Air shocks as secondary shocks for towing?

Anyone ever used Air shocks in conjunction with your normal shocks as help for towing/hauling?

My leaf springs are not meant for towing, and my wife and I want to try and get a teardrop camper. I know they don’t weigh a lot but I want to keep my leaf pack and prolong its use.

I was thinking, would it be possible to fab up a crossbar under the bed, behind the rear axle to mount air shocks to, and just bolt them on and fill up with a compressor when needed? That way you can take them off and store them when not in use. Or is this idea just too much for a simpler solution lol

 

Why not just use airbags ?

 

Don’t airbags stay on even when not in use? Or are they easy to remove and install for only when you need them?

 

It's been done on other vehicles (Raptors/Chevy 1500) and I think it's a good idea. I've never seen anyone do it on a Tacoma but the same concepts apply.

 

You just air them down when you don't need them.

 

True but my bump stop is where bags would go so then I’d essentially have no bump

 

Airbags are designed to be left on, they’re pretty compact, mount easily and don’t weigh much. Hook up the trailer and add some air until level, deflate to less psi when not towing.

 

I’m wondering if shock orientation would be an issue because there’s not much room with the gas tank in the way for them to face forward, so the top of the shock would be rearward of the axle.

 

As @joeyv141 said, you just air them down to the minimum pressure. They shouldn't change your ride quality significantly at that pressure.

You can't just take them on and off easily either, as you (on the kits I know) have to cut the bump stop off, or unbolt your axle u-bolts and remove it/put it back on every time. And you shouldn't be re-using U-bolts, so that would get expensive fast.

 

Factory mounts on the Tacoma have one shock facing forward & one facing backwards to minimize axle wrap. Most aftermarket relocation kits put the shocks forward as it's most beneficial for suspension geometry from a performance aspect.

I would think that mounting the air shocks backwards would be fine as they're just being used to help with the additional load. They'll be removed when you want to really use the travel.

 

I hate my life right now... how the F do you get strike through to work on here!!!

 

I don’t believe any standard airbag kits for Tacomas 05-23 have bump stops in them

 

True, you have to remove the bump stops. The air bags are mounted in their place. The aired down bags are now your bump stops.

I have air bags. I love them. I leave 2 psi of pressure in my bags when not hauling or towing. I don't miss the bump stops.

My next truck is getting air bags as well.

 

Thanks, edited my post. Apparently I had read about the Airlifter's, not the Firestones.

 

I used Firestone Ride-Rites on my 2nd gen and have them on my 3rd gen, love them. They just take the place of the bump stops. The guidance is 1 psi for each 40 lbs. of weight, which I have found pretty useful. I estimate the weight, divide by 40, and add 5 psi to that. If you have to go over the max, you are probably overloading the truck severely.

 

https://slamspecialties.com/W/ Have internal bumpstops

 

Just a suggestion, also look in sumo springs.

 

Exactly what I had pictured in my head. Just didn’t know if it would be overkill lol