AIRBAGS: THEY DON'T DO SQUAT

March 24, 2023

AIRBAGS: THEY DON'T DO SQUAT


Let’s talk about heavy loads in your rear end. It’s okay to giggle. So there you are with your big bad pickemup truck. And there you are with your big bad trailer. You then join the two together in towly matrimony (see what I did there?). But what’s that you say as the rear bumper of your truck slowly, steadily and sadly sinks to the ground? This cannot be. THIS SHALL NOT BE! How will I rectify this affront to the gods of trucks and truck accessories? AIRBAGS BABY! But not that kind. I suppose the correct term would be load leveling airbags. Allow me to elaborate.

The short version of what airbags do for your tow rig is that they add to the capabilities of your factory leaf or coil springs. Our go to here at Off-Road King is the Loadlifter 5000 Ultimate from Airlift. They have been in the game since 1949 so they are well versed in the squat removal game. This kit will give your unit 5000 pounds of leveling capacity once loaded. And it has an internal bump stop built in so the bag won’t completely collapse and damage itself. It should be noted that this DOES NOT GIVE YOUR TRUCK INCREASED WEIGHT RATING. Just because you slapped some high quality towing paraphernalia on your vehicle doesn’t magically increase the abilities of your engine, transmission, brakes, or frame strength. Your truck can tow what it can tow, no more, and this kit helps the end user achieve that safely.

How the hell do I use these things you may be asking. How do I get the air in the airbags? Well boys and girls, we got options. The first one is just good old fashioned hand jobbin’ it with an air chuck for manual inflation. Does it work? Absolutely. Are there better options? Oh hell yes but sometimes you gotta take what you can get. Let’s talk about that better option. Also from Airlift is their line of onboard compressors. Our go to is the Wireless One HD with the EZ mount because drilling into some truck frames is like using a self tapper on Captain America’s vibranium shield. It’s a bitch. This setup allows you to increase or decrease the amount of air in the bags with the touch of a button and it can save your presets. It’s pretty quietish when it engages and fills the bags quickly and makes a super satisfying psshhh sound when it deflates the bags. There are other options like an auto level that will increase or decrease the pressure based on a preset ride height but why complicate the matter?

So there ya go. An article thing about load leveling air bags. Concise, informative and not as vulgar as it could have been. If your truck squats like a stripper trying to make rent when hauling a trailer then I would highly recommend adding this setup to your vehicle. You’ll be able to handle heavy loads like you never have before. They will call you the loadmaster for your ability to just take take take hot loads, shot after shot. Sorry if that got weird at the end. K love you bye.