Who's pulling a travel trailer with stock set up

[Rabidtastic]

ooooo I didnt know the newer ones had diff gauge setups

 

[CMar]

Yea, definitely digging the added stuff you have. Saw it on TFLs Toaster test or whatever they call it.

 

[DirtyBoots]

Well made it home to FL, truck did great with 2000lbs of uhaul crap 6x12 and 2500lbs of our stuff (only 500 is mine,guns and ammo 2 pair of underwear and tee shirt,the rest is the wife's ) in it no issues whatsoever and fuel mileage was better than expected overall. I did it long hand and was 13.2 versus 13 on the truck computer with right at 2 hrs idle time for a nap. A good quality bag setup and a WDH along with E load tires and I believe that will just about do it,maybe some suspension upgrades with brakes upgrades later on also.

 

[CMar]

Well made it home to FL, truck did great with 2000lbs of uhaul crap 6x12 and 2500lbs of our stuff (only 500 is mine,guns and ammo 2 pair of underwear and tee shirt,the rest is the wife's ) in it no issues whatsoever and fuel mileage was better than expected overall. I did it long hand and was 13.2 versus 13 on the truck computer with right at 2 hrs idle time for a nap. A good quality bag setup and a WDH along with E load tires and I believe that will just about do it,maybe some suspension upgrades with brakes upgrades later on also.

Do yourself a favor and get the onboard air. If you go without the internal jounce you have to maintain a minimum of 5 psi. It gets to be a pain checking it for towing or when not. Also, get the cradles so when you take it offroad or have significant drop you dont tear the bags apart. I went with Air Lift for the bags and Rough Country for the cradles. If you go with Air Lift, put some Loc Tite for the bottom clamp bar (one part of what holds the bottom plate to the axle). I found mine was missing on one side yesterday and the parts are not stocked anywhere.

 

[DirtyBoots]

Do yourself a favor and get the onboard air. If you go without the internal jounce you have to maintain a minimum of 5 psi. It gets to be a pain checking it for towing or when not. Also, get the cradles so when you take it offroad or have significant drop you dont tear the bags apart. I went with Air Lift for the bags and Rough Country for the cradles. If you go with Air Lift, put some Loc Tite for the bottom clamp bar (one part of what holds the bottom plate to the axle). I found mine was missing on one side yesterday and the parts are not stocked anywhere.View attachment 39565View attachment 39566

Haven't really started looking for a setup yet so lots of research to do, and yes definitely on board air and cradles. I have lots of buddies that run em on their 3/4 and 1tons with 5th wheels and love em. Did you install yourself or have a shop do it? I'm at the point where I hardly have time for DIY projects anymore.

 

[CMar]

Haven't really started looking for a setup yet so lots of research to do, and yes definitely on board air and cradles. I have lots of buddies that run em on their 3/4 and 1tons with 5th wheels and love em. Did you install yourself or have a shop do it? I'm at the point where I hardly have time for DIY projects anymore.

Installed it myself twice (first was Rough Country and hated it). If you're short on time and flush on money, get it installed. I want to say I got quoted about the cost of the kit for the install (~$350).

 

[brentT]

Anyone in here try the Timbren or sumo springs instead of air bags ?

 

[Bucket1]

Last crew cab I had I put airbags on. This truck I put the RAS on. It rides a lot better than the airbags when they were pumped up. I have a 450 lb tent camper shell, in about 2 or 300 lb of gear when I'm camping. The truck sits level. I also tow a 10,000 lb dump trailer.

 

[DirtyBoots]

Been looking at the RAS vs Airbag setup and I guess I'm a little torn..
The RAS seems to be overall a better choice being it does help with weight distribution among several other things like handling etc.
The Air bag setup seems to be just more of a squat/suspension helper with a rougher ride loaded, although I do like the idea of going back to normal by simply deflating them.
Now of course this all considering leaving the truck in stock configuration with no shock upgrades etc.
Leaning towards RAS with a Curt WDH with a 10k capacity 1k tongue rating.

 

[Rabidtastic]

Been looking at the RAS vs Airbag setup and I guess I'm a little torn..
The RAS seems to be overall a better choice being it does help with weight distribution among several other things like handling etc.
The Air bag setup seems to be just more of a squat/suspension helper with a rougher ride loaded, although I do like the idea of going back to normal by simply deflating them.
Now of course this all considering leaving the truck in stock configuration with no shock upgrades etc.
Leaning towards RAS with a Curt WDH with a 10k capacity 1k tongue rating.

i personal wouldnt do puck level if you plan on pulling a camper. it tickles my tism with potential failure points while pulling big stuff (though i hate wheel spacers far more in that scenario).

i love my bags and run them fully deflated with the jounce without issue (so mostly stock per your request) CMAR had RAS for a while and ended up with bags. curt isnt terrible but i'd look at blue ox as well.

 

[DirtyBoots]

Yeah I'm still mulling bags or ras over lol.
I forgot about blue ox def take a look. On my '24 specs it tells me tongue is 1000 with a WDH and 500 w/o I know wdh,bags,ras etc do nothing to really with improving that but if I end up o er 650+/- with a wdh I'm thinking ras would be better route as it does help distribute some weight fwd or am I thinking wrong?...

 

[Rabidtastic]

yeah you're not really improving tow capacity with add ons like that just making it drive better. from a pure numbers game youre actually making it worse since you're adding to the payload capacity but thats a stretch. basic thought process is too much weight on back lifts the steering tires up and can therefore reduce traction on those tires/their ability to steer...part of why we have such a rake in the first place.

technically they're all moving that weight forward since youre raising the rear/"pushing down" on the front of the truck. i cant think of anyone local with RAS but CMAR had em for a hot minute and ended up bags/i went straight to bags. he damn near lives in his camper though so he's prob a better spokesman for one over the other from a "local" standpoint. I just do degen shit and occasionally drag a camper.

 

[DirtyBoots]

I totally agree with you. It's really a trade off scenario and as truck owners trying protect our toys while getting the most out em it's challenging to say the least lol. In the end I may just get ill enough a go get me a 250 Tremor with the Zilla and not care what's behind it and park it next to the one I got

 

[rguest3]

yeah you're not really improving tow capacity with add ons like that just making it drive better. from a pure numbers game youre actually making it worse since you're adding to the payload capacity but thats a stretch. basic thought process is too much weight on back lifts the steering tires up and can therefore reduce traction on those tires/their ability to steer...part of why we have such a rake in the first place.

technically they're all moving that weight forward since youre raising the rear/"pushing down" on the front of the truck. i cant think of anyone local with RAS but CMAR had em for a hot minute and ended up bags/i went straight to bags. he damn near lives in his camper though so he's prob a better spokesman for one over the other from a "local" standpoint. I just do degen shit and occasionally drag a camper.

I've had several trucks with Air Bags and they served their purpose very well.

I like that the Air Bags are fully adjustable. Load as much air as needed. Back to stock height when not needed.

The RAS are a Frankenstein look to me? Odd how they kinda torque the leaf spring to make it work. But, honestly, I've never heard of them until recently and have No experience with them what so ever.

 

[CMar]

As Rabid mentioned, I had both. I believe I put around 3-4k towing miles on the RAS setup and have about 2500 towing miles on the air bags. I believe the RAS setup is a good system, but it was not for me. On some roads it felt like it was getting into a bouncing frequency making it almost unbearable. Subpar roadwork, speed, and the RAS setup played a part in that situation.

With the RAS I noticed:
1. Easy install.
2. Rear lifted approximately 2". Way more than I wanted.
3. Rust developed within 30 days.
4. Squeak developed with 10 days.
5. Bounce frequency in certain conditions.
6. Excellent customer service.

Air Lift air bags:
1. Relatively easy install.
2. Micro adjustments can really tune you into the needs for the loads you're carrying.
3. In some unlevel campsites where the front will be sky high when leveled, it's nice to be able to pump the bags up to be able to insert a second jack block. Limited times I need to do this, but I could not do this with the RAS setup.
4. Stock ride at 5 psi feels very smooth.
5. Increased perceived sway control.
7. I only add about 18 to 22 pounds for a 7700 load. Less than I expected.
8. If you go without the internal jounce, I recommend adding onboard air.

I'm glad I've been able to try both products. I am happy with having switched from RAS to bags and I personally would not switch back.

 

[DirtyBoots]

As Rabid mentioned, I had both. I believe I put around 3-4k towing miles on the RAS setup and have about 2500 towing miles on the air bags. I believe the RAS setup is a good system, but it was not for me. On some roads it felt like it was getting into a bouncing frequency making it almost unbearable. Subpar roadwork, speed, and the RAS setup played a part in that situation.

With the RAS I noticed:
1. Easy install.
2. Rear lifted approximately 2". Way more than I wanted.
3. Rust developed within 30 days.
4. Squeak developed with 10 days.
5. Bounce frequency in certain conditions.
6. Excellent customer service.

Air Lift air bags:
1. Relatively easy install.
2. Micro adjustments can really tune you into the needs for the loads you're carrying.
3. In some unlevel campsites where the front will be sky high when leveled, it's nice to be able to pump the bags up to be able to insert a second jack block. Limited times I need to do this, but I could not do this with the RAS setup.
4. Stock ride at 5 psi feels very smooth.
5. Increased perceived sway control.
7. I only add about 18 to 22 pounds for a 7700 load. Less than I expected.
8. If you go without the internal jounce, I recommend adding onboard air.

I'm glad I've been able to try both products. I am happy with having switched from RAS to bags and I personally would not switch back.

Thanks for info/experience on both systems. You've made my mind up with it, bags & onboard air it will be
I've been wondering about the extra lift and components beginning to be "noisy" after awhile not to mention them rusting over time with the RAS.
What bag and air system are you running? Been researching a few and the AirLift 5000 Ultimate seems to stand out...

 

[CMar]

Thanks for info/experience on both systems. You've made my mind up with it, bags & onboard air it will be
I've been wondering about the extra lift and components beginning to be "noisy" after awhile not to mention them rusting over time with the RAS.
What bag and air system are you running? Been researching a few and the AirLift 5000 Ultimate seems to stand out...

Air Lift 57355 (this one does not have the internal jounce). Rabid is running the Air Lift with the internal jounce with 0 issues. If you go without, you'll need to maintain 5 psi. With the internal jounce you dont have to worry.

For my uses, I plan to go with the Rough County wireless onboard air. I do not recommend their air bag setup due to the harsh ride.