GEN 2 Air bags for towing??

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Renomaan

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YES! AIrbag install works great!

I asked the same question , as I use this as a truck! not a purpose built jumper.. I tow construction trailers, boats, campers, motorcycles and use it for daily travel as well as offroad fun...its a truck and will do it all!

There's a prev longwinded thread with all degree of "Experts" who do the math and warn of the safety ramifications of exceeding tongue weight , flaming, arguing...ect..

Here's the bottom line. The weights specified for towing, tongue weight ect are based on the rears capacity to not break under those loads and the factory springs chosen to keep the truck stable level and safe.

Anyone that has engineering experience will tell you, Ford has done ALOT of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to ensure the rear under these GEN2's will far exceed towing or bed weight loads when it is at its extreme abuse landing in a desert from a 10ft+ airbourne leap. So the rear is not the weak point.

The springs are soft so when you land off that leap you don't break your back from the impact.

If you increase the spring holding capacity with AIRBAGS, then YES this truck can pull and haul far in excess of the OEM ratings..re: Heavy tongue weights!

I put together a kit you can see in this link that works great! I put 60 lb in the bags and it levels a 1000 lb T-weight and tows steady level and comfortably at 80 mph! My brackets are rough looking as I didnt have a cutting torch or fab shop but they are strong and work.

And YES I jump it with no air in them and they have no issues as they separate from the bottom mount with cradles that realign them on the down trip.

http://www.fordraptorforum.com/f262...g-needs-airbags-53216/index3.html#post1132733
 

GM3SF

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So....I've been towing an airstream for the past 4 years. First with a Gen 1, then now with a Gen 2. I had airbags on the Gen 1. We tow about 2 weeks out of the month and have towed over 40,000 miles in those 4 years so when I got this new truck back in January I really had no choice but to get the airbags again. If you take a look at my Instagram account you'll see that most of the places we travel to are not exactly ON the beaten path either, so I really felt the limitations of the airbags. I mention all of this because when it comes to towing with a Raptor, it's safe to say I have a lot of experience.

So anyway, the airbags......I hated them. It was a tradeoff for sure and you absolutely lose wheel travel. In a perfect world I wanted something I could just REMOVE when I got to camp. I now have that and it's AWESOME (follow link below to read about it):

LINK: FINALLY got a TRUE, removable towing solution..(see pics)

fox-tow-shock-1.jpg
 

Cropdoc

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Hey GM2SF - I want that outfits email address. I don't do Instagram. I need a set of those..


So....I've been towing an airstream for the past 4 years. First with a Gen 1, then now with a Gen 2. I had airbags on the Gen 1. We tow about 2 weeks out of the month and have towed over 40,000 miles in those 4 years so when I got this new truck back in January I really had no choice but to get the airbags again. If you take a look at my Instagram account you'll see that most of the places we travel to are not exactly ON the beaten path either, so I really felt the limitations of the airbags. I mention all of this because when it comes to towing with a Raptor, it's safe to say I have a lot of experience.

So anyway, the airbags......I hated them. It was a tradeoff for sure and you absolutely lose wheel travel. In a perfect world I wanted something I could just REMOVE when I got to camp. I now have that and it's AWESOME (follow link below to read about it):

LINK: FINALLY got a TRUE, removable towing solution..(see pics)

fox-tow-shock-1.jpg
 

Hector Bas

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Yo Bro, I noticed your post back in 2017, but by chance did you come up with a solution for air bags? I can't find any and Toy Truck Shop having trouble as well...
If not, 2018 Ford Raptor (Red) coming up for sale soon.

Didn't plan on towing with this truck, but we just bought these bad @$$ Can-Am's and don't like the sagging when its all hooked up to tow... :-(.....
Had we known we'd be towing a few years later... darn it.. :(
 

GM3SF

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Yo Bro, I noticed your post back in 2017, but by chance did you come up with a solution for air
bags..

Yeah man, look up a few posts and follow the link there. It’s by far the best solution you’ll find. I’ve had airbags before and if you’ve ever used them you know that you get more of a rebound/bounce effect than absorption. This shock setup does the same thing (levels you out) but keeps the truck behaving the same as when you bought it.....with rear suspension that absorbs (doesn’t bounce) when towing. He’s done a ton of installs for people. Give him a call.
http://www.izzyfab.com/contact
 

Remi_

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Had my first towing experience this weekend with my 2018 screw towing my 32' travel trailer with a 6700lb unloaded weight.
From Tucson up near Sedona taking I-17 out of Phoenix. Some pretty good hills on that route but it was never an issue.
Had no problems keeping up 70mph+ except when cars in front of me slowed...
So just for anyone worried about its capabilities dont be.
What WDH were you using? Any suspension mods?
Considering this post was 5 years ago, any lessons learned you'd be willing to share?
Thanks in advance.
 
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