dieselloco427

I recently bought a trailer to haul all of my lawn equipment around. I noticed that I do not have to crank the trailer up as high to clear the ball as when I first bought the trailer - and the rear of the truck does not return to normal ride height after the trailer has been unhitched. I'm taking this as a sign that I need new rear springs. Any suggestions for some that are heavy duty for trailer hauling but will go on a light budget?

abecedarian

it's a sign you need to fix the springs on the truck. as well, it's a sign you need to start loading the trailer properly. however whatever much you put on the trailer, 10% of that amount should be on the tongue, so if the trailer and load weight 500 pounds, the tongue should only weigh 50. The trailer is there to carry the weight, not put the weight on the truck.

thook

Look into air bags for the rear. I haul a trailer all of the time. Most people will tell you to center the load as much as you can on the trailer axle or axles. I guess it depends on the trailer, though. Mine is rather short with a fairly high center of gravity.

I've had the trailer wear the tongue hitch and ball (from the see saw affect of weight) and pop off the hitch only to slam right into my tailgate. Fortunately, the window never busted, but I had to pull the whole thing apart and knock out the dents. Anyway, I like to put the weight further towards the vehicle. I also got a bulldog hitch to prevent the hitch from popping off ever again.

Of course, you need a strong bumper or a frame mounted receiver, too. I'm guessing you have a receiver, if your 4rnr is like my '92.

dieselloco427

I usually put the lawn tractor front center with the push mower on the rear, and leaf blower and string trimmer on either side. By what you are saying abecedarian, I should probably put the tractor on the rear of the trailer with the push mower up front. This is a 5x8 trailer from Northern Tool. I think it is made by carry on trailer corp.
edit - I have a frame mounted receiver

qdude79

I installed Gabriel airshocks for that purpose, but haven't used 'em yet. Only reason I respond is that I figured that it was easier to swap shocks than put an airbag setup. Shock support should be more than enough for anything I'm going to be able to tow with a 2nd Gen.

4x4mike

Look into the AirLift 1000 air bags. I got some for around $80 delivered. My '99 had super soft stock springs. Less than 100 pounds in the cargo area would drop the rear bumper around 1 inch. Loaded with a trailer or gear it would be close to the bump stops. The bags took about an hour to install and I did it all by myself. I forget where I got them but it was from links on Ultimate Yota. A few people have them and have done write ups. Good thing is that you can adjust them for times you aren't hauling or towing. I keep mine around 20 psi. It levels the 4runner out and increases handling.

Jay351

I agree. Go with a good airbag kit. Most of the replacement coils for 4runners will lift the truck aswell. So unless you want to lift your runner, bags would be the best plan. Plus then you can deflate them when you're unloaded and have a nice cushy ride again

dieselloco427

Thanks guys! Considering that I tow a trailer the majority of the time that I drive my Runner - I'l probably go with the airbags. Just one question - will airbags still be ok when I take this on the beach?

mmcpeck

dieselloco427.......Did you ever put airbags in? If so how did it work out? I have the exact same issue with towing, and was gonna put new coils in the back, but don't really want to lift it and don't want a stiffer ride, as I only tow a boat like 2 or 3 times a year to put it in the water and take it back out at the end of the year, but that boat really brings down those rear springs.

I also go down the beach so I wanted to see if the air bags are good for that too.

So if you have done it already, just looking for some feedback on how easy/hard it was, what's involved and what kind you put in.

Thanks.

mmcpeck

Bump^^

SteveMcQ

Airlift 1000's are a walk in the park. You collapse the bag by hand and cram it through the coil. It just rests in there. You will need to raise the back of the vehicle off of the ground and support the frame. When the suspension unloads, the space between the coil gets bigger making it easier to shove the bag in. The air line snaps into a fitting on each bag, then you just safely route the air lines to the rear bumper. Finally, drill some 5/16" holes to run the fill valves through. Bada bing, you have just installed air bags. You can also add an air compressor to this if you dont like manually filling the bags. The compressor will add approx $200 to the cost of your project.

Alex 400

I put in the All Pro 1.5" heavy duty leveling springs and they are great. I have towed my grandpa's 18 foot ski boat and barely sags. Really good ride too.

mmcpeck

Thanks guys. I'm seriously considering the air bags for my '91 Runner, sounds like they will level it out and be perfect for towing.

Alex400.....how hard was it to put the springs in? Is it a matter of just drooping the rear axle and pulling them out and in?

abecedarian

@mmcpeck- installing them is that easy. I'm not sure what you mean by 'out' though. Once they're in there you leave them alone and add air when you need lift, let out air when you don't. You can even install a self-leveling kit that will sense when the rear end sags and adds or releases pressure automatically.

Alex 400

For the most part, yes and pulling the shocks off first of course. I used a spring compressor and a buddy. we compressed the springs with the compressor, i stood on the drum (i was the heaviest of the two of us) and he was able to slip it under the bump stop. The passenger's side was harder than the driver's side because of the location of the panhard bar, but we just did it the same way and it was great. took all of 2 hours with shocks. Probably would take less time if we had actually known what we had to do to pull it off.

mmcpeck

Hmmm, now I'm not sure what to do. Both options seem easy. The springs are original and have 200K, but the rear doesn't sag that bad, in fact it's not all that noticeable unless you stare at it. And the ride isn't too bad, definitely needs some new shocks, but not too bad of a ride.

It's really just when towing that the rear end sags and it goes down the road kind of hard.

Maybe air bags are the way to go, since it's really just a towing issue.

dieselloco427

I hate to burst everyone's air bags, but I've not gotten a set yet. I've run into some financial difficulties at the moment and air bags aren't a priority. When I get them I'll let everyone know!