[1snowrider]

What's the best route ? I have a heavy 5th wheel that has a dry hitch weight of 3290 lbs .

Jayco rep says bags are best some people say no bags as they can be problematic.

Any help or recommendations on which way to go , where to buy and who can install on my new beast.

Would be great to hear back !

Thanks Everyone

 

[TTBadDog]

You will get good answers here as there are many of us towing. A wider audience would be found on some of the camper forums. Lots of old guys who have been pulling for years. A significant differentiation is if you want some semblance of ride when not towing. Airbags are adjustable to the road and load. Do read up on ping tanks for airbags, you can tune the rising rate characteristics of the airbag with the size of the tank.

 

[jdwarren]

What's the best route ? I have a heavy 5th wheel that has a dry hitch weight of 3290 lbs .

Jayco rep says bags are best some people say no bags as they can be problematic.

Any help or recommendations on which way to go , where to buy and who can install on my new beast.

Would be great to hear back !

Thanks Everyone

I use Timbrens which are relatively inexpensive because they just replace the bump stops. But my truck is a 3500 so I have the overload spring pack, whereas a 2500 doesn't (at least from my model year -- I know the new 3/4-tons are different).

But the suspension and sag are really the least of your worries. The bigger issue is your rear tire and wheel capacity, which you'll almost certainly exceed if you're on the OEM stuff. My camper's factory pin weight is about 2600 lbs and with the way I have it loaded it's right around 4000 lbs. I had to upgrade to 19.5-inch wheels/tires. Here's a pic from the side; doesn't really squat despite the immense pin weight.

 

[1snowrider]

I use Timbrens which are relatively inexpensive because they just replace the bump stops. But my truck is a 3500 so I have the overload spring pack, whereas a 2500 doesn't (at least from my model year -- I know the new 3/4-tons are different).

But the suspension and sag are really the least of your worries. The bigger issue is your rear tire and wheel capacity, which you'll almost certainly exceed if you're on the OEM stuff. My camper's factory pin weight is about 2600 lbs and with the way I have it loaded it's right around 4000 lbs. I had to upgrade to 19.5-inch wheels/tires. Here's a pic from the side; doesn't really squat despite the immense pin weight.

Thanks for sharing. I am riding on the OEM 20 inch wheel with a Goodyear wrangler E
rated tires . I checked the load on them and it was 3800 lbs - I would think that would be enough

 

[1snowrider]

Thanks for sharing. I am riding on the OEM 20 inch wheel with a Goodyear wrangler E
rated tires . I checked the load on them and it was 3800 lbs - I would think that would be enough

 

[1snowrider]

That’s a big coach. What model is that solitude ?

 

[68Ss]

I second timbrens. No maintenance on them.

 

[kmcintyre]

I would say the conventional thoughts are that it depends on what you do with the truck when you aren't towing. If you put additional leaf srping(s) on, the ride might be a bit harsh. With airbags, not so much as you can deflate to a min. BUT springs are probably less problematic (or potentially so). We went through this dilemma with a slide in camper and then a flatbed camper (currently) as we never took the campers off so we wanted soemthing we didn't have to worry about. Actually, we did both; primarily use the airbags as a way to level the truck but if we had a failure while traveling to Mexico, etc. we were worried that if the airbag failed, we'd never find parts as we are more boondockers.

 

[1snowrider]

Thanks for sharing. Makes sense. I would prefer to have the option to go back to stock since I will be moving the 5th wheel very little. We are primarily on a seasonal site.
airlift 5000 bag system apparently has a fail safe built in that will assist if the bag experiences
a failure. This not available with the Firestone bags - from what etrailer tech told me

 

[cew702001]

I put airlift 5000 bag system on mine in a couple hours. Rides better empty at 12lbs, super easy to level with a load. Built in back up jounce.

 

[DoubleB]

I second this, ride better at 5psi than stock without bags. I have the 7000xl airlift system - no pump.

 

[1snowrider]

I second this, ride better at 5psi than stock without bags. I have the 7000xl airlift system - no pump.

Nice - So you fill manually with a compressor ? nipples at the bumper or are they T’d into one feed ?
easy install ?

 

[1snowrider]

I put airlift 5000 bag system on mine in a couple hours. Rides better empty at 12lbs, super easy to level with a load. Built in back up jounce.

Nice - So you fill manually with a compressor ? nipples at the bumper or are they T’d into one feed ?
easy install ?

 

[jdwarren]

That’s a big coach. What model is that solitude ?

3950BH

 

[DoubleB]

I fill manually at the bumper. The nozzle's are popping thru the bumper right by the plate lights. A lot less equipment to deal with mounting and routing. Basic installation.

 

[1snowrider]

I fill manually at the bumper. The nozzle's are popping thru the bumper right by the plate lights. A lot less equipment to deal with mounting and routing. Basic installation.

You have a 2500 duramax ?
how big are you towing ?

 

[TTBadDog]

I would recommend some sort of onboard air supply. Not difficult to wire or plumb. At the minimum but a handheld battery compressor. Always hunting for a compressor and or AC to air up is a pain.
You can use the compressor kit that Air Lift sells for the Air Shocks, it will take a minute to air up but it will work just fine at a much lower cost. An easy place to place air valves and fill points etc is inside the bed just above behind. the tail light.

 

[DoubleB]

You have a 2500 duramax ?
how big are you towing ?

2022 Chevy 3500 high country CCLB, I have a truck camper that weight in at 2300lbs and a 5th wheel at 10k lbs. Wife is looking to upgrade our 5th wheel. Truck camper is for yearly hunting trips with my son.

 

[DoubleB]

I would recommend some sort of onboard air supply. Not difficult to wire or plumb. At the minimum but a handheld battery compressor. Always hunting for a compressor and or AC to air up is a pain.
You can use the compressor kit that Air Lift sells for the Air Shocks, it will take a minute to air up but it will work just fine at a much lower cost. An easy place to place air valves and fill points etc is inside the bed just above behind. the tail light.

I have much the same, I bought a decent (not the cheapest), mini air compressor that fit's behind the rear seats. Just pull it out, and plug in to AC plug, to adjust if no gas stations around. Also works as a back up incase of a low tire pressure....

 

[07GFX]

I had a stock 07 2500. The only thing I upgraded to were Firestone airbags. This is a picture towing our 40’ Landmark with a pin weight of 3300Lbs.