and the stability.