To air bag or not to air bag

[Dean_and_Monica]

Hello new to the Grand Design and to a 5th wheel as well were looking at the 311BHS. My TV is a 2019 Silverado 2500hd. I've got friends that have 5th wheel that have air bags and swear by them and some that don't have air bag. S are air bags a good thing or bad thing. What are the advantages of having them or not having them.

Thanks
Dean

[bertschb]

Air bags will raise the rear of the truck. They will not change the payload rating of your truck.

[Super_Design_16_21]

Hello new to the Grand Design and to a 5th wheel as well were looking at the 311BHS. My TV is a 2019 Silverado 2500hd. I've got friends that have 5th wheel that have air bags and swear by them and some that don't have air bag. S are air bags a good thing or bad thing. What are the advantages of having them or not having them.

Thanks
Dean

I am new like you and we have a 31MB which is not as heavy as the 311BHS. We were looking at the 311BHS as well.

I went with the Timbren kit for my TV (2016 F-250 with 17K miles bought new in 2015) and it rides great and the stance is great IMO loaded. This pic is loaded up with everything including water. I did put them on before we started pulling the 5ver so I dont have a before and after pic but I am very happy with them. I have a car hauler and I put my GMC truck on the trailer pulled as far forward as I could go and I showed a hitch weight of 2200 pounds with my weigh safe hitch and it didn't sag anymore than the 5ver with all of that weight on the trailer hitch and not my fifth wheel hitch which puts the pin weight alot farther forward.

The pro side is there is nothing to wear out such as the bags, compressor, etc. and they don't even make contact until the truck is loaded or the payload is there and you still have the factory ride. Thats why I went that direction. Never had air bags or Timbrens before so I really have no cons other than i cant do a train horn! Lol they just went in place of my factory bump stops.

When we hit big bumps we can feel them flexing and taking alot of shock out when towing.

About 6 hours of towing time pulling ours so far. Very happy with them.


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[xrated]

Hello new to the Grand Design and to a 5th wheel as well were looking at the 311BHS. My TV is a 2019 Silverado 2500hd. I've got friends that have 5th wheel that have air bags and swear by them and some that don't have air bag. S are air bags a good thing or bad thing. What are the advantages of having them or not having them.

Thanks
Dean

Welcome to the forum Dean and Monica. In regard to the air bag question; The 311BHS has a GVWR of almost 14,000 lbs. If it is loaded to that weight or close to it, that trailer will be putting down at least 2800+ lbs of pin weight on your truck. Probably the first thing you need to do is to look at the payload numbers on the driver side door post and see what YOUR truck's payload is. You didn't state if it's a diesel or a gas motor, and that will certainly affect whether you have a pretty small payload number (with the diesel truck), or a higher number (with the gas motor). Either way, check you payload numbers out on the door sticker. As stated earlier, air bags will do absolutely nothing to increase the payload capacity or any truck, and if the truck is overloaded (over the payload number because of pin weight, passengers, additional cargo, whatever) all the air bags will do is help level an overloaded truck.

[RoJoSo]

I am new like you and we have a 31MB which is not as heavy as the 311BHS. We were looking at the 311BHS as well.

I went with the Timbren kit for my TV (2016 F-250 with 17K miles bought new in 2015) and it rides great and the stance is great IMO loaded. This pic is loaded up with everything including water. I did put them on before we started pulling the 5ver so I dont have a before and after pic but I am very happy with them. I have a car hauler and I put my GMC truck on the trailer pulled as far forward as I could go and I showed a hitch weight of 2200 pounds with my weigh safe hitch and it didn't sag anymore than the 5ver with all of that weight on the trailer hitch and not my fifth wheel hitch which puts the pin weight alot farther forward.

The pro side is there is nothing to wear out such as the bags, compressor, etc. and they don't even make contact until the truck is loaded or the payload is there and you still have the factory ride. Thats why I went that direction. Never had air bags or Timbrens before so I really have no cons other than i cant do a train horn! Lol they just went in place of my factory bump stops.

When we hit big bumps we can feel them flexing and taking alot of shock out when towing.

About 6 hours of towing time pulling ours so far. Very happy with them.


Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

I went with the Timbren Rear Suspension Enhancement System TFR250SDG as well. Nothing to fail and no maintenance.
Very satisfied with them. No, it doesn't do anything for payload but, that wasn't what I was looking for. It keeps my factory ride, and helps my suspension.
I was just looking to level my truck a bit.

[FT4NOW]

You've gotten good responses to look at your payload situation. To answer your question, I'm a big fan of air bags. I've towed my Momentum with and without them. I definitely prefer with them. Once you fill them up and have a level truck while towing it makes for a better experience. I feel it improved the unloaded ride as well. I dont use an on board compressor, so there is no compressor to wear out. I carry a portable one in the camper and I have one at home. I've had my air bags for a little over 3 years and they are still holding up well (I have the Air Lift brand).

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[Dean_and_Monica]

Hello "X",
It is the diesel and I had to go look for the info you a were talking about maybe this unit is to big for my truck just not sure. GVWR 10000 LBS ---- GAWR FRT 5200 lb ----- GAWR 6200 Lb. Maybe you can explain this numbers to me don't want to get into an unsafe condition for me, my family or anyone else out there. We in Colorado so we have to deal with a little thinner air tow elevations are up to 12,000 feet all the way to flat land.

[xrated]

Hello "X",
It is the diesel and I had to go look for the info you a were talking about maybe this unit is to big for my truck just not sure. GVWR 10000 LBS ---- GAWR FRT 5200 lb ----- GAWR 6200 Lb. Maybe you can explain this numbers to me don't want to get into an unsafe condition for me, my family or anyone else out there. We in Colorado so we have to deal with a little thinner air tow elevations are up to 12,000 feet all the way to flat land.

Hello Dean.....the numbers you posted are somewhat relevant, but the important number is the Payload....or CCC (Cargo Carrying Capacity). On many trucks it too will be a white sticker, but will have yellow highlighted areas on it....and it should be on the driver's side...either on the door post or the edge of the door itself. With your truck being a diesel (engine is a lot heavier than a gas motor), your payload numbers, when you find it, is probably going to be in the 2200 to maybe 2300/2400 lbs. Check for sure and then you will know exactly what you have.

The payload number on the sticker is the amount of weight that you can add to the truck, and that number was assigned to the truck as it was built and came off of the assembly line. So with that in mind, here is how things work out in regard to payload. Anything and everything that has been added to the truck AFTER it was built, will cause that number to decrease. An example: Let's say the truck sticker shows 2450 lbs. You add a 5ver hitch to the truck and let's say it weighs 175 lbs. You available payload is now 2275 lbs...(2450 minus 175). Now you add a crossbed toolbox and tools to the box. Total weight of that box with tools is 150 lbs.....now your available payload is 2125 lbs. So what I'm saying here is that anything and everything that goes in/on the truck will reduce the sticker payload amount......passengers, extra fuel, firewood, bicycles, bed cover....you name it.

So in looking at the trailer that you are talking about, the 311 BHS, that trailer has a published EMPTY pin weight of right at 2200 lbs.....and the reality of it is that most likely that number will be even more because that weight is an average AND before the propane tanks were filled and a battery installed by the selling dealer. More likely it will now have an EMPTY weight of 2300 lbs or so. Then you start loading the trailer with all the stuff that you will need and want to take when camping and the trailer weight goes up, as well as the pin weight. Most folks consider that the best way to calculate what a pin weight will be is to use the GVWR of the trailer (13,995 lbs....let's just call it 14,000 lbs) and multiply that number by 20%, which is an average for trailer pin weight on a 5th Wheel Camper trailer. Also, doing it that way is what I call a "worst case scenario" for the calculations. So 14,000 lb times 20% will produce at least 2800 lbs of pin weight being put on your truck....IF the trailer is loaded completely and to the GVWR of the trailer. Let's figure it another way where the trailer is only loaded to say 12,500 lbs. Again, 12,500 time 20% and now you have 2500 lb of pin weight being put on the truck. And keep in mind....that is just the pin weight, you still have to add up the weight of the hitch, passengers, and anything and everything else that goes in/on the truck. When you start putting all those numbers together, it's pretty easy to see that the total amount of weigh being put on the truck could very easily be over 3000 lbs, and the problem is going to be the fact that your truck probably only has around 2200 to maybe 2300 lbs of payload from the factory. And anytime that you exceed the payload capacity of the truck, you automatically have exceed the GVWR of the truck. Hopefully that cleared up some things for you and let us know what you found on the payload sticker.

[Dean_and_Monica]

thank you "X" my pay load is 2216. so just doing quick math in my head for my current truck this unit put me over the the GVWR of the truck.

[xrated]

thank you "X" my pay load is 2216. so just doing quick math in my head for my current truck this unit put me over the the GVWR of the truck.

Sorry, I kind of figured it would, but at least you know and have a better understanding of how everything works. I had the same situation several years ago with my 2011 F250 diesel CrewCab. That one had 2148 lb of payload and I knew that at some point in time, I would want to get a large 5th Wheel Camping trailer, so I got a F350 Dually that has 5270 lbs of payload. In Feb/March of 2019, we ended up getting our big T.H. and I already had a truck that was more than enough to tow it safely, even though the GVWR on the trailer is 20,000 lbs.