air bags or shocks

whigg

Member
I have a 2011 GMC 1500 sierra 4x4 crew cab,10,000 lb trailer that I tow.I would like to beef up the rear for towing but at the same time not lose the ride.Any ideas on air bags verses air shocks. Thanks for any help with this.Just don't know what to do.
 
Just a few points to think about.
1-shock mounts are not designed to carry weight, just to keep things from bouncing around.
2-air bags over the axle can be easily adjusted for the load.
3-how strong are your tires, wheel bearings, axle shafts, axle housing, spring mounts etc?
4-will the power train handle the load on expected route, hills, country roads, city traffic etc? This means everything from the radiator to the axle ratio & everything in between.
For occasional short trips I would go with a class 4 reciever & load balancing or equalizer hitch. This would let you transfer some weight to the front axle when loaded & not affect ride when empty.
Others may have different opinions.
Willie
 
I have the small airbags on my 1/2 ton ford, they don't do much. I had the larger ones on a 3/4 ton that I used to have and they worked better. They don't cure all the problems tho. I do sugest that you spend the extra to get a pump system to go with it. Finding an air supply when you need it is a pain, plus any small leak and they are worthless.
 
Of the two options presented, airbags.

Like the others have said, your shock mounts are not designed to carry weight.

At the risk of offending you by not answering your question EXACTLY as asked, let me add this because perhaps you didn't think of this eventuality:

Assuming you are towing a bumper pull trailer, because you didn't specify and I can't read minds, did you upgrade the truck's receiver hitch?

A 10,000lb bumper pull trailer can put 1500lbs of weight on the tongue pretty easy. The factory hitch is only rated for 500lbs of tongue weight without a weight-distributing hitch, and only 1000lbs with a weight-distributing hitch.

If you are running the stock receiver without a weight-distributing hitch, keep an eye on it.
 
I have air bags on my GMC 2500. They work really well when carrying a heavy load and also when pulling my 5 ton bumper hitch trailer-usually both at the same time.
 
The simple answer is that you shouldn't need them. If you are loaded so that you are under the GAWR (Gross Axle Weight Rating) that truck should sit at a good height. If it is not, you are probably over the GAWR. The Tires, Brakes, Wheels, Axles, and Suspension are not validated beyond the GAWR. Trying to "beef up" the suspension is just compensating for another issue which is probably that it is overloaded or not balanced properly, or incorrect hitch height or hitch equipment....etc.
 
air bags or helper springs i used air shocks as thats what we used "back in the day" but todays moders trucks will not handel that, i cracked a shock mount, due to placing too much stress on it, i had it fixed and that truck no longer is used to pull trailers
 
Be careful not to overload your truck/trailer if you do put air bags on it. I have a 2003 GMC 2500 with airbags, and I actually bent the frame because I had to much air in the bags, and put to much tongue weight on the hitch. Nobody in my tractor club could believe it until I showed them. The bags were so hard, they didn't absorb any shock and turned into a pressure point on the frame.
 

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