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Firestone Air Bags

Discussion in '2nd Gen Tundras (2007-2013)' started by AnthonyC, May 4, 2021.

  1. May 4, 2021 at 1:15 AM
    #1
    AnthonyC

    AnthonyC [OP] TAKE IT EASY WHILE YOU"RE GOING FAST

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    Anthony
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Tundra SR5 TRD DOUBLE CAB
    TRD DUAL EXHAUST, FIRESTONE AIR BAGS
    Firestone air bags and Daystar cradles. I installed them Sunday afternoon, it doesn’t take much air pressure at all to notice what they can do, WOW! 10PSI is way too much when unloaded, we just bought a Forest River toy hauler XLR MICRO BOOST. It weighs just over 6,000 lbs. tongue weight is about 1,100 lbs. With the load distribution it drops the rear suspension 2 inches, and raises the front suspension an inch. That inch on the front to me is noticeable on the back roads. The hitch was set up by the RV dealer, I never pulled anything this heavy with my Tundra and it does OK. It’s not a Diesel by no means, it does pretty good for a 5.7 gas motor. If anyone can bring light to help me out with adjustments with the weight distribution setup, and the air bags in combination would be appreciated. The D rings in this toy hauler were mounted with wood screws, I dropped it off at the dealer. The dealer said WHAT!? They’re getting in touch with Forest River and arranging to have the D rings mounted to the crossmembers where that should be. Wood screws and plywood won’t hold 5,000 lbs. as advertised. Thanks in advance
    Anthony
    PS This is a 2021 Toy Hauler
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2021
    Leo's first likes this.
  2. May 4, 2021 at 3:59 AM
    #2
    Cfincke

    Cfincke Mall Crawler but capable

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    Chris
    San Antonio
    Vehicle:
    2014 Tundra 1794 CM 5.7 4x4 sunset bronze
    5.29s, Auburn LSD, 37x12.50R18, Icon coilovers and shocks, SPC UCA's, Tech 12 Volts sound system, Enve Grill
    I just installed the same air bags and cradle 3 weeks ago before a camping trip, so I only have 1 pull of experience with bags.
    But if you are swatting 2" in rear and front is up an inch with a WDH, it sounds like it is not set up correctly. My equalizer hitch manual notes the rear should not drop more than 3/4" and the front should be close to normal height when measuring from ground to fender. I had to play with the WDH settings to get it dialed in. I typically connect the trailer to the ball then jack it all back up a few inches to attach the bars easier.
     
    GODZILLA likes this.
  3. May 4, 2021 at 4:24 AM
    #3
    AnthonyC

    AnthonyC [OP] TAKE IT EASY WHILE YOU"RE GOING FAST

    Joined:
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    Anthony
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Tundra SR5 TRD DOUBLE CAB
    TRD DUAL EXHAUST, FIRESTONE AIR BAGS
    Thank you. These Tundra frames are built like a 3/4 ton pickup, but have a nice relaxed ride when not loaded. Next week hopefully I’ll pick up my RV, we are headed to Gettysburg, PA from Virginia Beach, VA. It’s about a 5 hour ride with some climbing hills. I will see how my Tundra does. By no means am I going to force the Tundra to do what I want it to do. I’m going to see what she likes with this type of weigh behind her.
    Thank you again Cfincke
     
  4. May 4, 2021 at 5:01 AM
    #4
    jbrnigan

    jbrnigan New Member

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    To really enhance your towing experience (and safety), especially with a toy hauler, because weight distribution is affected by how and where you load your "toys", you need to make a trip to the "Cat" scales. There are a number of online sources that explain, in detail, WDH set ups. The scales let you quantify exactly how much weight needs to be redistributed to "equalize", or shift weight between tow vehicle and trailer. My RV also has an 1100 lb tongue weight and with my WDH properly set, I need around 50 PSI in my air bags to level truck and trailer.
     
  5. May 4, 2021 at 6:31 AM
    #5
    AnthonyC

    AnthonyC [OP] TAKE IT EASY WHILE YOU"RE GOING FAST

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    Anthony
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Tundra SR5 TRD DOUBLE CAB
    TRD DUAL EXHAUST, FIRESTONE AIR BAGS
    Thank you. I have a condor wheel chock for my HD. The chock mount will be mounted as close to the rear axle of the toy hauler. The HD weights about 975 lbs. That’s fixed once it’s mounted. My Tundra GVWR is 7,100 lbs. The toy hauler GVWR I believe is 7,000. So when I hit the scales I could gross 14,000 lbs. Correct?
    The Tundra is allowed 4,100 lbs on the rear axle. The other 3,000 lbs will be on the front axle.
     
  6. May 4, 2021 at 7:21 AM
    #6
    jbrnigan

    jbrnigan New Member

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    The GVWR of the truck, (which is the weight of the truck, fuel, passengers, cargo, AND trailer tongue weight = about 1300lbs) As mentioned earlier, the distribution of the weight inside the trailer will affect tongue weight, which should be between 12 & 15% of the trailer weight. So you can see, a 1000 lbs on the hitch will reduce your truck cargo capacity by that much. Trailer specs from the manufacturer are notoriously inaccurate. As I mentioned earlier, there are numerous online resources that can walk you through using Cat scales to help in setting up you WDH.
     
  7. May 4, 2021 at 6:01 PM
    #7
    Cfincke

    Cfincke Mall Crawler but capable

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    San Antonio
    Vehicle:
    2014 Tundra 1794 CM 5.7 4x4 sunset bronze
    5.29s, Auburn LSD, 37x12.50R18, Icon coilovers and shocks, SPC UCA's, Tech 12 Volts sound system, Enve Grill
    I would agree with @jbrnigan, if the dry hitch weight is 1100lbs, that does not account for the propane tanks, trailer batter or the WDH. Those 3 will add about 200 lbs to the hitch weight. The tundra's payload is only around 1300 lbs (assuming your truck is basically stock). So even before you fill the fresh water tank, add in a toy hauler, add any gear, luggage, passengers, or you as a driver get in the truck you are already exceeding the tundra's payload rating.
    Only a CAT scale will confirm, but when fully loaded up, you will most likely be exceeding the legal payload rating of the tundra. You will need a 3/4 ton or a differnet 1/2 ton that has a higher payload rating to be legal.
    Toy haulers generally have a much higher hitch weight than typical travel trailers. My Jayco 264bh is about 4700lbs dry with a 475 dry hitch weight. When the trailer and truck are fully loaded up with gear and my wife and 2 year old, I am close to tundra max payload, just to put it into perspective.
     
    Last edited: May 4, 2021
  8. May 4, 2021 at 6:58 PM
    #8
    AnthonyC

    AnthonyC [OP] TAKE IT EASY WHILE YOU"RE GOING FAST

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    Anthony
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Tundra SR5 TRD DOUBLE CAB
    TRD DUAL EXHAUST, FIRESTONE AIR BAGS
    Agreed to all applied. My tundra is completely stock except for the air bags I just put in. Several months ago I did put dual exhaust from the cat back system. I will make it to a CAT scale, and I will have my HD motorcycle in the back. That will add some weight to the rear axle of the trailer and lighten up on the tongue weight as well. I will figure it all out, it will take a little time by trail and error. I never pulled a travel trailer before like this one. I have plenty of experience with the tractor trailers. This is different and I will figure it out with everyone’s help tips and good old common sense. Thank you for your input.
     
    Leo's first likes this.
  9. May 5, 2021 at 4:27 AM
    #9
    jbrnigan

    jbrnigan New Member

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    One last tip...shop around for Cat scale rates. You will be making multiple same day weighs, some will even let you do a next day, re-weigh, after adjustments. Ps. don't forget your tape measure. The air bags don't increase you load carry capacity, they will only help to level the TV and RV after the WDH setup.
    Good luck
     
  10. May 5, 2021 at 4:48 AM
    #10
    AnthonyC

    AnthonyC [OP] TAKE IT EASY WHILE YOU"RE GOING FAST

    Joined:
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    Messages:
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    Male
    First Name:
    Anthony
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Tundra SR5 TRD DOUBLE CAB
    TRD DUAL EXHAUST, FIRESTONE AIR BAGS
    Thank you again good tips. I should check with the scale house and let them know what I’m doing. I’ll have all the tools I need, including my torque wrench and even if I have to remount the ball assembly to the draw bar. I’ll get it done and over with. With the help of the rear springs and WD hitch. The air bags will help with leveling because I’m not asking them to carry all the weight. Their biggest asset will be encountering the ups and downs on the roads.
    Again thank you very much for your input

    Anthony
     
  11. May 6, 2021 at 5:10 AM
    #11
    AnthonyC

    AnthonyC [OP] TAKE IT EASY WHILE YOU"RE GOING FAST

    Joined:
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    #7608
    Messages:
    85
    Gender:
    Male
    First Name:
    Anthony
    Virginia Beach, VA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Tundra SR5 TRD DOUBLE CAB
    TRD DUAL EXHAUST, FIRESTONE AIR BAGS
    I’d like to share something else. I was looking to see where to put my mount for my Condor wheel chock. I got to looking at the D rings in the floor of my new toy hauler. I took a double take. I found that all the D rings are mounted with wood screws! I was like, that’s not going to hold 5,000 lbs. I didn’t even use the RV yet to camp. I brought it back to the dealer where I bought it and explained what I found. My Condor mount showed up yesterday, so I’m dropping it off to see what exactly what the dealer is doing to correct all this. Just thought I’d share that.
     

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