Equal-i-zer Hitch and Airlift 1000 Air Bags

[Cguardia]

I have been told the air bags will make the ride batter while towing camper. Is this correct and is it ok to use air bags while using an Equal-i-zer hitch?

Thanks

[AirLift]

Adding air bags such as ours from Air Lift, can make your ride better. It really depends on each driver's taste in ride quality, the load you are carrying, and on what vehicle.

The purpose of the air bag is to help keep the vehicle from sagging. By leveling the ride of your vehicle you help distribute forces, improve headlight aim, and improve steering ability.

You most certainly can use an Equalizer hitch along with air ride assist. Many people on this board have both in fact.

[Cguardia]

I have a 2011 Ram 1500 and have recently traded up from a 23’ camper weighing 2800 pounds and a hitch weight of 250 pounds, to a 26’ trailer weighing 4800 pounds and a hitch weight of 450 pounds. Depending on when and where we are camping, the load weight in the truck could vary from 50 pounds to 200 pounds.

I have spoken to the dealer from which I bought both trailer from and installed the Equalizer Hitch. When lightly loaded, TV and TT are very level, when fully loaded in the TV, TV and TT tongue about and inch lower. The dealer says the drop is still OK and if you adjust the tension bars on the hitch for heavy loaded truck, the TV and TT will be above level when truck lightly loaded, and this is not good.

Will these air bags give me the ½ or ¾ “ lift back to level when TV is fully loaded…..

Does anyone use them for this.

Thanks….

[AirLift]

Air bags would be perfectly capable of adjusting and fine tuning to your load needs. That is really there primary advantage.

If you are interested in checking out our product, the kit we offer for your vehicle is 60818.

Hopefully someone with first hand experience can also be of reassurance to you.

[Cguardia]

Thanks so much for the information

[jmtandem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cguardia Thanks so much for the information

I use Air Lift bags and an Equalizer hitch. My tongue weight is around 1000-1100 pounds. There are some operational considerations with the bags. The bags can help get the bars into the L brackets sans a tongue jack. On the negative side the Equalizer hitch must have sufficient force to work for sway mitigation. If that force is lessened by air bags taking some of the load off the hitch, the sway feature is lessened.

My recommenation would be to get the trailer weighed, know exactly what weight is on each axle and the tongue loaded and ready for camping. Do the same with the tow vehicle. Brochure weights are a joke in most cases, so understated as to be useless. Then have 13 percent of the trailer weight on the tongue. Try for a level trailer without bags and go from there. Use the bags for fine tuning the ride. (If I recall, the Equalizer hitch's owners manual or the website states the pressure needed for the sway feature to work.)

[Cguardia]

I just finished installing the Airlift 1000 bags on my 2011 Ram 1500. I installed them to help give a better ride while pulling my camper. I have a couple of questions for those of us who have these air bags.

When do I inflate the air bags, before I hook up the camper or after?

If before hook up, do I fully inflate the bags?

Thanks for the help…….

By the way, the installation of the bags took about 2 hours. The hardest part was installing the hose on the connectors…

[jmtandem]

There is no need to fully inflate the bags unless it takes that much air for your trailer. I would not add air until the trailer is hitched and then use the bags to set the WD or to level the trailer.

[AirLift]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmtandem There is no need to fully inflate the bags unless it takes that much air for your trailer. I would not add air until the trailer is hitched and then use the bags to set the WD or to level the trailer.

This pretty much sums it up. I would hook the trailer before adding any air. Most likely once hooked you will not need to even run the max psi.

[jmtandem]

Cguardia,

Remember the bags only help with the load, a load that is within the payload and gross vehicle weight rating for your half ton. Bags do not change those values. If you are good to go from a payload standpoint adding the tongue weight of the trailer, the bags can be very beneficial in helpng distribute the load, help the load ride level, and in some cases can even help level the trailer if it remains hitched in a camping situation where unhitching might not be desirable. I have had my Airlift bags since '05 with no leaks or other operational issues.

Perhaps a little off subject here, but with bags you have some ability to help get axle loading even (or more even) as you can add or subtract air. I have found that with my tandem axle trailer the axles do not carry the same weight. This can overload or bring to max the weight the tires are carrying on the heavy axle. It is best to get to a scale and weigh the trailer fully loaded for camping and then play around with trying to get axle weights similar. They will probably never be exactly the same but close (within a few hundred pounds) and then your towing experience will be better. Look for about 10 percent of tongue weight on the ball and if you can get to 13 percent without overloading the front axle, so much the better. Do not tow with less than 10 percent, you also might want to use a tongue scale to get to that number. Be sure the sway feature of the hitch is adjusted correctly. Good luck!

[Cguardia]

Thanks for the advise.....

[Bbasso]

what's being missed in this thread is that if your able to sink the rear of your tow vehicle pass where it's safe then your tow vehicle is not up to the job.
time to upgrade to a vehicle that can handle your load without additives.