Towing - Air Lift Bags or Shocks

[Airman68]

Just wondering if there are any suggestions. I have a 2008 Yukon XL and I'm towing a 5000 lb boat with a fairly heavy tongue weight. I was considering adding the Air Lift 1000 bags to the rear but keep seeing people blow them. I also see replacement shocks with extra springs on them. Might have been leaning toward the bags but don't want a blowout. Any thoughts?

 

[FasterBass]

Personal experience - I love the air lift 1000 air springs. Used them recently to tow a firebird and it was a stock like ride and completely level. You'll likely have a heavier tongue weight, granted, but the install is so easy and cheap it seems like a no brainer. Keep in mind there could be a myriad of reasons that the bags blow. They can be overloaded of course, just like the rest of the suspension. They are only designed it handle an additional 1000lbs. There are heavier duty versions you can install, and you can even replace your springs entirely with airbags (much more involved).

 

[B-train]

I vote for air bags as well. I had them on an old 3500 dump truck where the original springs were shit from being a salt truck in the winter. They gave the needed assist to sit level and perform it's property truck duties.

The ride was good, no complaints. In your sitch, it would give you needed support WHEN you want it, and allow for the factory ride when not needed. Super easy install as well.

 

[swathdiver]

...towing a 5000 lb boat with a fairly heavy tongue weight.

How much tongue weight? Towing a deck boat?

 

[gooffeyguy]

Something that hasn't been asked..... What suspension system do you currently have? Is it just standard, auto-level, auto-ride, etc? You can find out by looking at the RPO sticker in the glove box

 

[adventurenali92]

I have a 2006 Yukon XL Denali with factory equipped and functioning Z55 auto ride suspension that also includes the G69 auto leveling function. So I already have an auto leveling suspension to eliminate squat when towing. I pulled the trigger on a set of airlift bags from another member here when he decided to lower his truck and the bags wouldn’t fit once lowered. Got a great deal, I believe the kit was brand new in the manufacturer boxes when I bought it from him. And I THINK this was in 2018. I’ll look back through my build thread to see when I had them installed. They work flawlessly and I’ve never had an issue running them. Ever. Not even a leaky airline. My auto ride/auto leveling shocks still function as they should and towing a 4300lb 20 foot sea ray speed boat up and down the mountains I live in for a family
Friend is a price of cake. Truck rides perfectly stable while towing. I’d imagine guys that have blown out airlift bags probably were either over loaded to begin with or over inflated the bags. Max pressure on my bags is only 35 psi and I only run that when towing. When I’m just running around town with my detailing gear in the back working I run the bags about 15-20 psi and it rides pretty damn comfortably. Looking back on this particular mod, The only thing I would do differently with the setup would have been to install an air compressor solely to fill or deflate the bags automatically via a switch and a pressure gauge somewhere in the cab so I don’t have to do it manually with the little 12V compressor I use that was like a harbor freight special. I plug the compressor in to the 12V outlet in the cargo area when I need to fill the bags. It only takes 30-60 seconds to fill them up so it’s simple and the compressor is small enough to stow in the little cargo compartment in the rear paneling where the tire iron and jack is supposed to be stored so it’s fine. But now I wish I had the convenience of sitting in the drivers seat, flipping a switch, watching a pressure gauge and shutting off at the right amount of air in the bags all without getting up…. Lol first world problems

 

[FasterBass]

I have a 2006 Yukon XL Denali with factory equipped and functioning Z55 auto ride suspension that also includes the G69 auto leveling function. So I already have an auto leveling suspension to eliminate squat when towing. I pulled the trigger on a set of airlift bags from another member here when he decided to lower his truck and the bags wouldn’t fit once lowered. Got a great deal, I believe the kit was brand new in the manufacturer boxes when I bought it from him. And I THINK this was in 2018. I’ll look back through my build thread to see when I had them installed. They work flawlessly and I’ve never had an issue running them. Ever. Not even a leaky airline. My auto ride/auto leveling shocks still function as they should and towing a 4300lb 20 foot sea ray speed boat up and down the mountains I live in for a family
Friend is a price of cake. Truck rides perfectly stable while towing. I’d imagine guys that have blown out airlift bags probably were either over loaded to begin with or over inflated the bags. Max pressure on my bags is only 35 psi and I only run that when towing. When I’m just running around town with my detailing gear in the back working I run the bags about 15-20 psi and it rides pretty damn comfortably. Looking back on this particular mod, The only thing I would do differently with the setup would have been to install an air compressor solely to fill or deflate the bags automatically via a switch and a pressure gauge somewhere in the cab so I don’t have to do it manually with the little 12V compressor I use that was like a harbor freight special. I plug the compressor in to the 12V outlet in the cargo area when I need to fill the bags. It only takes 30-60 seconds to fill them up so it’s simple and the compressor is small enough to stow in the little cargo compartment in the rear paneling where the tire iron and jack is supposed to be stored so it’s fine. But now I wish I had the convenience of sitting in the drivers seat, flipping a switch, watching a pressure gauge and shutting off at the right amount of air in the bags all without getting up…. Lol first world problems

Funny enough, you can fill these things easily with a bike pump. There just isnt that much volume/pressure. I wanted the onboard pump too but couldn't justify the cost/complication/failure points when a frame mounted bike pump was sitting in my basement.

 

[adventurenali92]

Funny enough, you can fill these things easily with a bike pump. There just isnt that much volume/pressure. I wanted the onboard pump too but couldn't justify the cost/complication/failure points when a frame mounted bike pump was sitting in my basement.

Yeah but I also would have wanted to do a large compressor that can also fill my tires if need be. The fact that the bike pump could only fill the air bags kinda seems like a waste of an upgrade where as if I did a big compressor, gaining the added benefit of being able to handle a tire as well would make the upgrade worth it.

 

[Airman68]

Thanks all for your suggestions. My truck has the standard suspension, no air ride. My boat is a Sea Ray 220 sundeck. 4200 for the boat so I was figuring 5k total or so. Not sure of exact tongue weight but seems heavy, maybe near the 500lb mark. I kinda thought that about the bags blowing, who knows how people install and use them. Also good to know about the air requirements, saves a bunch of money installing that compressor.