Towing vehicle question - shocks or springs

[Texas Transplant]

Since my trip back from Houston pulling a U-Haul, and knowing that I will be hauling all over SC this fall pulling the Stratos, I think it is time to beef up my towing.



Before going to Houston, I had a real nice Class III hitch put on the Mountaineer. Works great. However, both with the U-Haul, and somewhat with the Stratos, I get a little too much dip in the rear end.



I've looked at the posts here, and done some research on other sites, and it looks like it comes down to one of two options.



1) Add new shocks/lifts that are air actuated, whenever you need a lift in the rear end for towing.



2) Put in 'add-a-leaf' or one of the new anti-sway leaf enhancers to help stiffen up the back end.



I really liked what I saw with the 'Roll Guard' stuff, but wanted to get some feedback from the group. Anyone have any actual experiences here, one way or the other?



I put the link of the roll guard stuff here if interested.



Tex
http://www.amtechsprings.com/amtech.cfm

 

[Gil Hebert]

I put air-shocks on my F150 for the same reason and they worked fine. I could raise or lower them to adjust for the load and didn't need my head lights adjusted. I considered the leaf spring, but thought it would make the ride to harsh.

 

[Steve Flattem]

I found that on my Mitsubishi Montero Sport that the suspension was softened to make the ride "better" [read soft and sloppy]. My son and I installed AirLift airbags in the springs with the air valve coming out through the reflector lens. I trailer my Deep V 16 (with about an additional hundred pounds of junk in the back) with no sag. The link shows another Montero with the airbags and his valve setup.




http://www.monterosport.net/page3.html

 

[Corey Carrico2]

I have had both helper springs and adjustable air shocks on my Explorer. They both helped a lot but I found that the air shocks do a better job of preserving ride quality/safety. The helper springs I used cut your suspension travel down which was dangerous..IMO



--Corey

 

[Bruce Moore]

Tex, I put the air-lifts in our Jeep Grand Cherokee four years ago. Run them with about 7 pounds of air empty and you can't tell ANY difference in ride and handling. With the TV-18 behind us and a full load going to Okeechobee, 20 pounds brought the rear end back up to normal ride height and improved the soft ride in the rear. I installed them myself in about 2 hours. As long as you have rear coils they're a piece of cake. BTW, I mounted my inflate valve inside the gas door.



Bruce Moore

 

[Jim B]

If it were me i would go with an air bag system. ive never really liked air shocks. Shocks were never intended to carry a load at all, they are there to control spring motion. Springs carry the load. the shocks are held in by a 1.2" bolt generally on the bottom and it really isnt ment to burdon weight. I have seen the studs snapped off clean from air shocks. You can get an ait lift air bag system for about $170 from summit racing. I have helped friends install them before and its pretty easy, just be prepared to drill some holes in the frame. The systems are great and dont seems to hurt the unloaded ride much. Im thinking about putting on in my dakota, i just dont know if it will fit with my optional oversize tires.
http://www.airliftcompany.com/new-index/Frameset.htm

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Air bag system would be best. Air shocks would be cheaper. Both are adjustable the bags will also help body roll (leaning during cornering)

BF

 

[Rich Stern]

These guys make a good product:


http://www.activesuspension.com/