Trailer makes my pro squat ridiculous....

Recently i have noticed, that my tundra pro squats a lot. did not use to do this, if i recall, but i never measured..

An empty trailer makes my truck go down, almost two inches. 18 foot trailer, double axle.. Metal and wood...

If I load a car up, it looks worse, the bumps in the frame are almost 1 1/2 inch away from hitting the bed..

Is this normal? Still under warranty..

 

That is a pretty good amount of weight on the rear end of the Tundra, it is normal. Toyota tries to manufacture a good leaf pack that holds weight but still gives good ride quality.

In my opinion I would recommend jumping on a set of Firestone ride rite Airbags for leveling out the Tundra when loaded down with that trailer. They will help assist in load level capacities up to 5000 lbs no problem and still give great ride quality and stability both empty and loaded.


Here is a link to them so you can check them out: http://toyteclifts.3dcartstores.com/2445--Firestone-Rear-Air-Bags--07-Tundra_p_380.html



Let me know if you have any questions at all!


-David

 

would that be better over a wdh? assuming easy to install. Ill check it out....

 

Honestly I would recommend the Air Bags first... They are a nice easy install with no drilling required. Should be about a 1-2 hour install no problem




-David

 

thanks, appreciated.

 

Not to take anything away from Toytec, since those guys are awesome, but another option would be Timbren.

 

Which we also offer

 

well, that's rad. if my deavers start to sag once the bumper goes on, i'll be calling you.

 

Anytime buddy!


-David

 

Anybody on here have experience with either Sumosprings or Roadmaster Active Suspension on the Tundra to solve this problem?

Sumosprings:
https://www.supersprings.com/shop/SSR-610-47/

Roadmaster:
https://activesuspension.com/

I like the Sumosprings because there is no air to leak or have to pump in or out. And I like the idea of the Roadmaster Active Suspension as well, seems like a cool solution.

Thanks.

 

Another guy here also looking for an airbag alternative.
Anyone with any experience with...
-Timbren springs
-Sumo Springs

Thanks

 

Get one of those pup trailers that holds the weight for you, instead of putting the weight in the truck or getting air bags. It's a lot less on the truck

 

If your trailer is that heavy, you seriously need to look into a weight distributing hitch. It evenly spreads the weight of the trailer between the truck and the trailer to give you more control and safer handling. Having too much tongue weight in relation to gross trailer weight can cause the hitch of the trailer - and the rear axle of the tow vehicle - to dive, meaning the front of the trailer will head toward the ground, bringing the front of the towing vehicle off of the ground. Obviously, if your tow vehicle dives too far, such as in situations when you need to brake quickly, you'll loose braking traction and steering control of the wheels on the front axle, which can be very dangerous. The opposite is also true of too little relative tongue weight. In those situations, a trailer will be more prone to sway, and it can swing back and forth out of control. Because of these two factors, you can see why finding the delicate balance between tongue weight and gross trailer weight is so vital. Weight distribution hitches can help prevent those dangerous conditions and improve a vehicle's ability to turn, brake and steer, especially in the case of large loads, which can be hard to maneuver in a safe and controlled manner.

 

I've gone through this, and suggest you study options carefully if you enjoy the silky smooth ride our pros come with.

 

He boss chimed in... tell em Chris!!

 

Unfortunately not much feedback on this site with alternative setups it seems.

Sumo Springs were great on my Tacoma instead of airbags, loved them. Was hoping to see some feedback here Tundra wise (particularly because we have 3 weight capacity options of Sumo Springs) but it appears they aren't popular on this board. I'm also quite intrigued with the Roadmaster setup, which others love on different sites. But, still need to talk to them and research further. There is a dominating voice here in this area, and he drives a Chevy HD, that went bigger truck to resolve tow issues. He's absolutely right, and very helpful, but we drive Tundras. I drove a F350 Diesel for years, towed great, but you couldn't pay me to go back to a similar rig. Finally got tired of fixing it so sold it. I went slightly smaller gas truck and just want to make it work when I tow. Guess we each have our own key issues.

I'll research further and report back what I find and go with regarding the standard "firestone airbag" response.

 

Timbrens work ok but you need a bit of weight on them before they work whereas the air bag can be filled to meet your load and keep the exact level you are looking for. The firestone system works well and if you opt for the onboard pump you can adjust on the fly.

 

Will this work with CB +3 shackles? I think it lifted my rear about 1.5-1.7".

 

Dang it Chris.... seriously no lie I was about to hit you up on towing because it looks like duramax/Allison is in my near future..Mamma just hit me up and suggested we get a big'o travel trailer...Sooo before you go kimosabe..did you airbag yours? I'm tryna hurry before you nuke this thread.

 

i just posted a review on the Summo springs in another post. I was contemplating between bags, timbrens, and Summo. Eventually went with the Summo springs because of the unloaded drivability. Seem to be a good product. Ride is great unloaded ( don't even notice them except much less dip when cornering) and they did help a lot with the rear end squat when hooked up to my TH. I have a 30 foot toy hauler with the WDH. I posted a pic under the other post. Installation only took about 15 minutes and most of that time was just getting my 50 year old fat ass under the truck. I would certainly recommend the Summo springs. Can't speak to the long term durability but they seem to be a quality product.

 

@karlsters thanks for the response.

I know there are many opinions on towing and just as many facts. I also understand that it comes down to simple math and load management/placement over the trailer axles. I have been hauling ag tractors, mini-ex, skid steers, and too much other BS over the last 12 years for work, I am very aware of what to much or to little tongue weight will do. I haul boats at work and on my personal time as well. My main inquiry on this topic for the Tundra is because I am planning on a 20'-22' toyhauler in the next few months. This will get pulled 3-6 hours from home 5-8 times a year.

I do not want airbags for the simple reason that I do not want a compressor, air lines, rubber bladders, and the maintenance/wear-tear that comes with them. If I was hauling a camper or equipment trailer once a month or more then I would reconsider, or I would buy a 1 ton. I understand the physics of a trailer with too much tongue weight wanting to dive and what that will do to the handling of the tow vehicle. That is why I am so interested in the Sumosprings or Timbrens. They offer that extra assurance that after an inch or so of sag there is something there to help keep the truck and trailer under your control. I am not going to load 2000lbs of sand/drywall/shingles or otherwise in my bed and rely on these to take the load. I am also not going to put excess tongue weight on the truck and ask these to handle my poor loading. Its cheap insurance to help the rear of the truck not sag so much. I know it will still sag, but these will help. Whatever I get for a toyhauler will also have a load distributing hitch with sway control. I already have a brake controller and the factory Toyota tow package.

I am just looking for opinions on the Timbrens and Sumo Springs. I realize this was a 3rd Gen/Pro thread, but load leveling and control is universal.

 

Perfect, thanks. Do you remember which set you installed? They have 3 different capacities (blue, black, yellow) which I think equates to 1000, 1500, and 2000lbs capacity. Not sure if they are physically any different height wise or anything.

I had the blue ones on my Tacoma, and like you said, super easy install and very happy with them when loaded. But, on the Tacoma they actually ride on the Summo springs all the time (raises the rear of truck about 5/8" when installed), so when empty it really makes you feel every bump in the road.

Sounds like your Tundra isn't riding on them all the time when empty, which is great to know and what I'm looking for.

I'm in the same boat as @OBXTundra and just looking for a little help with squatting when hauling a load or a loaded utility trailer etc like the OP. I often don't know what I might have to occasionally go pick up on a given day with my job, so the always there and ready zero maintenance summo springs or comparable option has more appeal than having to have access to an air compressor for airbags. If I was mission set on a long trip towing a big travel trailer long distances, my goals/needs would be different.

@ColoradoTJ , my apologies man as you are great around here and always helpful. I reread my post and wasn't my intent to single you out, but I did just that. And yeah, I do want to buy the Summo Springs or comparable, was just looking for feedback on which of the 3 weight capacities have worked well for others and mentioning them as an alternative for the OP and his sagging Pro. Also intrigued by the Roadmaster setup, and I have found one thread on another forum talking about them on a Tundra, but not much else. They do appear to be local to Charlotte, so maybe I'll just stop by and check out their operation in person. Thanks for the feedback, I hope no hard feelings.

 

Hi..
My towing experience: 1900lb 10ft popup and a 3200 lbs,19 ft rpod and was done with a trailblazer extended cab.
This is my first pickup truck and 30ft tt.
With about 500lbs on the bed and about 6500lbs loaded 30 fot tt with wt is sagging bad. I like the suspension when unloaded and would like to keep it if possible. I have done some reading and this is what I found so far:
1. Air bags will fix the sagging but will make the truck "bouncy" when unloaded(not sure if it means it will make a stiffer ride)
2. Summo springs is a possible solution but not sure how much of the sagging will prevent and how does 1000,1500 and 2000 lbs translate to 7000lbs load.

3.shackles, could not find a clear explanation of how they help with the sagging or how it will affect the unloaded suspension but supposedly it helps.
4. TRD sway bar seems to be a popular item around here. I can install anyone of these but not sure which one will solve my problem.

 

If you are happy with the unloaded ride quality, I wouldn't mess with the springs. Air bags would solve the problem without negatively impacting unladen ride quality.

 

Look into a WDH .. towed my 21' toy hauler no problem with no squat

 

I have this..https://youtu.be/3Fd16VARabA that was install by the dealer we bought the camper from.

 

That Curt system looks nice. Very similar to my Equilizer. Nice thing about both of those hitches is that you can backup with them and it's sway control built in.

I have SumoSprings. 1500lb capacity. They work exactly as advertised. Between the WDH and the Sumosprings I do have slight sag, not nearly as much as without. But the truck remains almost level, a lot of the weight is pushed to the front axle.