Is anyone running Air Shocks on the rear of their trucks here? My dad was telling me about them. He said he used to run them on his F-100 because he pulled a 31 Ft camper with it. He said it's a shock with an Air Valve on it that you can fill/deflate when you're towing/hauling. Monroe makes some called the Sensa-Trac's or something like that, just wondering if anyone's runnin them here.

 

Not worth it. All they do is add extra stress on the shock mounts. If the rear is sagging to much when you tow, Then the tongue weight is too heavy (max 500lbs), and you should have a weight distribution hitch.
The shock mounts are not meant to carry weight, which is what you are asking them to do with an air shock.

 

The Monroe Sensa-Trac is a variable valve traditional nitrogen charged hydraulic shock....not an air shock.

I agree that air shocks put too much stress on a shock mount that was never designed to support a majority of the vehicle weight. They were best left to a 1970 Camaro and Nova to get bigger tires under the fender.

Think air bags to fill you needs and the shocks will still do the job they were intended...to stop spring oscillation.

 

X2 to what's already been said. Even if air shocks were a good option for towing, the last time I had experience with air shocks, you sacrifice ride 'all the time' with them. Air bags is the way to go for towing. Search around and you will find...I haven't seen an air bag thread yet that wasn't preceeded with "HOLY COW, these things rock". Plus with air bags, unloaded with minimum air in the bags, ride is unaffected and reap the benefits of running a good shock. Something not possible with air shocks. Additionally, air bags would faaaaaaaaaaar exceed the weight capability of an air shock for payload purposes. I'll let you know personally here before long because mine are on the way as we speak...I can't wait.

 

Thanks for all the info.

The trailer I tow is a 18ft tandem axle trailer that's normally used for hauling a tractor around. When I tow it, it's full of 4wheelers and dirtbikes. We estimated the trailer weighs about 6000lbs with all our bikes in it. Its only around 500lbs tongue weight but the back of my truck gets loaded with Ice chests/Gas cans/camping gear so that's what makes it sag below level. Usually when fully loaded my truck sits about 2" lower in the rear than the front, nothing too extreme. I was just looking for an easy way to level it out. I was considering the Firestone air-bags but I haven't really decided if its worth the money considering I only tow this 4 times a year or so (me and my buddy rotate pulling the trailer).

 

Sounds like you are a good canidate for a Weight Distrubution Hitch setup to me.

These are the additional spring bars that get placed under tension on the hitch to essentially 'lift' and level the rear of the truck very similar to how a wheel barrow works. It will also distribute some of that weight to the front axle of the truck, for additional steering control and some back to the trailer axles as well.

With a #6000 load and only #500 of tounge weight, that's not very good either. You should have a minimum of 10% of the trailers GW as TW up to around 15% at most.

Most basic WDH setups run around $250-$300 brand new, but you can find them used all over the place for less I'm sure. Check out some RV dealers that have a parts department.. They usually have a pile of used ones...

Just a thought, since it sounds like you are only needing this when towing...

Mitch

 

How can I determine what the tongue weight is for my trailer when it is hooked up?

 

slamma you just need to lower your truck so it will tow better

 

Go to a scale and get the truck weighed - then hook up the trailer and drive just the truck onto the scale, leaving the trailer wheels off the scale. The difference in the 2 weights is the tongue weight. Another way is load up the trailer off the truck with the tongue jack on a scale that has enough capacity.

 

Take the loaded rig up to the local truck stop with a CAT scale. Drive the rig across the scale, stopping with all three axles on three separate scale pads. Then hit the call button, tell them you have a personal vehicle when they ask for your truck number, then they'll tell you to pull around. Pull around and get the weight tag. There will be four numbers: Axle 1, 2, 3, and gross.

Then, drop the trailer in the parking lot, and take just the truck across the scale, again making sure the axles are on separate pads. When they ask for the truck number, tell them it's a re-weigh on (tag number of the first pass) and then go get the weight. It will also have axle 1,2,3, and gross.

From those numbers, you can calculate the total weight of the trailer, tongue weight, and see the exact axle weights on the truck's front, rear, and trailer axles.

It takes all of about 20 minutes on your next trip and eliminates any guesswork. My bet is that the trailer is pretty tongue-heavy, weighs more than you think it does, and you're over your rear GAWR thanks to the stuff you throw in the bed.... but that's just a guess. You'll be surprised at how fast it adds-up!

 

Thanks for the tips. I will try to find out where some scales are here in Las Vegas.

 

Some cities have public scales. There is one near where I work. Maybe ask around and you might find one.

 

www.catscale.com has a locator.

6.8 miles
View Map TA LAS VEGAS
I-15, EXIT 33
LAS VEGAS, NV 89139


8.9 miles
View Map PILOT TRAVEL CENTERS
I-15 & CRAIG RD EXIT 48
NORTH LAS VEGAS, NV 89031


14 miles
View Map PETRO STOPPING CENTER
I-15, EXIT 54
N. LAS VEGAS, NV 89115