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  1. #1
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    Do AIr bags raise the bed height

    Hello All. Hope I'm in the right thread for this question. I have a Ram 2500 6.4, long bead, Tradesman towing a Reflection 260RD. I'm not familiar with how rough / smooth the truck ride should be but it's very rough whether I'm towing or not. I had a Class C Jayco on a Ford 450 that was a lot smoother than my current setup. My 260RD all ready rides a few inches nose high with no room to lower my hitch. My question is, if I add air bags to the Ram for a smoother ride, will that raise the height of the Ram's bed rails? Or, is there any other solution that I'm not thinking about. Thanks for the help, John.

  2. #2
    Paid my dues 😁 FT4NOW's Avatar
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    Air bags will raise the bed, but it's the entire bed and wouldn't affect the rail to 5th wheel clearance. In fact, it will make your camper ride more level (well maybe not if your camper is already nose high) which is the point of air bags, to level the load. Air Lift and Firestone are the 2 major air bags used, I've had both, I prefer Airlift because it installs between the axle and frame, where Firestone uses a bracket and its more off to the side. My current truck came with Firestone air bags and it doesnt bother me enough to change them, ironically, it has an Airlift controller and compressor. Either way, the air bags will lift from the frame rail. Loaded and unloaded, I like the ride of the truck better with air bags. My last truck/camper, i was able to see the difference with and without air bags and was very happy i added them.

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    Last edited by FT4NOW; 06-06-2021 at 09:29 AM.
    2023 Momentum 398M-R
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  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by jdux999 View Post
    Hello All. Hope I'm in the right thread for this question. I have a Ram 2500 6.4, long bead, Tradesman towing a Reflection 260RD. I'm not familiar with how rough / smooth the truck ride should be but it's very rough whether I'm towing or not. I had a Class C Jayco on a Ford 450 that was a lot smoother than my current setup. My 260RD all ready rides a few inches nose high with no room to lower my hitch. My question is, if I add air bags to the Ram for a smoother ride, will that raise the height of the Ram's bed rails? Or, is there any other solution that I'm not thinking about. Thanks for the help, John.
    I would look at the tires. There can be a big difference in ride quality between different tire brands. Is it possible to reduce the tire pressure in the tires? Even loosing 10 lbs can make a difference.

    Since you had a previous truck that rode better, I would look at putting that tire onto the new truck.

    One of the reasons I bought the F350 over the F450 is the tires on the F450 were "Commercial" tires and I know those ride harsh and have very poor grip in the rain (had Commercial tires once, it was like trying to drive on snot in the rain). My F350 came with 6 Michelin tires that really smooth out the ride.
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  4. #4
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    Shocks, tires. A Ram forum (or maybe someone on here) might know the typical solutions. On F150s for example, Bilsteins are known for eliminating some rear suspension ills.

    “Rough” is not super descriptive, but in this case my guess is that it means stiff. Air bags are great for leveling a load but that would depend on how much squat you are getting with the trailer. If there isn’t a lot of squat then air bags will only stiffen things up. If there is, they would help loaded, but not when empty. Care to post a picture loaded/unloaded?

    Sulastic springs are an option on leaf sprung trucks, but you have coils I believe.
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  5. #5
    Seasoned Camper
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    When you hitch up and take the weight off of the trailer legs... the truck takes on the weight (aka pin weight). In doing so, your truck likely squats 1-3in. If you don't have much squat... than bags don't really do much for you - Air Bags are simply meant to level the truck back out.
    2022 Momentum 351M-R
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