Air bag setups (for towing)
05-26-2012, 11:03 AM
#22
I bought it from amazon, best price I could find and you get a $50 mail in rebate so you can get it to your door for less than $200 and is worth every penny.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o01_s00_i00
That kit will work for our crew cabs and for extended cab shortbed trucks, that kit will NOT work for long bed trucks. I didnt do the compressor kit because theyre too expensive for what you get IMO and I dont tow that much to justify the cost. I bought a $15 bicycle pump with a gauge on it and it took about 10 pumps to get 80psi per bag. So itll work jsut fine for what I do.
Like I said the install was pretty easy just annoying getting some of the bolts tightened due to small holes in the frame to access the bolts.
Id also recommend the Rancho rs9000xl shocks too, the bags and shocks make towing so much better. I ended up setting the rear shocks on 8, that was mainly due to having a little too much tongue weight otherwise I think Ill probably be around 6 for towing vehicles on the trailer. The loader man dumped the load about 18" too far forward but luckily I had the bags and heavy hitch to handle it
Ill do an actual thread for the install and pics of the helper bags, and another for wiring up the trailer brake controller. The GMT900 trucks are bit more involved to install them. Im going to make a thread later with links to the various threads as I prep my truck to tow better so anyone looking to make their truck a tow machine will have install/feedback threads complete with PNs and pics to help.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o01_s00_i00
That kit will work for our crew cabs and for extended cab shortbed trucks, that kit will NOT work for long bed trucks. I didnt do the compressor kit because theyre too expensive for what you get IMO and I dont tow that much to justify the cost. I bought a $15 bicycle pump with a gauge on it and it took about 10 pumps to get 80psi per bag. So itll work jsut fine for what I do.
Like I said the install was pretty easy just annoying getting some of the bolts tightened due to small holes in the frame to access the bolts.
Id also recommend the Rancho rs9000xl shocks too, the bags and shocks make towing so much better. I ended up setting the rear shocks on 8, that was mainly due to having a little too much tongue weight otherwise I think Ill probably be around 6 for towing vehicles on the trailer. The loader man dumped the load about 18" too far forward but luckily I had the bags and heavy hitch to handle it
Ill do an actual thread for the install and pics of the helper bags, and another for wiring up the trailer brake controller. The GMT900 trucks are bit more involved to install them. Im going to make a thread later with links to the various threads as I prep my truck to tow better so anyone looking to make their truck a tow machine will have install/feedback threads complete with PNs and pics to help.
05-26-2012, 02:40 PM
#23
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Excellent, thanks. I'll keep my eye on this thread for links; I have a 6.2 NHT, but I think I want to beef the hell out of its towing ability whenever I get my transfer to make the move as smooth as possible so that will be one fewer thing that I need to be concerned about.
05-29-2012, 08:54 PM
#24
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hey 1SLOW01Z71 im in for the wiring the controller ive been wanting to do that for a while now just been sitting back and waiting for sum one to explain it good..
also i just got back from black hills with my pickup (longest trip id been on with the bag setup and the best possible testing for handling and ect.) i hauled my bike up ther id say it weighs pry round 800lbs or so. I ran bout 20lbs of air in the bags and it rode great the whole way and handled great. back when i first got the bag setup under it. i had a set of weights off a tractor laying round think ther were 12 or better of them bolted together at 100# a piece so 1200 total that i set in the back of the pickup and i only had to run bout 40# of air to get it back to empty ride height. i like the bags i got cause if i get a wider wheel and with these bags ive got that set inside of the leaf spring i know i wont have a tire clearence issuse with this set up just my .02...
also i just got back from black hills with my pickup (longest trip id been on with the bag setup and the best possible testing for handling and ect.) i hauled my bike up ther id say it weighs pry round 800lbs or so. I ran bout 20lbs of air in the bags and it rode great the whole way and handled great. back when i first got the bag setup under it. i had a set of weights off a tractor laying round think ther were 12 or better of them bolted together at 100# a piece so 1200 total that i set in the back of the pickup and i only had to run bout 40# of air to get it back to empty ride height. i like the bags i got cause if i get a wider wheel and with these bags ive got that set inside of the leaf spring i know i wont have a tire clearence issuse with this set up just my .02...
05-30-2012, 08:36 AM
#26
Got them installed tonight, install was pretty easy except for one of the bolts for the upper bracket. Youve got a little bitty *** hole to put a wrench or ratchet through. THe angle makes a wrench pretty useless, luckily Ive got a swivel head 3/8 ratchet that I was able to work in there. With 10psi(min recommended) in the bags it raised the *** end about half an inch. Once I get all my goodies installed for towing Ill do a thread with all the part numbers and pics. Wiring up an aftermarket trailer brake controller is a bit more entailed than past year models that were plug and play with a harness. Sorry for the dark pics, I finished about 30 minutes ago so its dark.
Before I primed the bags and attached the air line
At ride condition
I mounted the air lines 2" off the license plate light since there isnt any metal behind the plastic there and its damn near a straight shot over the frame and to the top of the air bag. Didnt even need to use any zip ties to keep the line where it needs to be.
Im going to pick up 3.5yds of 1.5" gravel on my 3000# lowboy Saturday morning and taking it about an hour away so it ought ot get a pretty damn good workout. I figure the load will end up being around 12K GVW on the trailer alone. A little over what the truck is rated for but Ill have the bags, rancho shocks, trailer brake controller and my trailer has brakes on both axles so I shoudl be alright taking it easy. Im interested to see what my trans temps do with the stock cooler, that much weight and 90* weather.
Before I primed the bags and attached the air line
At ride condition
I mounted the air lines 2" off the license plate light since there isnt any metal behind the plastic there and its damn near a straight shot over the frame and to the top of the air bag. Didnt even need to use any zip ties to keep the line where it needs to be.
Im going to pick up 3.5yds of 1.5" gravel on my 3000# lowboy Saturday morning and taking it about an hour away so it ought ot get a pretty damn good workout. I figure the load will end up being around 12K GVW on the trailer alone. A little over what the truck is rated for but Ill have the bags, rancho shocks, trailer brake controller and my trailer has brakes on both axles so I shoudl be alright taking it easy. Im interested to see what my trans temps do with the stock cooler, that much weight and 90* weather.
why do you have discs on the back of your truck??
05-30-2012, 03:12 PM
#30
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kinda thinking bout swaping gears but if i could find a 14b that would be way better..