Airbags and towing

I recently bought a Tundra to tow my 63 Burb on a dbll axle trailer. The truck has the tow package and seems pretty well setup. A good friend suggested I add air bags to the rear to level the truck and help control trailer sway.

Does this sound right? He has me looking at the AirLift5000 setup.

 

Do you squat pretty bad with the trailer on there? and do you feel like trailer sway has been an issue? If you answer yes to either of those airbags might not be a bad idea. If you answer no to both, then I would save your money for something better.

Another question would be, do you tow often enough to justify the airbags as well?

 

I haven't bought a trailer yet so I don't know. When I start this Spring I'll be doing some long trips, including cross country. So I want to be as prepared as I can be.

 

I have been debating the airbag thing also. From what I have gathered they would help with sag in the rear but aren't going to do much for sway and will not increase the weights that you can tow or haul. For sway you would be better getting a WD hitch and to tow / haul more you would need to beef up the suspension. I am picking up a 20ft double axle car hauler in about 3 weeks to haul my FJ40 with. I want to take one or two trips before I decide if I NEED anything added. Eventually I know I will need something (probably bags) because I plan to go to a 24'+ bumper pull trailer so I can haul more gear. Only time will tell.

Keep us posted on what you do and your results.

 

Keep us posted on what you do and your results.

Will do.

 

Have 10k+ miles towing an FJ40 on a 16ft Carson Flatbed Trailer. 1st Gen TRD OR V-8 Auto with air bags set at about 30psi and one of those friction type sway controls and a standard ball hitch (we cheated into the local CHP Scales when it was closed and played with position on the trailer to get the tongue weight right then always set it to the same mark on the trailer). Have also towed a 17ft travel trailer quite a bit but use a WD hitch with the same sway control as you can't easily adjust tongue weight on the Travel Trailer. Also had dual axle electric brakes on the trailer and a big brake kit with drilled and slotted rotors on the Tundra.

 

A badly squatting truck can make the steering "squirrelly" (a highly technical term I learned from my dad); characterized by wandering and a tendency to oscillate on relatively minor steering corrections. This can lead to dangerous sway.

Tow a couple times with your intended load and THEN make the decision. That said, I have the firestone air-bags coupled with an Air Lift auto-leveling setup. It pulls our 2 draft-horse (read 2000 lb. each) laden trailer like its on rails.