I'm leaning towards the Slide-in pop-up for when I get my tow rig. For a rig I'm leaning towards an F250 or F350 CC Shortbed V-10 SRW. The camper manufacturer "recommends" air bags for the rear. I was thinking that if I went with the F250 then yeah I probably want airbags, but if I went with the F350 I probably wouldn't need them? The set-up would be as follows. Slide-in camper weighs in at about 2k lbs I will also be towing a 16' trailer with a 6k lbs (or so) Scout on it. Also about 500lbs worth of misc "gear" towing and otherwise. I really don't like the heavy ass look and don't want to have a saggy rear if I have this truck 10 years from now. So is airbags the way to go, or maybe not necessary for my set-up Thanks in advance for the input. PS: if it's a yes on the airbags, then what about in-cab controls?
Id suggest going with airbags, not so much to remedy a saggy ass look, although you might get that with a 250, but to control side to side sway. The camper will obviously create a higher center of gravity, and a properly setup air bag system will be able to counteract the tendency to lean side to side. Running in cab controls is the slickest way to do it, and will allow you to change ride quality and control and the push of a button or two. It seems like virtually all the air bag systems that are out there are pretty much identical, so any of the major manufacturers should be a good choice.
I think you're definately going to want a 350 with that setup, you will likely be WAY over GVWR, and quite possibly rear axle rating, on a 250. Shaggy will probably pipe up, that's the setup he's planning on. He ended up with a 350 dually, and he researches everything hardcore.
GVW on the setup listed in the original post for an F250 is 9600, the F350 is 11000. Payloads are 2800 and 4200 respectively. Obviously an F350 would be the better choice for margins of safety and such. We could get into the specifics of similarities and differences between teh 3/4 and 1ton trucks, but we dont need to. Will the F250 do it? Yes. Will the F350 have a larger of safety? Absolutely. Either way, I dont think he will be disappointed with his choice. waytogo
I'll say "1 ton" also. For any reasonably heavy slide in, you need all the help you can get. If you add a trailer into the mix it just gets more "interesting". For that, I would want a 1 ton dually in fact, and probably even air bag it too if you get a very heavy slide in. Not only will it handle better loaded, but it will ride better too. For the price it's win-win with the air bags. Of course you could do it with a properly equipped 3/4 ton, but you will be (or at least I would be) much more comfortable doing that with a 1 ton rated truck.
I would also say go with the 1-ton. The price difference is not to much especially when you are already forking out 35k for a truck, and the added payload would definatly be helpful for the load you are looking at. As for the airbags I would say definately go for it. I know guys running 1-ton duellys with a slide in and airbags. If you are only running a SRW rig then that should be on the top of your list. It will stabilize your ride significantly especially the side to side sway. In cab controls?? They are pretty expensive. They are incredibly convienent but not to nececary. After your first trip you are going to know how many PSI to run in them with the load, so you can just fill them up with the air compressor when you load up and you probably wont even need to touch the in cab controls for the whole trip. Id say put that money towards some performance modifications instead waytogo just my $.02 -Brent
Sounds like the setup would be OK for a slide-in popup, if you think you'll be happy with a pop-up. I knew that if I got a pop-up slide-in camper that I would want to upgrade after a short time, so I just got a truck that will handle a normal camper. Personal preferences is all. I like the duallys for trucks with slide-ins for 2 reasons - stability and safety. Stability because the high COG doesn't affect them as much, and safety because if you blow a tire when running at max GVWR and a high COG I wouldn't expect it to end well. Also, a longbed would help keep your load distributed between the front and rear axles, a slide-in in a shortbed has most of it's weight behind the rear axle, not good especially when you're towing a trailer as well. I'd say you'll need airbags for sure in a 250, probably in a 350 as well. Is the 2000 lbs for the camper wet or dry?
I had a huge reply typed but I got a database error and it got lost. Very abbreviated version - 250 airbags yes 350 airbags maybe.
For the money, I wouldn't use air bags. My dad was in the same situation only with a 1/2ton Burb that pulls a trailer a little over it's max trailer weight. Instead of spending a fortune on an airbag setup we installed a Roadmaster Suspension Setup. It worked wonders and feels like a completely different truck while pulling our snowmobile trailer. It really took away the swaying and push that the trailer would cause. The Roadmaster system is basically a tight coil that sits horizontally over your leafs, attaches around your shackle & u-bolt plate, and is spread apart the further the factory leaf spring compresses. If you have a Summit Racing catalog look through it and you will find the system. It works wonders, only costs $200, and is fairly easy to install with air tools.
Airbags expensive? 2-300 dollars is typical for Firestone kits as long as you don't try to add in compressor and in-cab controls.
If thats what it is for just a simple airbag kit with no compressor or controls then I would definantly go with the Roadmaster system. No maintance at all and nothing to put air in to and get adjusted.
It does look like a pretty slick setup for the money, some of their "Benefits" are pretty amusing though. I especially like the things it says Airbags and Swaybars DONT do compared to the RAS system. http://www.activesuspension.com/benefits.htm
LOL! Marketing distraction at it's finest. That comparison list is rather silly IMO… As for the maintenance thing, I've never seen anyone complain about airbag kits from a maintenance standpoint, and the adjustability is a big plus in my book, particularly if you going back and forth from unloaded to heavy loaded like you would with a slide in and trailer. But to each their own I guess…
The thing I like about airbag systems, when setup right, is that you can compensate for something heavy on one side of the vehicle. Not really an issue when towing a trailer, but when hauling heavy items like rock, or engine blocks and such in the bed, you can level the vehicle front to rear, and side to side as well. Like you said Baddog, to each his own.
I will definantly agree that their webpage comparison is over egzadurated and a little silly. Iv'e never seen their website before. BUT.....the system does work EXCELLENT. To each his own on what system they want. Personally I would use the RAS setup over a cheap air bag system but if I was hauling a lot of un even loads I would probably go with a full on air bag system with in cab adjustability, but thats at a hefty price. We've had great luck with the RAS setup.
Ooooh, Headlight Dazzle! I think I saw that in a girls gone wild video once. Or maybe on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Sounds like something Jack would say in Will & Grace.
Look to the pros virtually every highway rig now rides on air springs. Need I say more. Load carrying capability and smooth ride. But seriously with the load centre of gravity and tag you are talking about you will never regret buying a dually. If its too rough going down the road empty, use aluminum rims and lighten the leaf springs and use more air loaded. The best way to control sway is with a sway bar. Duallys come with them on the back and if it still sways more than you want replace the factory rubber bushings with urethane.
Firestone air bags are about $250. Add another $250 for the in-cab controls. IMO you'll be making a big mistake if you go with a gas motor. Yes I know diesel is more than 93 octane now but the extra maintenance costs and much lower fuel mileage with the gas motor would for me rule it out. I would get the 2007 Dodge 3500 CTD Quad Cab Dually with the 6.7L motor, Laramie pkg., Infinity sound system w/ navigation. Or the new Ford 6.4L twin turbo.
i would say get them no matter what. when you only have 5lbs of air in them they make no difference. they come in handy. mine are great not only to control ride, but it makes it faster to un hook my trailer. i pump the bags up to max, drop the drop leg jack as far as i can, then only have to crank it 4 or 5 turns. then drop the bags down to 5 lbs and drive out. they are nice even if you dont need them, as you can level the truck on small loads and keep the truck off the secodary springs if you get a one ton....
