Intalled the AirLift 5000 bags tonight. Easy peasy. Toyota put a nifty bracket thingy in the wheel well that has a perfect sized hole for the filler tube. I was going to install the air compressor as well, but ran out of interest. That'll wait for the next warm day.
Found a cool use for the extra Pressure Pro tire monitors I have. I put them on the air bag filler thingies. That way I can monitor for leaks. I thought they could stay on while driving, but I quickly found that the unloading of the bag on the inside of a turn sets the monitor into a frenzy. Nice idea, but didn't work. I imagine it would be much worse while towing.
I'd like to know your reason for installing the airbags. I tow a 29' camper with my 2007 tundra 5.7 liter. I sense that i get more bounce than i feel comfortable with. My camper gwt is about 9,000 lbs. I'm wondering if the airbags are any help and would be worth it in your opinion. Thanks, frostdon
I am curious as to why you installed the airbags. I tow a 29' camper with a gwt of about 9,000 lbs. I sense more bounce in the truck over bumps on the highway traveling 60 mph or so than i feel comfortable with. If i had a 3/4 ton truck instead, maybe it would handle the bounce better. I am only a novice at this trailering stuff. In your opinion, do the airbags make any different in this scenerio? Thanks, frostydon
Yes a 3/4 ton truck wouldnt have as much bounce...but that would also depend on the roads traveled. My father has a gmc 3500 and his 5th wheel causes that truck to bounce also on some roads.
Air bags helped me with my camper, mostly to level the truck. I dont think it changed any bounce that i have when towing on certain roads.
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old 2007 Tundra DC 8' bed 5.7 4x4
new 2008 ford f350 oil burner
I had airbags on my 2005 Tundra to stiffen up the rear suspension when loaded for towing. The WDH leveled the truck just fine, but the rear springs did not provided enough stiffness and I felt the truck was too squishy. The airbags simply stiffened things up. For $230 and 2 hours of easy install time, I would say they are definitely worth it. Just don't expect miricals. And don't use them to level the truck. That's what a WDH is for.
To be honest, the biggest contributor to bounce that I have found is the tires. When I was running P rated tires, if they weren't at 44 psi, I bounced all over the place even with airbags. Same thing with the trailer tires. Anything less than 50 psi in the trailer tires (max pressure) resulted in excessive bounce. Switching to LT tires helped a lot on the truck. They didn't bounce. So, check your tire pressures and switch to LT tires to eliminate most of the bounce.
Tom, would adding air bags assist a WDH in keeping the truck & trailer more level or should I AAL? I ask because I am sitting on about link 3 or 4 of the WDH (counting up from the clamp on the dual cam arm) and of course depending on how much cargo I am carrying, the back end is not sitting level. Of course I could keep the weight of the cargo down (I am trying to be safe and under the GCWR/apply even loads over the axles etc.) but when I happen to pack what I think we will need, the last time heading out did have me a bit worried that my back end was down too far putting unnecessary stress on the suspension.
I have also been reading up about the Timbren kits but was not sure which option would be better suited for what I am looking for. Thoughts please?
if you have the dual cam you can try changing the hitch head angle to allow for better adjustment of the spring bars.
As for timbrens i had them on a truck prior and the downfall is they do not help until you have enough load for them to make contact with the axle. This would be closer to a helper spring, also the air bags give you much more freedon for adjustments.
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old 2007 Tundra DC 8' bed 5.7 4x4
new 2008 ford f350 oil burner
Thanks 1jeep. I was wondering if I need to re-look at that plus I was kicking the idea of maybe getting stiffer bars. I am pretty sure I have the 1200# rating but would going with higher rated bars help equalize the TT & TV better?
I pulled out my last CAT scale results from our summer holidays. The steer axle was 2580 lbs, drive axle was 3740 lbs and the trailer axle(s) were 5900lbs (trailer was fully loaded but no water) for a total gross weight of 12220lbs which I know put me over about 500+ lbs from the GCWR. Yes I probably was overloaded in the payload department for sure. We travelled South into Idaho and back up in BC & Alberta. I did not have any trouble, used common sense, did not speed, watched road conditions etc. but the low back end was in the back of my mind. Going through the mountains the 4.7 was a beaut. I did not push her and she responded like a trooper.
Unable to find my notes but if I remember the truck, full fuel and myself was around 4900-5000lbs. Adding the wife did increase things a bit let's say but we won't go farther. I also normally carry around 150-200lbs of stuff in the back at all times i.e. tools, extra coolant/oil etc.
The published trailer hitch weight is 697lbs. Trailer dry weight is just under 5100lbs. I used my Sherline scale to get a hitch weight but my driveway is on a very slight decline so I did not trust my results of around 1100lbs. During the summer I run Toyo Proxes S/T 285/50VR20 which I pump up to 50psi in the rear and 45psi in the front.
After doing my homework before we bought this trailer I felt very confident that my '05 could tow it. I do not know how much more weight distributing I can do though I could re-think on whatever I do have stacked in the trailer so any assistance or advice would be greatly appreciated. I would really like to get that rear end raised so it doesn't look like one big bump will just crash the suspension.
Last question, how should the CAT scales results probably look like with a unit set up to go.
Thanks,
After reading both of your posts twice, the thing that pops out and scares me is the measured hitch weight of 1100 lbs. Your GCW is ok (the 2006 Tundras were rated 12,800 lbs vs. 11,800 in 2005 and nothing changed that I know of). Your GVW on the truck is fine. The rear axle is right at it's limit. None of that scares me too much.
1100 lbs hitch weight really, really scares me. I know you said it was measured on an slight decline, but I don't think that would effect the reading that much.
So, let's work on fixing that. First, if you try to hard to move weight with the WDH, you will bend the receiver. I know because I did it. I was using 800 lbs bars on my Reese Daul Cam WDH. I could never get the front axle to return to it's unloaded weight, so I went caveman and got 1200 lbs bars. Got the front back to level. Took one trip with the trailer and bent my receiver to the point it didn't work with a WDH anymore. Here's a coule links to pics of the damage:
Check your receiver and see if you have any bending already. With that much hitch weight and 1200 lbs bars, I'd bet you have bent the hitch. If so, it'll cost you about $125 to get a new receiver. Took me 3 tries to get the right thing from the dealer. Easy fix.
Now we need to address that hitch weight. Your hitch is only rated for 750 lbs in WDH mode, per Toyota. I can tell you that 800 lbs is the max before doing damage. So, you need to reload your trailer and get the hitch weight below 800 lbs. With a 7,000 lbs trailer, that puts you on the lower side of desired percentage hitch weight (11.4%). But going above 800 lbs would risk damaging the hitch.
On my current trailer, I can control the hitch weight between less than 200 lbs to well over 1,000 lbs depending on how I load the trailer. Since you have the Sherline, start moving stuff aft of the axles and see if you can get the hitch weight to 800 lbs. Moving 100 lbs from the front to the back will result in a net decrease of 200 lbs on the hitch. Watch out for that sneaky water heater as it can hold 48 lbs of water.
Bottom line: you are at the limits of your Tundra. I towed there for 3 years. It works, but you have to be very cognizant of what you are doing. Once you get the hitch weight down, we'll talk about airbags.
Tom, well I never would have thought that you could bend a class IV receiver. I will get underneath this week and take a look, take a couple of pictures and get back to you. Thank you.
When the snow goes away in a couple of months getting the tongue re-weighed will be my first order of business. I am sure I did it all correct but I will look for a flatter piece of real estate before I weigh it again. I am curious about the tongue weight because there is nothing that I can move to distribute the weight. See the attached pic of the unit and you will see my concern. The kitchen is just to the left when you come in the door (closest to the front). So other than pots/pans/dishes the rest of the weight will be in a pantry, which would be above the axles and the slide out storage in the back. Water heater is also in the back. We have a fold out couch in the front but we really do not store anything under it other than bedding, nothing with a whole lot of weight. Other than propane tanks and a battery in front I am unable to shift any discernible weight to the back.
I read somewhere in another TS forum about the possibility of the tongue weight being heavier than the published tongue weight and that is why you get a separate measure but do you really think 697 to 1100lbs and the manufacturer would be out that much or is it a case of me not weighing correctly? I guess I will know once I check my receiver.
Possibly I could also run with some water in the fresh tank. The tank is also back of the axles and that would also bring down the tongue weight. Food for thought come camping season. I am also going to take 1jeep's advice and check my hitch to make sure it is angled properly while I am under there. Don't understand how the angle affects everything but I will make sure it is not straight up.
I will get back to you as quick as I can about the receiver. Thank you for the help again.
Wayne
I never thought about the possibility of a bent receiver.
Anyway, i also run 1200lb bars, but i know my tongue weight is just over 890lbs with minimal items loaded in the front compartment. Manufacturers dont weigh the tongue with propane and batteries on board ....or the 8 chairs and misc items that we throw in the trailer compartment.
The hitch head angle will control how many chain links are needed to apply the proper tension to the bars. I recall reese wanting the dual cam to have about 5 links free and this is how i acheaived this, by changing the head angle. Looking at the picture you have of your rig i would definetly go back over the directions of the WDH and set it up again., you should be able to get that froont end down a lot more.
I am not a mechanical engineer so i am lacking a better way to explain this. I dont think 1500lb bars are going to help you and i am certain Tom is right about applying too much pressure can cause something to fail.
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old 2007 Tundra DC 8' bed 5.7 4x4
new 2008 ford f350 oil burner
LOL. I had my dealer install the WDH. It really is the old saying that if you want something done right you have to do it yourself. I am pretty sure that I have been using the 3rd or 4th chain link from the sway control bracket since I took possession of the trailer leaving 4 or 5 links hanging free. Definitely some adjustments need to be made. With 2 40lb propane tanks on the front that will definitely add a bit of extra weight.
One of the TS forums had a recommendation to look at some videos from etrailer.com which are very informative.
I will have to redo everything from the looks of it. Thanks for all the assistance gentlemen, I appreciate the experienced advice. In hindsite I should have asked all of this in the fall but I least I can be better prepared come spring.
Setting up the WDH is a lot easier than it looks. First thing you adjust is the height of the hitch head so the trailer sits level with the rear of the truck before you drop the full weight on the back of the truck.
Now you adjust the head angle. On the Reese, this is done with the top bolt on the head. I use measurements to determine how much ditribution I have. Try to return the front measurement to within 1/2" of unloaded height. Do not try to return it to the unloaded height. The receiver can't handle that much torque on a 2005.
You must have at least 5 links under tension with the dual cam. 6 is better. If you need more weight distribution with 5 links under tension, tilt the head more. The reason for a minimum of 5 links under tension is that the cam will get caught on the trunion bar and will crack in half. Lots of stories on rv.net about this one.
That's about it. Where folks get cornfused is they try to mix the two adjustments (height and angle). Keep them separate.
Finally got to take some pictures and it doesn't look like the hitch is bent. Seems to come out straight under the bumper. For a class IV Toyota hitch I sure was not expecting such a small set up. Really thought I would have an arm stretching out on either side.
I won't be able to do the WDH re-set up until spring plus find a good level location and get a new tongue weight so I can get back to this thread later.
Airbags installed
Re: Airbags installed
Linear Mode
