To Bag or Not To Bag That Is The Question?

[1FstGPa]

2020 Ram 2500 Tradesman
14,000 miles

Greetings to all.

The wife & I recently drove to Arizona (from Colorado) to attend a family member's wedding. We decided to pull our fifth wheel on this trip & due to weather conditions opted to take I-40 through New Mexico. I-40 in New Mexico is a mess & needless to say we pounded the pin, on the fifth wheel fairly hard. During our stay in Arizona, I had some off time to read about truck squat due to load & how unsafe it is. Which got me thinking about our drive along I-40 & whether it could smooth out some what if I bagged the rear suspension? Admittedly our truck squats a little on the stock suspension, but never enough, I thought, to warrant any modifications.

Which leads me to this...

Some time ago, on HDrams, I recalled reading to not bag the suspension at all. I can't recall why, but would like opinions about bagging the rear suspension & whether it will help run things smoother, under load, since we are planning a return trip to Arizona in May.

Thanks in advance!

 

[whitexc]

Details on the 5er? I ask because I am going through the process now. I may try Sumo Springs for the price and ease. My trailer is about 10k with a 1500# pin weight. I can see the truck squatting just thinking about it. True bags to replace springs are a lot more work and if there is a failure you are on the hook is my understanding.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

 

[1FstGPa]

Details on the 5er? I ask because I am going through the process now. I may try Sumo Springs for the price and ease. My trailer is about 10k with a 1500# pin weight. I can see the truck squatting just thinking about it. True bags to replace springs are a lot more work and if there is a failure you are on the hook is my understanding.

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

It's a Forest River - Rockwood Ultra Lite. I figure, with it loaded, around 12,500. Pin weight is unknown.
I had Sumos on a class c moterhome. They did their job when the side wind kicked up. Otherwise, it turned it into one rough riding unit. I figured if my truck was bagged, I could alleviate the unloaded rough ride by releasing some air. Failure? Hmmm, possible, but I'm thinking to avoid the on-board pump (less is more theory). Thoughts?

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Airlift 5000s would be a good addition

 

[AH64ID]

Sag isn't generally unsafe, unless you're talking about headlight aim.

I'm a big fan of airbags thou, especially on the coil sprung 2500's as the airbags go outboard of the coil springs and add stability as well as load leveling.

Just be sure to not overinflate them. The most common mistake I see people make with airbags is inflating them to the empty ride height when loaded, which usually makes for a worse ride and handling. Let the truck suspension squat 1-1.5" (maybe 2-2.5" on the coil springs since they have the highest empty ride height) and then use the airbags to maintain that height (even if its only 15# it will make for a nice improvement). Also, plumb them independently for side to side leveling as well.

 

[Icky]

I ran bags on my 2013 2500 and I put bags on my 2022 3500 after towing my fifth wheel toyhauler once. My toyhauler squatted the **** out of the truck and it road like crap. Now I run about 60psi in the bags and it rides smooth again.

I have the Timbergrove bags after reading about them here, mainly because the brackets are stainless. I did however modify their setup to plumb them individually.

 

[AH64ID]

I ran bags on my 2013 2500 and I put bags on my 2022 3500 after towing my fifth wheel toyhauler once. My toyhauler squatted the **** out of the truck and it road like crap. Now I run about 60psi in the bags and it rides smooth again.

I have the Timbergrove bags after reading about them here, mainly because the brackets are stainless. I did however modify their setup to plumb them individually.

Wow, seems like a lot of air for a SRW.

Is the truck leveled?

On my 05 I only needed that much air with a 2” level and a 7K+ RAW. With a 1” level I only needed 50 psi when the RAW was 7.5-8K. Without a level it probably would have only needed 35-40 psi.

It would be cool if my CTS3 could tap into the suspension module and see how much pressure the OEM system uses for each load.

 

[rudyyoko]

I drive a 2022 2500 cummins and it came with rear air bags. I never had the intention to buy one with air bags but that was the only one with all the options I wanted in the area at the time. I am so glad I did. My 5th wheel is 9k empty, with a max weight of 10.5K. When I hitched it to the truck, I was surprised that the truck adjusted to stock height. So whether I have my 5th wheel hitched up or the truck with an empty bed, the truck has the same stance. Empty or towing my truck rides really nice. I dont know about after market air bags, but if you can get this kind of result, you will like the way the truck rides. Good luck.

 

[Icky]

Wow, seems like a lot of air for a SRW.

Is the truck leveled?

On my 05 I only needed that much air with a 2” level and a 7K+ RAW. With a 1” level I only needed 50 psi when the RAW was 7.5-8K. Without a level it probably would have only needed 35-40 psi.

It would be cool if my CTS3 could tap into the suspension module and see how much pressure the OEM system uses for each load.

My toyhauler is around 19k loaded, probably could use less, but that's just the number I picked to fill them up too.

 

[elephantrider]

I run 80psi to level out my 34bhts. 1k tw.