Leveling Kit / weight distribution

This past weekend, I kinda overloaded my Toyota Sequoia. Had 6 scuba tanks laying across the back, then other gear up to the roof and had 4 moderate sized asses in the truck, not porkers but adults. Had the boat in tow (tandem axle) stuff was loaded in the boat too. Pry only had 2-300 lbs of lead in the boat, but it was full of wakeboards, food, booze and whatever else we had for the HB trip. (which kicked ass BTW, will be doing another!)

So, we had a blowout on the trailer front axle on the way up (no biggie, spare got us there) and it made me think of the weight distribution of the truck - more weight on the front axle b/c of droopy rear end.

Maybe I'm trying to stuff 10 lbs of shat in a 5 lb bag, but what can be modified to improve the suspension or towing capacity of a vehicle? Stiffer shocks were my first thought, then some leveling or weight distribution bars??

Obviously a different vehicle MAY be a solution, but looking to modify what I got at this point.

You can do an air bag suspension conversion on the rear for about $2k, depending on the type of kit you choose.

There should be two numbers available to you. Tongue weight and Gross weight. Well that is what my Expedition has.

Tongue weight is 5K
Gross weight is 8k

Does you Toyota have this?

try a helper bag set up. you can get a nice set up for about 250- 450 bucks. look on e bay under helper bags.

Tongue weight is usually ~10% of the towing capacity. I doubt very much that you have a tongue weight rating of 5k. My F250 has a hitched trailer max weight rating of 8000 pounds and a max tongue weight of 800 pounds.

The gross vehicle weight is the maximum total weight of the vehicle, passengers, cargo, etc.

(Message edited by swass on August 28, 2008)

I'll have to check that again swass. I think I might be getting some numbers confused...

swass, you are spot on....

The 5k is weight carrying...
8K is distributed weight

(Message edited by dabell on August 28, 2008)

Could you use a hitch that raises the trailer toungue?

To truly redistribute the weight on your rig, you will need to get . a weight distribution equalizer.

I have one & it's kind of PITA to hook & unhook. It only takes a minute or so, but parts are greasy. So I don't really care for using it. So recently I've been looking at several air shock/bag setup I can use in my 1/2 ton Chevy Avalanche. Heres an air bag setup for under $100 for most any 1/2 ton Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche. I understand this is just a bandaid & doesn't really redistribute the weight but just lift the rear end. In my case, the Av tows & drives fine, just sags a bit in the rear.

I do'nt think i want to raise the hitch. It wouldn't balance without 1000 lbs of crap in it.

towing cap: 6500 lbs

yea, that equalizer does look like a PITA, and honestly doesn't look like it does a whole lot more than the bags do.

Anybody put the helper bags on their rig? what brands

doesn't that involve an air source? I need to check into it more...

Swass, what year is your rig and which engine? 250's have had a 12,500lb trailer hitch rating for years now. Unless you have a 5.4 V8.

I would go with Firestone helper bags. Just check and see what they make for your truck. You can do an on-board air set up but thats going to be more expensive. You would need a compressor, air tank, valves and more line and fittings. the easiest way to do it would be to run the air line to a schrader valve so you could just fill it up as needed with a compressor just like you would your tires. Try googling firestone air bags or something to that effect and you should be able to find more info.

I have an '02 PSD (7.3). I thought the 12.5K rating was on a 5th wheel. It did seem odd that our hitched ratings were so close, so you could be right.

I assumed he'd want an on-board compressor and PSI control in the cab. Too big of a pain, otherwise, in my opinion.


(Message edited by swass on August 29, 2008)

yea, a compressor and control from the cab would be nice to have. unfortunately, the problem isn't worth 2 or 3k to have a complicated air suspension system. hittin switches with the boat, son! lol

So, the question is: Tundra or Tacoma kit? apparently, they don't make a sequioa kit, at least I haven't found it yet. I'm thinking Tundra since it's full size... but looking for more details on it.

found a kit for my truck! and it looks like onboard air kits can be had for 500 or so, not 2k. I'm definitely going to add air springs, maybe the onboard kit if I can find a small one.

good stuff, thanks all

I added a pair of airbags to my 05 Pathfinder which has fairly soft rear stock springs despite a decent tow capacity.

It really helped the sagging. You can hookup to a normal air compressor for tires at a gas station or at home if you have.

My set was approx $70 for the set and took a couple hours to install start to finish. Definetly recommend.

Having the rear not sag helps with weight distribution to the front. Then you just may need a larger drop on your hitch.

Mine were from www.airlift.com

Cheers, Jeff

"So, the question is: Tundra or Tacoma kit? apparently, they don't make a sequioa kit"

Keep checking around for it or find a universal kit. Your truck probably has a 4-link with coil springs and both the taco and tundra have leaf springs so its going to be completely different set up.
You might also try looking for kits from Air Ride Technologies, Air Lift, or even AIM.

Jeff Klaus (jklaus) on Friday, August 29, 2008 - 10:53 am: I added a pair of airbags to my 05 Pathfinder which has fairly soft rear stock springs despite a decent tow capacity.

It really helped the sagging. You can hookup to a normal air compressor for tires at a gas station or at home if you have.

My set was approx $70 for the set and took a couple hours to install start to finish. Definetly recommend.

Having the rear not sag helps with weight distribution to the front.

Mine were from www.airlift.com

I suspected this would be the case, at least when your in a position like I (we) are..... where the truck is well within tow capacity specs, just experiencing a soft rear end.

I check this link but ended up on a site for respirators.
Edit: Looks like it's http://www.airliftcompany.com.
I found the AirLift 1000 on Ebay for the Tahoe/Suburban/Avalanche for $69 plus $12 shipping.

(Message edited by bill_airjunky on August 29, 2008)

I coulda used one of those on the HB trip for the hangover I had Sat morning.

But, I don't see a price...

I just got a kit from Airlift, works great for my Tahoe. An onboard compressor is over kill for what you need it for.

I put an airlift kit on my 03 pathfinder, blew out three different times. Called the help line usless, tryed to get a refund no help. I would not recommend this company! I finally had springs custom made by Spencer Low racing... Worked great! If you tow alot springs are the way to go!
G

I had the Airlift kit on my Tahoe and had nothing but problems with them popping. Every time they popped it was in a different spot. So I installed air shocks and that was not a good idea they did not work good or ride good. Now I installed a Timbren Kit they replace your factory bump stops with new ones that are longer. Easy to install and work great!! The only down fall is when it is empty and hit a speed bump the rear end is a lot stiffer but just cruising around you don't notice it. I ordered them from www.truckspring.com and they are under 100 bucks.

GregC & Weazy, how much towing did you do when they started popping? "popping" as in the air bag blew out, and was replaced, right? more info pls.

Anybody have any experience with Firestone bags? not too sure of the concept, at this point.

springs: Helper springs or a different set?

thanks guys

I believe Tahoes, Suburbans & Avalanches use coil springs in their 1/2 tons. I'm not sure there is any such thing as a helper spring for a coil.

Those of you with problems with the AirLift type bags popping, I see it says you have to have a minimum of 5 lbs of air in them so they stay put. Any chance that contributed to your problems?

The Firestone Air bags are very high quality. The bags they manufacture are the best available in my personal opinion. Firestone produces the airbags used on nearly all tractor/trailer combinations on the road, so they have a great history of quality and durability. I had a set on my K1500 chevy for 10 years and they were a life saver as we loaded the holy crap out of that truck with everything. I would suggest you get the on-board compressor, because you can adjust the load on the fly as your load changes.

As I re-read the above posts, you do not need an airtank for the firestone bags.

(Message edited by phatboypimp on September 02, 2008)