Why I'm looking for air bags...

This is what 1400 lbs looks like in the back of a 22 Tundra non hybrid. I have a 1" leveling kit on it but I wouldn't go much more than this and I wouldn't want to drive it much farther than the 10 miles I did drive it. My door sticker, like many of yours, said max cargo capacity of 1350 lbs and I believe it.

Previously on my Ram 1500 I had airbags made my Airlift that went inside of the rear coil springs, they were easy to put on, and inexpensive and worked great for what I usually do but I don't see they make a set for the 22 Tundra. I also see Timbren has a few options, anybody have any experience using them?

 

Just installed the Air Lift Load Lifter 5000 in my 2022 TRD OR Tundra. It was an easy install and the main video I watched for installation instructions was here on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-4oL8zuvJ4&t=1534s The guy had more information on how things were set up than the manual or the Air Lift video. They are strictly bolt on and you won't need to put them inside the coil springs. I bought them to relieve a bit of squat while towing and will have the first tow this weekend.

 

Putting airbags on my Tundra is the first thing I'm doing, for this reason. I will get the Air Lift load leveler as well. I have a Firestone wireless air compressor that pairs to my phone that I will transfer to my truck as well. Makes life a LOT easier to add or remove a few PSI on the fly. And each day I get in the truck and start it up, the system powers on and pumps back up to the previous setting.

 

I installed the

$435 Firestone 2445 Firestone 07-09TOY Tundra

Firestone 2445 Kit on my 2020 this past weekend. Easy bolt-on and it took only few hours. I also added a few extras to my install like using plastic wire loom for protection of the airlines.
Previously had a set of air-rites on a 2003 Tundra.

 

That's a great video, let me know how it does towing. How big of a trailer will you be pulling? We have a 4,000 lbs toyhauler which is another reason I want to get some airbags.

 

If you end up needing any spare parts for an AirLift kit, you can have the extra set bag I bought for my old Highlander for shipping, has a bunch of hoses and connectors and stuff. Beware the thinset nuts they send you for the valves corrode instantly, like overnight, would suggest replacements in hand of stainless steel or brass.

 

I sure hope they have updated the thinset nuts to a stainless steel version, I appreciate the heads up.

 

Are you regularly hauling loads like that for distances greater that 10 miles Coasty?

 

First order of business with every Tundra (or T100) over the years has been Firestone Ride Rites.
100% worth the cost and DIY install time.

 

No, this is a once a year thing, I buy a 1 ton pallet of wood pellets for our wood pellet stove. I took off 600 lbs of pellets and put it my utility trailer rather putting the whole 2000 lbs in the truck. I do tow our toy hauler with it but its nowhere close in tongue weight when compared to this wood pellets.

 

That 1350 includes the driver/passengers and anything you add to the truck too. With 1400 in the bed you're gonna be a couple hundred overloaded at a minimum, so the squat is normal. You said you have a utility trailer. Is there any reason to not just put the load on the trailer, or at least more of it?

As for the toy hauler, I think you'd be better served with a properly setup WDH than airbags. Bags are good for making the sag look better, but they don't redistribute the weight the same way.

 

I put some Timbren's in, They are pretty easy to install. What I have noticed is that when the rear is empty, you can feel when the suspension moves and these bumpstops come in contact with the axle. Seems a bit bumpy. I haven't tried the trailer on it yet but I expect that these will work better with the added weight on the back.

 

Given that use case my opinion is that you’re not going to get your money’s worth out of those airbags.

As suggested by others load up your utility trailer for your annual wood pellet purchase. Sounds like you had it in tow anyway, so just have the store forklift the whole pallet on your trailer! Easier to unload bag by bag off a utility trailer anyway. If you want to invest is some gear a weight distributing hitch with sway control will get you more benefit to capacity than air bags.

 

My utility is a 5x8 with a 2000 lbs axle so I can't throw the entire pallet in either my truck or my trailer so I divide n conquer as best I can. I also wanted to see what it looked like and drove like with that much weight in the back as I'm looking at a pop up truck camper and after seeing how it handled this weight it gave me a better idea of a max weight for a camper which is nowhere near 1400 lbs

I do have a WD hitch for the toy hauler and it works great but there are times I'll have the toy hauler loaded with a couple of dirt bikes and I may have to throw another in the bed as well as the generator, etc and it would be close to 1000 lbs cargo weight between the tongue weight, cargo in the bed and asses in the seats that I feel they would help.

 

They'll help with sag, but airbags and a WDH takes some tuning. Be sure you research how to use both together effectively, because you can't just set the WDH and then inflate the bags.

 

Oh yeah, I've become the neighborhood expert in setting up the WD hitch/airbag combo. When I had my Ram 3500 Cummins I had a WD hitch and thought I knew how to set it up but the reality is the truck didn't care and our trailer at the time was light enough it didn't matter how you set up the WD hitch. The Tundra is far more particular I've learned how crucial setting them up correctly is and have gotten pretty darn good at it.

 

That's good that you've got it dialed in. I'm not surprised that a 1 ton didn't care about your small trailer and that the Tundra does. Once you get it all set up and dialed in, be sure to come back with picks and weights for us!

 

Excuse my ignorance but I'm new to the truck world and world of lifts and off-road suspension. I haul stuff and one load seemed to max out my Fox shocks. Will airbags interfere with the shocks and off-roading? Will it change the ride quality?

 

The way I use airbags is I only put air in them if I know I'm going to be hauling something that would require it, otherwise you leave them at a minimum pressure because in that state, they don't affect the ride quality. Obviously if you have a significant amount of air in them then you can expect them to make the ride stiffer but that's the whole point of having them, stiffen up the ride for when you have cargo in the bed or pulling a trailer

 

Wow, that's really specific and yet, completely accurate!

 

The reality of my situation is that I don't do this on a regular basis, first time ever for this truck and it was 10 miles home. My door sticker says 1350 lbs for max cargo weight but when I actually weighed the truck (5800 lbs with me in it)and did the math (Gross Vehicle Weight Rating GVWR is 7340 lbs) that means my max cargo weight is actually 1,540 lbs and with the pellets weighing 1400 lbs, it wasn't over the GVWR. With the amount of squat it had and still not being over GVWR, you can see that airbags on this truck isn't a bad idea. You have a one ton truck so it would take a lot more to put yours overweight than it does a 1/2 ton truck so you probably don't have a need for them, me on the other hand I feel it would help.

 

I had a Ram 3500 Cummins previously and with a truck like that and yours, you don't give too much thought to going over GVWR but with this Tundra you'd be negligent if you didn't. You've seen first hand what happens when you don't. I was disappointed at the amount of sag I saw when I was close to GVWR but rarely will it be loaded this heavy. Hauling wood pellets is where I miss the 1 ton the most and I only do that once a year so it's manageable. I do have load range E tires on it because even though I may have been able to get away with a lighter tire, I like the fact they are just a structurally stronger tire for when we are off the beaten path pulling the camper.

 

And your post made me think of this guy....



You do realize that's 2500 lbs of Oat hay (5x500lbs bales) on the trailer and 500 lbs in the bed, correct?

 

I use airbags for everything. Ranching and livestock means hauling.
Wheel bearing failure on my truck at 28k miles due to hauling a modest load of hay? Ridiculous.