Terrible towing with factory air suspension

[havokeachday]

I recently traded a '21 ram 2500 w/ aftermarket airlift suspension for a '24 longhorn limited w/ 5th wheel prep and air suspension hoping that the air suspension would give a good towing experience. I immediately found out that it is the most terrible thing ever. In fact, it is only marginally better than my '10 that has 6" of deadzone in the steering and a 6" lift.

I tow an aluminum 28'ft cargo trailer that is 4k empty and has a payload of 10k. I usually have only 20 gallons of fuel, 5 dirt bikes at most, 30 gallons of water and miscellaneous tools - my payload is under 3k lbs. My '21 towed this like a dream. No issues with wind, no issues getting sucked in by a semi when passing or getting passed. In fact, it was nearly as stable as a dually. I ran it when towing with 25-35 PSI of air in the airlift 5k bags.

My '24 is sketchy to the point that I wouldn't let an inexperienced driver even attempt a highway tow with my trailer, however my 21 I would have let anyone try.

Any suggestions? My brother said it was due to the rear 4-link and I looked into upgrading the suspension but it seems upgrade options for factory air are zero.

Thanks!

 

[crash68]

Did you set up the WDH for the new truck and how the trailer is loaded? Try running the truck over a CAT scale to check the set up.
Both the '21 and '24 utilize the same 5 link rear suspension design, guessing with your '21 helper airbags added.

 

[havokeachday]

I don't have a WDH. I didn't do anything special to my 21 either - I already had the trailer and hooked it up and it just worked well. I bought it used and it already had the airlift installed. Everything else looked stock, except the aftermarket airbags. It had stock coil springs in back as well. The other major difference with the '21 was that it was a megacab w/rambox which made the truck a little longer. Even with the airbags deflated, the '21 towed 100 times better than my new '24.

My '21 was just diagnosed with bad lifters while I was 1200 miles from home puling my 28 foot trailer and 3 kids, 2 of which were not my own. I traded it in for the 24 assuming that a) I would actually make it home and b) the air suspension would give a great towing experience. I even chose it because of the air suspension and extra towing features.

 

[CanRebel]

With that weight you should have WDH no matter what truck you are towing with.

You should describe the "terrible thing ever"

I know a few people have had some issues when their tongue weight wasn't that high.

Are there issues with it empty? Or when towing at certain speed or all the time ? And exactly what issue.

 

[havokeachday]

Sorry, I had described my issues by saying what my '21 did not do.

What my '24 does is this:

1. Get's blown around by wind.
2. Get's sucked towards semi's and other large vehicles when passing or getting passed.
3. Have to apply a second correction as it wants to sway back and forth.

I loaded my trailer the exact way it was loaded when I brought it down with my '21. I never had any towing issues with my 21, only engine issues.

edit: I'm really just surprised at the drastic differences in towing experience. I've towed the same trailer, same weight, with 3 different trucks now. The '24 with all the towing bells and whistles is the worst.

 

[Roper46]

Just curious, but is the "24" also a 2500. I reread your posts and was not specified.

 

[havokeachday]

Just curious, but is the "24" also a 2500. I reread your posts and was not specified.

Yes. It is a 2500.

 

[2003F350]

You really shouldn't be having any issues at all, but my guess would be that you're tongue-light and inducing sway, or tongue heavy and don't have enough weight on the steer tires. As stated above, a CAT scale will tell you the numbers, but something like a Weigh-Safe will give you a ballpark of where you are.

Personally I would have skipped the air suspension completely - I'm not a fan of bags and I'm not a fan of air suspensions as they can mask problems that need to be addressed. I'd have picked up a truck WITHOUT the air suspension. From what I understand, the factory air suspension has some...quirks...that make towing with it different anyway.

Longer (and heavier) trucks like your old one naturally fight sway better. You don't say what the configuration of the new truck is, but if it is a crew cab or extended cab then being shorter will definitely not help you. With a 28' trailer and a wet weight of 7k, you should consider at minimum a sway control, maybe a WDH just for safety's sake. Hopefully the trailer's brakes are in good working order as well.

I would say you need to play with the loading at least to try to get your weights right. The other major factor is speed - higher speeds reduce your ability to fight sway as your contact patches with the ground get smaller. It might be worth it to drop your speed 5mph if your weights are good. I pulled our roughly 7k, 35' TT at 65 with no issues with my old 'Wagon once I had the hitch set up correctly, and the new '22 pulls even better - I CAN pull at 75 with no issues, but limit myself to 65 because I'm just not in a hurry when I'm hitched up.

 

[havokeachday]

You really shouldn't be having any issues at all, but my guess would be that you're tongue-light and inducing sway, or tongue heavy and don't have enough weight on the steer tires. As stated above, a CAT scale will tell you the numbers, but something like a Weigh-Safe will give you a ballpark of where you are.

Personally I would have skipped the air suspension completely - I'm not a fan of bags and I'm not a fan of air suspensions as they can mask problems that need to be addressed. I'd have picked up a truck WITHOUT the air suspension. From what I understand, the factory air suspension has some...quirks...that make towing with it different anyway.

Longer (and heavier) trucks like your old one naturally fight sway better. You don't say what the configuration of the new truck is, but if it is a crew cab or extended cab then being shorter will definitely not help you. With a 28' trailer and a wet weight of 7k, you should consider at minimum a sway control, maybe a WDH just for safety's sake. Hopefully the trailer's brakes are in good working order as well.

I would say you need to play with the loading at least to try to get your weights right. The other major factor is speed - higher speeds reduce your ability to fight sway as your contact patches with the ground get smaller. It might be worth it to drop your speed 5mph if your weights are good. I pulled our roughly 7k, 35' TT at 65 with no issues with my old 'Wagon once I had the hitch set up correctly, and the new '22 pulls even better - I CAN pull at 75 with no issues, but limit myself to 65 because I'm just not in a hurry when I'm hitched up.

The 21 was a megacab rambox. The 24 is a crewcab 6.75' bed, so it is shorter. Perhaps that's the driving factor.
My biggest issue is that I didn't do anything different with the trailer. I loaded it the same way. Your suggestion that perhaps it is too much tongue weight could be true, but towing with alt trailer height on or off did not make a noticeable change in handling. Also, the speed of course affects the stability, but there were times on the way down where I hit 90 accidentally and didn't have any issues w/ the 21

 

[chopperman1]

IMHO, you absolutely should be using a proper WDH along with proper sway control.

 

[crash68]

The 21 was a megacab rambox. The 24 is a crewcab 6.75' bed, so it is shorter. Perhaps that's the driving factor.

The MegaCab adds 10" to the vehicle wheelbase. That in itself can make a difference in how the vehicle handles while towing, the trailer doesn't have as much of mechanical advantage over a shorter wheelbase truck. Cummins trucks can get away with a little heavier trailers without a WDH as they have almost an extra 1000 lbs over the front axle compared to the Hemi.
You might be able squeak the tongue weight down to a tongue percentage on the light side (makes it to 10% by rounding) but the correct way would be to have a WDH. Even with extra weight of a Cummins you can still feel the difference between using a WDH and not.

 

[Nickx86]

Side note with factory air bags vs aftermarket helper bags. The aftermarket bags still have the support of the original coil springs, helper air bags only need to assist and mask any issues with incorrect balancing of cargo. The factory air bags, you lose the rear coils so you relying solely on the airbags now to do all the work. You are probably going to have to reload your trailer and possibly add WDH since you did lose 10” of wheel base as well. Look into a heavier rear sway bar or upgraded rear shocks down the road as well

 

[Tulecreeper]

The 21 was a megacab rambox. The 24 is a crewcab 6.75' bed, so it is shorter. Perhaps that's the driving factor.
My biggest issue is that I didn't do anything different with the trailer. I loaded it the same way. Your suggestion that perhaps it is too much tongue weight could be true, but towing with alt trailer height on or off did not make a noticeable change in handling. Also, the speed of course affects the stability, but there were times on the way down where I hit 90 accidentally and didn't have any issues w/ the 21

No one drives 90 MPH "accidentally". If you're towing and driving over about 65 MPH under the best of circumstances, you're going to eventually have an accident, kill someone, or die yourself. Holy ****.

 

[jejb]

edit: I'm really just surprised at the drastic differences in towing experience. I've towed the same trailer, same weight, with 3 different trucks now. The '24 with all the towing bells and whistles is the worst.

I understand the frustration, but the old and new truck are not the same. You said you have a big lift on the old one where the new one is stock. Some tweaking to get it to tow well is not a shock.

I moved from an 18 2500 Mega/Rambox factory air truck to a 22 2500 Mega/Rambox factory air truck. My dirt bike trailer is a 8.5x20' before the Vee, double axle. I had set it up on the 18 with an anti-sway WDH using a CAT scale. Didn't change a thing when I hooked it to my 22 and it hauls perfectly. Not swaying, no instability, VERY confident towing experience. So take some time to dial it in, maybe get a WDH hitch. It's worth the effort.

 

[zrock]

The MegaCab adds 10" to the vehicle wheelbase. That in itself can make a difference in how the vehicle handles while towing, the trailer doesn't have as much of mechanical advantage over a shorter wheelbase truck. Cummins trucks can get away with a little heavier trailers without a WDH as they have almost an extra 1000 lbs over the front axle compared to the Hemi.
You might be able squeak the tongue weight down to a tongue percentage on the light side (makes it to 10% by rounding) but the correct way would be to have a WDH. Even with extra weight of a Cummins you can still feel the difference between using a WDH and not.

bingo.. loosing 10" of truck makes a huge diffrence, not to mention the ram box adds weight at well over a standard box..

 

[joesstripclub]

I wonder if you also have a different hitch height from old to new truck, causing your tongue weight to change. I was getting bad trailer sway on my old 1500 pulling a cargo trailer. Ended up with a 6" drop hitch to level out the trailer and that pretty much solved the problem. I also agreed with everyone else that the shorter wheelbase is going to make a big difference as well.

 

[olyelr]

As per your brothers comment…your ‘21 had rear 4 link suspension too. Only difference is it had coil springs instead of just air bags.

 

[stevenP]

I would agree with what you are experiencing to a point. I tow a fifth wheel with my 22, with factory air suspension. I do notice it does seems to have some lateral swaying under load and towing... as compared to my previous gen4 truck w/o the air suspension. I think the factory air suspension is a little "squishy" as compared to just standard coil springs only. Wonder if your tires are causing any issues as well?

 

[jejb]

I would agree with what you are experiencing to a point. I tow a fifth wheel with my 22, with factory air suspension. I do notice it does seems to have some lateral swaying under load and towing... as compared to my previous gen4 truck w/o the air suspension. I think the factory air suspension is a little "squishy" as compared to just standard coil springs only. Wonder if your tires are causing any issues as well?

Depending on your 5th wheel specs and other weight you have in the truck, given you have a 2500 CTD, you may be pushing the 2500 over it's weight limits.

 

[LouM]

After reading through all this my first guess would be that the new truck has a lower hitch ball height when loaded compared to the older truck. That would reduce the loading on the rear trailer axle and increase it on the front trailer axle effectivly shortening the trailer along with the shorter truck. So less drop on the hitch and or a WDH as mentioned set up correctly.