Do Air Suspension and Adaptive Variable Suspension really help during towing?

Hi, We are waiting to get a 1794 with Air Suspension and AVS primarily for camper towing. Seems they are few and far between in the NW. I also find that when I click the TRD box on any model build, the A/S and AVS option goes away entirely. I have come to the conclusion that it's easier to "offroad-ize a tow truck than it is to tow-ize an offroad truck". So I'm wondering how important A/S and AVS really are to "moderate" trailer towing safety and stability.

Any thoughts on this appreciated.

 

Good question. I don't go to max rating on the truck. So I would say a 6000 pound trailer with supplies, maybe 8000 pounds max.

 

That's about right, 80% daily and 20% tow. The tow would be a travel trailer for recreation so don't have to drive fast to get somewhere fast.

I now learn that the AVS can be adjusted to a few different settings...Comfort, Econ and a few more. So maybe there is a setting there that does not cause the rear end to get squirrely on bumps on the highway. Or...maybe the youtube reviewer who claims it is squirrely is just plain wrong or exaggerating. I wonder if anyone out there with a 1794 has any comments on this?

 

I haven't driven a tundra with factory air suspension or AVS, but I've had a few vehicles with something similar, and I've ridden in several vehicles with similar systems. Some work well, some not so much, but when it comes to towing or heavy loads, I've preferred some sort of air assisted setup. A long time ago I had an explorer with the superhoopty package with all the bells and whistles; it had adaptive shocks with air adjustment that would raise and lower the vehicle on the highway or in 4wd as well as level it out when I packed a bunch of junk in the trunk or towed anything (small). I liked it alot. At least, until it went caput and would cost me $500 a corner to replace. But that was with almost 200k miles on the clock..

I put airbags on my tundra since I tow or haul often and it's one of the most worthwhile upgrades I've made. I've even considered taking some of the short leaves out of the spring pack and relying more on the airbag for everyday driving. On the new tundra's, they replace the entire coil with an airbag assembly similar to what they've been doing on the sequoias for years. I would think that the shock absorbers are also similar to the sequoia's with different damping characteristics controlled by a suspension computer, so they wouldn't be a simple swap if you wanted a more "offroad" shock. Perhaps you could look for feedback on the sequoia's air setup?

So it's a tough call, but I would think that the air suspension and AVS would work very well for your use. I was thinking of upgrading to a '22 and the air suspension was on my short list until I, too, clicked the TRD box and it disappeared. While I tow and haul more than I "offroad", I've been dreaming of a tundra with a factory locker so long that the TRD option outweighed the air suspension - but only by a fraction. And if i I think that's the probably the same rationale for most in the NW where not all roads are paved, not all paved roads are civil, and civil weather is simply less than 3' of snow, more than -20F outside temperature, and wind gusts of only 60 mph.

 

I have air suspension on my Sequoia which has a rear coil design like the Tundra. I pull a 5000 lb boat and have pulled vehicles on a tandem axle car transport trailer four different times. The longest tow was from Connecticut to Indiana. The heaviest vehicle and trailer combo was 6500lbs. I have also pulled the same with my first Sequoia that did not have the air suspension. The air suspension keeps the vehicle level and dramatically improves control at highway speeds. The Sequoia without air suspension bounced and wandered all over the road at highway speeds when there were bumps and rough pavement. I could tow at 70 comfortably with the air suspension. I absolutely love the air suspension for towing and gave up the TRD and rear locking diff to get it when I ordered my Limited Tundra. I decided Ill use the 4wd if better traction is needed and I rarely go offroad. If you go over 6000 or tow a really long camper you may want to also consider an antisway and load leveling hitch set up for safety. Enjoy your new Tundra.

 

You will not be disappointed with that 1794 for towing.
Have a Plat an often tow with similar weights. It is a dream to tow with compared to prior setups, especially prior long bed Tundras.
Enjoy your truck.

 

Honestly do you need the trd off road stuff (crawl control, locker, etc)? The technology package is awesome- power step, HUD, AVS- but the air suspension is a weak point on all vehicle. I picked up a 1794 trd off-road and put on rear suspension- fox fronts, dobinsons rears and am putting air bags in the rear coils for towing- best of all worlds

 

I have a 1794 and I tow a 23 1/2 foot boat. Probably 5-6K lbs. It tows great. The AVS geeps it level and really have no issues and no feel of a struggle. I will say, I get 8-10 mpg when towing. If you have any other questions, do not hesitate to ask.

 

yes, I feel like it helps a great deal. Helps reduce lower end droop. I also use stabilizing bars with my travel trailer.

 

Definitely helps. It reduces the sag in the rear quite a bit. My camper is over for the tundra and I can still sit level when hooked up. If I didn’t have air, the ass would droop pretty bad.

 

Very good replies. Thanks.

How does the 1794 with AVS behave when not towing? There is a major Youtube reviewer who claims the rear end is jumpy on bumps when not towing. My major concerns with the AVS/Air Suspension is just that along with longevity as I understand air bags have a limited life.

And when going offroad, which for me is high desert with sagebrush, are the air bags subject to getting damaged? A regular coil spring and shock is pretty robust IMHO.

 

the sequoia has had air in the rear for a long time, my dad had like 250K trouble free miles out of it