Your Opinion On Air Bags

[Larryzv7]

Do air bag suspension on the rear of trucks help with towing? I was told that they not only help with towing but can also help to save gas when towing?

They are expensive so I am trying to find out the pros and cons before purchasing air bags for my truck. I now have a 2018 F-150 with Ecoboost and a full tow package, and a 2018 conventional trailer (Heartland Mallard).

I also have a weight distribution hitch and two sway bars, but my truck is still sagging a little in the rear when connected to my trailer, and the trailer fish tails a little depending on how fast I drive. I am thinking maybe air bags can remedy this?

[spoon059]

Cummins12V98 wrote:
I will bet you have "P" LOAD RANGE TIRES. Change out to "E" load range tires and inflate based on weight plus 5 psi rear and 10 psi fronts.

This was going to be my suggestion. Air bags will stiffen up the rear suspension, but not improve any of the underlying issues with having a truck that isn't heavy enough. Soft tires that come OEM on most half ton trucks will give you the majority of your squirm feeling.

If you have E rated tires and are aired up to make the sidewalls pretty stiff, air bags could help stiffen up the feeling of the suspension, thus giving you a better feeling during towing.

If you have the F150 with max HD, you should have an already a stiffer suspension and probably E rated tires. I'm not sure if you have max HD (weight carrying) or max towing package based upon your initial post.

In terms of helping with mileage... not a chance. The $300 or $400 cost of the bags, plus any installation, would be better spent on buying a hundred gallons or so of gas.

[Grit_dog]

Larryzv7 wrote:
I had a shop a couple of years ago tell me that I could benefit from getting air bags, then recently I had some work done at Camping World and a person in the Service Department highly recommended air bags for towing, he was the one that told me they would improve gas mileage.

Camping World does not install air bags so they recommended a couple of shops to me. The shops I called also told me air bags would improve handling and gas mileage when towing. I did not ask how they improve gas mileage. But all of the shops I called wanted between $1,500 and $2,100, depending on whether I wanted an onboard compressor or not. I imagine they are a lot cheaper if you buy and install them yourself.

That is why I thought I’d ask for some input here on this forum. I did some research online and there are lots of websites that say air bags do help with fuel economy. Here are a couple of those websites:

StrutMasters

ATS

May want to stay away from shops that will charge you $500-1000 per hour!
And or buy a couple wrenches.

[way2roll]

valhalla360 wrote:

Larryzv7 wrote:

Quote from strutmasters: "The additional weight on the vehicle can cause the engine to work harder and burn more fuel. This is because towing heavy cargo affects traditional suspension systems’ performance. For example, the extra weight can reduce or flatten the arch and springs of a truck’s rear leaf spring suspension. This decreases the springs’ ability to support the weight so the back of the truck sags or bottoms out. As a result, the extra weight puts pressure on the axle and wheels, which presses the tires into the ground, creating added roll resistance."

What a load of marketing BS!!!

The only thing they said that is somewhat related to airbags & MPG is extra rolling resistance from heavily loaded tires....but the extra weight on the tires doesn't simply disappear with airbags. You might need different adjustments on your WDH with or without airbags but the weight on each axle should be pretty close to the same once you are done adjusting.

If you are bottoming out the springs, 10-1 you are grossly overloaded and you will still be overloaded with the airbags.

Agreed, this is simple physics. Unless the bags are hot air balloons the weight doesn't magically disappear from the axles or tires. The MPG claim, is just that. A claim. There are no physics or data to support it.

OP, air bags won't solve any problem other than levelling which "might" have some by-product effect and raise the front of the TT and might have a slight impact on your issue. But fishtailing is about an overloaded TT, weight not distributed correctly on the TT, or your truck is simply not rated for the task. Air bags won't really fix any of that.

[valhalla360]

Larryzv7 wrote:
I had a shop a couple of years ago tell me that I could benefit from getting air bags, then recently I had some work done at Camping World and a person in the Service Department highly recommended air bags for towing, he was the one that told me they would improve gas mileage.

Camping World does not install air bags so they recommended a couple of shops to me. The shops I called also told me air bags would improve handling and gas mileage when towing. I did not ask how they improve gas mileage. But all of the shops I called wanted between $1,500 and $2,100, depending on whether I wanted an onboard compressor or not. I imagine they are a lot cheaper if you buy and install them yourself.

That is why I thought I’d ask for some input here on this forum. I did some research online and there are lots of websites that say air bags do help with fuel economy. Here are a couple of those websites:

StrutMasters

ATS

Quote from strutmasters: "The additional weight on the vehicle can cause the engine to work harder and burn more fuel. This is because towing heavy cargo affects traditional suspension systems’ performance. For example, the extra weight can reduce or flatten the arch and springs of a truck’s rear leaf spring suspension. This decreases the springs’ ability to support the weight so the back of the truck sags or bottoms out. As a result, the extra weight puts pressure on the axle and wheels, which presses the tires into the ground, creating added roll resistance."

What a load of marketing BS!!!

The only thing they said that is somewhat related to airbags & MPG is extra rolling resistance from heavily loaded tires....but the extra weight on the tires doesn't simply disappear with airbags. You might need different adjustments on your WDH with or without airbags but the weight on each axle should be pretty close to the same once you are done adjusting.

If you are bottoming out the springs, 10-1 you are grossly overloaded and you will still be overloaded with the airbags.

Edit: Maybe they are filling them with helium, so they actually create lift?

[Larryzv7]

I had a shop a couple of years ago tell me that I could benefit from getting air bags, then recently I had some work done at Camping World and a person in the Service Department highly recommended air bags for towing, he was the one that told me they would improve gas mileage.

Camping World does not install air bags so they recommended a couple of shops to me. The shops I called also told me air bags would improve handling and gas mileage when towing. I did not ask how they improve gas mileage. But all of the shops I called wanted between $1,500 and $2,100, depending on whether I wanted an onboard compressor or not. I imagine they are a lot cheaper if you buy and install them yourself.

That is why I thought I’d ask for some input here on this forum. I did some research online and there are lots of websites that say air bags do help with fuel economy. Here are a couple of those websites:

StrutMasters

ATS

[way2roll]

Grit dog wrote:

mkirsch wrote:
Air bags "expensive."
Air bags "saves fuel."

OP nowhere to be found.

I think y'all been TROLLED.

Nailed it!

Well, it's only been a day, but hopefully OP returns to the thread.

[Grit_dog]

mkirsch wrote:
Air bags "expensive."
Air bags "saves fuel."

OP nowhere to be found.

I think y'all been TROLLED.

Nailed it!

[WNYBob]

Yes they do help with sagging. I no not have the on board remote compressor. But I would get the ones that have an internal bump stop, with out them I have to keep 5# min pressure.

[mkirsch]

Air bags "expensive."
Air bags "saves fuel."

OP nowhere to be found.

I think y'all been TROLLED.

[eHoefler]

If you have sway, your equalizer needs to be reset. Sway is caused by a light steer axle. The only way to add weight to the steer axle, is to tighten up the bars, or increase the capacity of the bars. Bags will not increase steer axle weight, in some cases it can make it worse

[Cummins12V98]

Tell that to my RAWR of 9,750# with wimpy leaf springs. Without the bags I would have the capability of a small size pickup.

[2112]

theoldwizard1 wrote:

2112 wrote:

Replacing the P tires with LT tires helps with stability as well.

THAT makes a HUGE difference !

Yea, I was surprised how much changing truck tires made on truck wiggle while towing a 35' long TT.

[BarabooBob]

Air Ride (or air bag) suspension kits do not increase your load capacity. They may level out your truck but the capacity is the same. Capacity is determined by tires, axle rating, weight of the empty vehicle, accessories added.
This is all determined by the factory and their engineers. Look in the door frame to find out what your particular truck weight capacity is and get the truck weighed when empty, when loaded with passengers, and with the trailer hooked up with passengers and a full fuel tank.

[theoldwizard1]

2112 wrote:

Replacing the P tires with LT tires helps with stability as well.

THAT makes a HUGE difference !