Air bag Suspension

[Crown]

Hello fellow campers I have a question that I am hoping some can help me with and share there knowledge and experience in. I have a travel trailer its a 2018 Puma 43 feet in length and weighs about 8231 dry weight. The truck is very well capable of pulling the camper for I bought it new and custom ordered it just to give you a little in site of the truck its a Ford F150 XLT 4x4 supercrew long bed 6 1/2 foot bed. The engine is the 6.2 liter with 3:73 gears it is rated to pull up to 12000 lbs. I also have the EZ2 sway bar hitch and have adjusted it to the recommended settings. Know to the question I feel it still needs something more like an air bag suspension setup or overload springs. Which would you do air bags or overload springs or both? And which brand of air bags would you recommend pro and cons? Thanks for any advice and if you have any questions or different recommendations feel free to ask
Crown

[tuffr2]

It will not be easy to tow a 43' trailer with a little 1/2 ton truck. Sure you can move it 50 miles to a different camp ground but it is not really a 'travel' trailer.

If this a FEMA trailer? If so, they are great to stay in a fixed location but again, not as a travel trailer. If I wanted it moved I might think about paying someone with a bigger truck to move it.

Anyway, air bags like Firestone will level the truck. That is what I would pick.

[drdarrin]

I would recommend air bags. I installed the Firestone models on my 3500 to help with sag. They add a minimum of weight to the rig as well. I tow a 35’ 5er with almost 3,000 pin weight.

Air bags or heavier springs will help with the rear end sag. They will NOT increase the load carrying capacity of your truck. Were I you, I would double check your numbers again, with a loaded trailer, before you put that combo on the road.

[SmokeyWren]

Hi, Crown, and and to our campfire.

Originally Posted by Crown

I have a travel trailer its a 2018 Puma 43 feet in length and weighs about 8231 dry weight. The truck is very well capable of pulling the camper ...

But without enough payload capacity to carry the hitch weight of a wet and loaded 9,000+ pounds TT along with the people and other weight in the F-150.

...for I bought it new and custom ordered it just to give you a little in site of the truck its a Ford F150 XLT 4x4 supercrew long bed 6 1/2 foot bed. The engine is the 6.2 liter with 3:73 gears it is rated to pull up to 12000 lbs.

12,000 tow rating, but tow rating ignores payload capacity. And payload capacity is your limiter. You will exceed the payload capacity way before you reach the tow rating of the F-150. My F-150 has tow rating of 8,400 pounds, but I'm slightly overloaded with my TT that weighs less than 5,000 pounds when wet and loaded on the road.

So you're overloaded. You cannot change the payload capacity of your F-150, but you can add air bags or heavier rear springs or both to mask the symptoms - sagging rear end and headlights aiming at the stars - of being overloaded.

I also have the EZ2 sway bar hitch and have adjusted it to the recommended settings.

I don't see an EZ2 hitch with a Bing search. So did you mean a Fastway E2 hitch?

If you lightly load the trailer to 9,000 pounds, you should have hitch weight of roughly 1,250 pounds. So the spring bars of your WD hitch should be rated to more than 1,250 pounds TW (tongue weight). If your WD hitch is rated for less than 1,250 pounds TW, then you need a heavier-duty hitch. With spring bars rated for more than 1,250 pounds TW, you should be able to tighten the spring bars enough to bring the headlights back down to earth.

Know to the question I feel it still needs something more like an air bag suspension setup or overload springs. Which would you do air bags or overload springs or both? And which brand of air bags would you recommend pro and cons?

By far the most popular auxiliary "overload" air springs (air bags) are the Firestone RideRite air "helper" springs.
http://riderite.com/Ride-Rite%20Product%20Detail

I don't overload my tow vehicle enough to require overload suspension aides, so I have no experience with air bags. But the RideRite air bags are available with a simple manual schrader valve for each bag, or plumbing kits to use only one Schrader valve to adjust both bags at once, or really fancy setup using an on-board air compressor and plumbing to adjust the air bags from the driver's seat. Details are available on the RideRite website above.

[tuffr2]

I tried to find a Puma Trailer that is 43' long. The closest I can find are the Puma Destination trailers...also known as Park Model trailers.

Again, these trailers are designed to be moved a few times in their lifetime, not as as a travel trailer.

What is the model number on this trailer?

[saddlesore]

Originally Posted by tuffr2

I tried to find a Puma Trailer that is 43' long. The closest I can find are the Puma Destination trailers...also known as Park Model trailers.

Again, these trailers are designed to be moved a few times in their lifetime, not as as a travel trailer.

What is the model number on this trailer?

mebbe fat finger struck?? should have been a 34'??.... even then a whole lotta weight for a half tonner

[tuffr2]

34' makes more sense. But wow agree, that is a lot of trailer for a 1/2 ton truck. That will be a handful on the highway as it will not be easy to get dialed in with the W/D and sway control. Passing Semi's and wind will have a lot of flat side area to affect.

IMHO - a 34' trailer should be behind a 3/4 ton truck.

[Dropthejacks]

Just wait till he tries to bring that load to a stop. I believe I'd be looking at upgrading the braking system in that F150 before I went looking for springs and airbags.

[Crown]

Thanks for every ones advice and the TT is a 2018 puma 31FKRK and I measured it and its 37 feet not 43 feet. The truck is a 2014 Ford F150 XLT with the 6.2 engine with 3:73 gears I ordered the truck this way. The truck pulls it fine and handles it fine. I am asking about air bags to help with the sagging of the truck and yes I have a weight distribution hitch and yes it is set to the correct settings according to the instructions from manufacture. Also the dry weight on the side of the TT is 8121

[Mr_D]

Seems like the OP doesn't want to hear about being overloaded. Just how to mask the overloaded condition.

[Gordon Dewald]

There are just too many rules within the towing guidelines to make it easy to determine the proper setup. Unfortunately many will cherry pick the one value that meets their needs without reading and/or understanding the other limiting factors the manufacturer uses.

All one has to do is remember the advertisement with the space shuttle being towed by a pickup truck. We used a pickup truck to move loaded grain cars at the elevator!

[JIMNLIN]

Which would you do air bags or overload springs or both? And which brand of air bags would you recommend pro and cons? Thanks for any advice and if you have any questions or different recommendations feel free to ask
Crown

I would go with bags first.
Brands ??
Nowdays their is no best. Airbag tech has come a long way in the last 20-30 years when I used them on my service trucks to level a sagging rear suspension.

[tuffr2]

Again, I would go with Firestone Airbags. If you have sagging fill the airbags until level. Springs have never seemed to work for me. If springs sag there is no recovery.

Airbags, you can add more air.

[CARLnJANIS]

Originally Posted by Crown

2018 Puma 43 feet in length and weighs about 8231 dry weight.
Crown

Originally Posted by Crown

Also the dry weight on the side of the TT is 8121

Crown,
You keep mentioning dry weight. Unless you are going to be traveling with an empty trailer, you need to forget about the dry weight and concentrate on the GVWR. If you're like most of us, you will be pushing the GVWR envelope your first trip. You will be surprised how quickly you can max-out the trailer payload.

Go with air suspension. On my F450, I have the Kelderman manual air suspension on the front and self-leveling on the back.