Rear Air Suspension

I will be primarily towing a 24' pontoon. How helpful is the rear air suspension.
The options on the build a truck (Limited) kick the suspension out if you want Tow mirrors.
Which would be higher on your priority list of the two???
Just by the aftermarket temporary mirror extensions???
Thanks in advance for your opinion.....

 

I tow this (now with my 2022 Platinum) and really have come to appreciate the air suspension.
Hook up the trailer, load the truck up, start it....and watch it purr like a kitten for a few seconds to bring the rear back to where it's supposed to be.
No more squats, and consistent ride no matter how loaded up I am.

Now, as you can see I really have no need for "tow" mirrors, so I don't know what that's like.
If I had to choose I'd still go with air 1st; mirrors are easy to address (somewhat, as the 2022+ conversion from normal to tow mirrors seems a bit problematic for peeps, judging from those threads).

PS:
You can see this 2017 squat a bit in the pic (bed loaded with camping gear) despite it having "super-springs" on the rear; my 2022 doesn't do that.

 

I have a 22 Limited with air suspension and love it. I pull a 6000lb 20’ boat that is wider than my truck. The standard mirrors are large and work well. I agree with the comment above that the air suspension is more valuable to have from the factory.

 

2 votes for air suspension over tow mirrors...

 

I don't tow much, so I'm no expert, but I'm wondering what the rationale is for Toyota making the Tow Mirrors and Air Suspension mutually exclusive.

 

Its just how they put together the packages. maybe if you were to build one completely a la carte it would be possible.....

 

the air suspension/self leveling is great, it's really to bad they don't offer the tow mirrors on that pkg.

 

one way to look at it is you can add the tow mirror later WAY easier then adding a factory and warranted air suspension

 

Playing on the toyota build feature on the website, on a limited, it shows "Load leveling Rear Height air suspension" as the feature available.
On a premium build it shows "Load leveling Rear Height air suspension, Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS)"
Is the air suspension available without the AVS and if so, is it just an air shock absorber that doesn't adjust???
The build feature can be frustrating.....

 

You could step up to the Platinum build and get both the air suspension and the tow mirrors. The air suspension works automatically and you don't really have to think about it. I like the factory tow mirrors because with a touch of a button you can pull them in, out, or fold them, just be aware that they do block your side vision a bit ( they're pretty big ). They also have a fixed lower mirror for monitoring the trailer wheels. Also they pitch down automatically when putting the truck in reverse to help with backing. Sorry for the up-sell to Platinum ( I'm not a dealer, honest ).

 

I don't think you can get AVS on a limited, I think thats only the top trims.

 

So you can get air suspension without AVS on the limited and just operate the manual adjustment button?

 

I have had air suspension on 3 vehicles. Why it is cool to see it level itself out when loaded down, it's also a nightmare when it doesn't. I agree that I would get the AS instead of tow mirrors, though. I just hope that for the long haulers that keep their trucks till they die, that Toyota made this system reliable. I don't know of 1 manuf that has had a reliable air suspension.

 

True & I had to have both
The tow mirrors do take some time getting use to it's a good size blind spot when pulling into side traffic on secondary roads but well worth it, like others have posted defiantly get the suspension the mirrors are a good size and shouldn't be a hindrance for the pontoon.

 

AVS is different that the air suspension.

AVS advanced variable suspension is on the top trims only (platinum, 1794, capstone). it has drive modes like comfort, sport, etc.

The air leveling suspension is what the limited can get, it auto levels the rear and you can raise and lower the truck below like 18mph otherwise it just levels the load.

 

Thank you Sir,
For simple towing of a boat or a load in the bed, the air leveling suspension would be more than enough and an upgrade over an SR5 without it???

 

as far as towing, air leveling would be more than enough and you'll be good.

unless you want to step up trims for other reasons

 

Thanks. I didn't realize what AVS really was. I thought it was just air bags.
Found this that explains all the different suspensions.
https://www.motortrend.com/features/2022-toyota-tundra-pickup-truck-suspension-explainer/