I'm in the market for airbags or a helper spring for my 96 Tahoe. When I tow my car it squats pretty low in the rear and I would like to level it out for a safer/more comfortable ride. I'm leaning towards the airbags because it seems like you wouldn't feel their effect while driving w/o a trailer, unlike the helper springs; I DD the Tahoe.

So my questions are:
1) Airbag or helper spring?
2) If airbag, is it worth it to get the compressor so you can adjust them while in the car?
3) Best brands?

Any other input would be nice too. thanks.

 

Firestone airbags, no real need for the on board compressor. These are a great tool when towing !!

 

yup, threw a pair of the firestones on my 90 f-250. with the camper and open trailer, it was sagging a bit. now it rides great and is level! i agree, onboard compressor is not needed. don't think i've ever needed to adjust once set.

 

nice, thanks for the advice guys!

 

I got some Super Springs helper springs that I ran for a while. They worked really well, just a little noisy over bumps when not loaded.

 

On my suburban there are Rancho RS9000's on them jacked to stiff, it helped out A LOT

Not sure what you have in there now.

The big truck doesn't need anything luckily, but guys who put bags on their dually's say it's a great investment.

 

the only modification i've made to the suspension is bilstein heavy duty shocks. thanks for the replies.

 

Like rota said. We first put air shocks in the Suburban and took them off after one tow. The Rancho's give a better ride over-all.

Hint... you may also want to put a trans cooling pan on.

 

not a bad idea especially for those hot summer days. what do you mean by "pan"? you mean like a typical fluid cooler or something different?

 

They make finned pans that you can put on, there is also a TSB for the hard 1-2 shift when it's cold. Just a solenoid change in the tranny.

Those trannies are good otherwise though, not like the newer ones that claim to be bullet proof lol

 

I just put airshocks on my tahoe, for dependability sake I passed on airbags.

 

How are you liking them? I just orderd a set for my 98 chev 1/2ton. It seems to squat a bit with the car trailer all loaded...

 

what you need to do is switch out your shock and spring package in the rear. and go with some stiffer ones.

 

what type of trailer and what is being towed that is making your trucks sag so bad? Is the hitch level and all. I tow my ek hatch with a one axle tow dolly on my 1st gen auto cr-v. It doesnt really sag enough for me to worry about it, I also dont trailer more than 50 miles. I am very interested in this concept.

 

My Excursion sags a bit with an open trailer and my car. Think im gonna check into the Firestone bags

 

Ever thought of using a weight distribution hitch. They're also helpful with sway control.

 

On my Tahoe (suv) they work great. You just have to manually put air in them when theres a load on them. Some Tahoes/ Yukons come with an electric air pump that adjusted them automatically. Of course trucks have leaf springs that's why they dont sag

 

A tow dolly doesn't put very much weight at all on the receiver... thats why it will not sag! Try putting a full size car trailer on there.

 

I had airbags on my dodge dually and they worked great. I think they were air lift brand. I bought them at summit mailorder. No oneboard compresser, just air them up when you tow and then let some air out when you are not towing.

 

Mikey, I have airbags on the teggy I can get front and back and side to side... I suggest you get a set...